I believe it was the spring of 2023 when the work to make Route 24 wider began. Those of us who lived in the area for a few decades knew this work was bound to happen and would be somewhat painful during the construction. As a resident of one of the oldest developments along the impacted “improvements,” Briarwood Estates, we welcomed any improvement.
One of our biggest concerns was the safety of entering and exiting our development. My family was just one of many who were victims of a serious accident along Route 24.
As the president of the Briarwood Estates HOA, I made it a point to meet the DelDOT project manager along with the project manager for the contractor. Working together to get updates and provide updates to our community was essential to maintaining the safety of our community.
Toward the completion of the project, there was one issue we had at Briarwood that we had never had before – the entranceway flooding. Between Harts Landing and Briarwood Estates, there was no drainage, and during heavy rains our entranceway was flooded. On one occasion this past spring, the rain washed away just about all the new mulch in our flowerbeds. When this was brought to the attention of DelDOT and the contractors, some adjustments were made, but the flooding continued.
I contacted Sen. Russ Huxtable and provided pictures of the flooding during a storm and three days after the storm. I know next to zero about roadway engineering, but I do know if there are no storm sewers between Harts Landing and Briarwood Estates, there is nowhere for the rainwater to drain.
Recently, the contractors returned and added a drain between the two developments. Although we have not had a lot of rain since the work was done, when we did, there was no flooding.
We are thankful for the attention that was made to our issues by Sen. Huxtable and his staff for assisting with solving this issue. A special thanks to the DelDOT and contractors’ workers for getting the job done and keeping our residents safe during the construction.
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