Nanticoke Road closure update

Officials from several local and state agencies met Wednesday to discuss a plan to get a section of Nanticoke Road in Salisbury back open as soon as possible.  Last week, Nanticoke road collapsed due to a pipe cracking in heavy rainfall, the sinkhole went from a small crack to a gaping hole, leaving the road closed indefinitely.

Donnie Drewer is the District Engineer for the State Highway Administration, he says the road was shut down because the condition of the pipe running underneath was unknown, and still is unknown.  This is a frightening thought for Gary Foxwell, who owns a business in the area.  Foxwell describes the effect on his business as “devastating”.  The Countryside Market is located inside the area that cars are diverted around, and he says summer is his busiest season.

The SHA says the project will be done by Labor Day, and they hope sooner, but it’s not a quick fix.  Drewer says the pipe has to be replaced entirely.  That means before any construction even starts, they need to get the Rockawalkin creek down from 7ft deep, to below 3 feet.  Before the new one is installed, a temporary pipe has to pump the water from one side to the other to allow for a natural flow of the water.  With all the pumping, drilling, damming, and construction – it then has to be undone.  So the SHA has been in contact with environmental agencies to ensure all their ducks are in a row. Drewer stresses these things take time, but that they are moving as quickly as possible.

Those permits are in hand and ready to go, they are now waiting on the bids from the contractors, which are expected to be in next week.  The cost is expected to be around $300,000 – which comes out of an emergency fund.

47ABC spoke with first responders who say the detour can certainly affect response time depending on where the emergency is.  47ABC timed the detour as about 5-6 minutes out of the way.  Not the worst in terms of a major road closure, but in an emergency those minutes could be crucial.