New Ideas Arise for Dewey’s Bayard Ave.

Committee Pitches Road Raise, Pump

BY ROB KUNZIG | CAPE GAZETTE
In an effort to reduce flooding on Bayard Avenue, Dewey Beach has a few new ideas: raise the road and install a pump.

“We might finally be on track to getting a solution,”

~ Rick Judge, Chairman Infrastructure Committee

“We might finally be on track to getting a solution,” said Rick Judge, chairman of the freshly formed infrastructure committee, which held its inaugural meeting Sat., Jan. 23.

The committee approved a set of parameters for the Bayard project. First, the drainage pipe – clogged with sediment, collapsed in places and largely nonfunctional – must be replaced, along with the bayside street’s drainage basins. In its current state, Judge said the pipe actually brings water into Dewey and keeps it there.

“The existing drain is a holding stage for the bay water. It isn’t draining out,” he said. The outfall location and volume of the drainage also needs to be regulated, he said, to avoid eroding or disturbing the surrounding wetlands.

To get water off Bayard and into the bay, Judge said the town should install a pump. While engineers should determine the best location, Judge said the pump should be submersible and noiseless.

Judge said engineers should also devise a plan for raising the road 6 to 12 inches above its current elevation. Intersecting streets would need to be graded accordingly, he said.

To hold back the bay, the committee proposes a living berm, pitched by the roads committee months ago. Judge said a 4-foot wall of compacted clay would be built around the rotted timber bulkhead and covered with a hill of vegetation 10 feet wide on either side.

Committee members shared their cost estimates. Albert Genemans said the project would likely cost $250,000 to $300,000, but Judge and Vice Chairman Mike Harmer placed the cost around $500,000. The roadwork would cost the most, with Judge’s tentative figure falling around $225,000.

Harmer said he’d draft a request for proposals and invite engineering firms to bid on the project. Duffield Associates, a Georgetown-based engineering firm, was selected for the project’s preliminary study, but commissioners voted to send the design phase to public bid. Harmer said several firms have already expressed interest. Richard McCabe of George,

Miles & Buhr in Seaford stood to publicly announce his firm’s intention to bid the project. Harmer said water company Artesian Resources had also expressed interest.

If the plan is approved by town council, Judge said the committee will wait for the summer crowds to clear out before beginning construction. If construction starts in October, he said, it should finish by December. Meanwhile, the town will secure the necessary state permits and seek grants to alleviate the financial strain of a half-million-dollar project.

“We’re striving to be efficient and to please everyone,” Judge said. “It won’t be easy, but that’s what we’re striving for.”

Because the grant process can sometimes last months, former Mayor Pat Wright suggested completing the project in stages: build what you can with the funds available, she said, and complete the rest as grant money flows in.
Mayor Rick Solloway said incoming Town Manager Diana Smith would aggressively pursue grant money. But in the event of a shortfall, Solloway said, the town is prepared to fund the difference. “I can’t commit to a dollar amount,” he said, “but I’m very comfortable in saying we’ll find a way, and the project won’t be held up.”

Melanie Tymes, a representative from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), said Dewey has a head start on the permitting process. Public opposition is often what delays a permit, Tymes said – the project’s visibility and the involvement of Dewey citizens bodes well for a speedy permitting.
Judge said the town has been careful to include DNREC in its planning.

“We’ve worked so long and so hard with so many of the departments,” Judge said. “We’ve listened to them, they’ve listened to us, and we’re moving forward together.”

Commissioners are set to discuss and possibly vote on the infrastructure committee’s recommendation at the Saturday, Feb. 13 council meeting.