When the D.C. region was placed under a flash flood emergency a week ago, the National Weather Service indicated that some roads could be washed out by the destructive force of the floodwaters. The prediction proved to be accurate, and some flood-damaged roads may end up closed for weeks.
After time-consuming repairs, the District Department of Transportation reopened Canal Road between Reservoir and Foxhall roads late Monday morning.
Erosion compromised a small culvert underneath the road near Fletcher’s Cove. A concrete slab and new pavement was constructed over a small run.
The road was originally expected to remain closed through the end of the week.
DDOT said additional work might be necessary for the long-term stability of Canal Road.
The Virginia Department of Transportation said it expects Prosperity Avenue south of Accotink Creek to be reopened by late Friday. A low-lying section of the road, prone to flooding near a small run, sustained pavement damage.
In McLean, a rain-swollen Pimmet Run undermined a large section of Kirby Road. VDOT said the work to repair the road and embankment will take weeks. Part of the project will entail rechanneling the stream away from the roadway, a spokesperson for the agency said.
A heavily damaged section of Swinks Mill Road south of Georgetown Pike is expected to remain closed for months. VDOT said further assessments of the extensive road and bridge damage will be needed before repair work can proceed.
VDOT is assembling a specialty “strike” crew comprised of personnel from different maintenance yards to expedite the work on several other roads that were reopened in the days after temporary fixes were made. In total, about 15 roads will be addressed.
A section of Beulah Road near Wolftrap Creek and Leigh Mill Road near Difficult Run will need to be repaved. Erosion on the wayside of Georgetown Pike and Old Dominion Drive will be addressed as well.
A swath of Princedale Road in Dale City caved after heavy rains earlier this month. An 84-inch diameter pipe underneath the road failed. The highway agency plans to install two 60-inch concrete pipes in the berm that supports the road in the coming weeks.
In Potomac, Maryland, Belfast Road was reopened late Sunday. The road washout left more than 70 families unable to access their homes.
The Baltimore City Department of Transportation said that many streets in downtown Baltimore will be closed until further notice as the agency addresses an underground collapse. A portion of Pratt Street and southbound Howard Street past Lombard Street remain closed. Inbound traffic on Interstate 395 is being diverted onto Conway Street toward the Inner Harbor.
The Maryland Transit Administration’s Light RailLink Service remains suspended between the North Avenue and Camden Yards stations.
