First on Potomac Local: Residents, Stafford officials band together to fix water-logged portion of Brooke Road

STAFFORD– Brooke Road in Stafford has flooded five times in 2018.

Rising water has caused damage to the road and is a safety hazard for local residents.

“Brooke Road is built on low-lying terrain between the intersection of Andrew Chapel Road and its endpoint at Aquia Landing. This area of Brooke Road parallels Accokeek Creek and is located in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mapped floodplain,” said Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kelly Hannon.

Cindy Shelton, the Aquia District representative on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors for also has her eyes on the problem.

“I believe the flooding is a result of poor stormwater management and we are testing that theory. To fix it, we are educating residents in how they should be managing their stormwater ponds and rain gardens,” Shelton states in an email to Potomac Local. “We have some issues there that may not be easy to solve. We intend to allocate funds to validate the size and/or amounts of culvert shunting water from the hills under the road. We have a study whose results will be released soon.”

According to Shelton, correcting this issue will require work from different organizations. It’s up to Homeowners and HOAs for to manage private stormwater ponds in their neighborhoods, while VDOT is responsible for maintaining culverts, she adds.

Hannon explained the flooding and VDOTs role in preventing it.

“The Virginia Department of Transportation maintains the ditches alongside Brooke Road in the state right-of-way and clears drainage pipes underneath the pavement to keep as much water flowing off Brooke Road as possible.”

Stafford hit hard by heavy rains 

Hannon also said the amount of rain that has fallen in the area is contributing to increased flooding.

“According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), approximately 40.1 inches of rainfall has fallen between January and August of this year for the Washington, D.C., metro area,” said Hannon. “This amount already exceeds the total rainfall reported for 2017 at 35.6 inches and 2016 at 31.70 inches. This year’s intense rainfall events has resulted in more flooding and damage to numerous roads in the area.”

It’s a story that the residents in Stafford County’s Park Ridge neighborhood know all-too-well. This summer, a massive sinkhole formed at the intersection of Eustace Road and Legal Court following heavy rains.

It’s repaired now, but it was just one of the rain-related issues in Stafford County VDOT was forced to address this summer. Work is underway now to repair a failed slope on Coal Landing Road that was damaged due to rain, and VDOT crews plan to repair pipes on Parkway Boulevard and Poplar Road this month.

Neighbors band together for a fix

Residents of the neighborhoods off Brooke road are getting actively involved in proposing solutions for their community via a Facebook Group, Friends of Brooke Road. The administrator of this group and President of a local HOA Karen Kalinski started the group after reflecting on how the floods could impact residents in times of an emergency.

“In 2018, the road has been closed or unpassable to all cars approximately five times.  One of the road closures was during Valentine’s Day week and I was coming home from working at Achara Florist and I had to hike through the woods to get home to get some sleep so that I could be rested for the next day,” Kalinski states in an email. “It was that or pay for a night in a hotel.  I knew I could make it through the woods so I went for it. A month after that, my dad collapsed while he was visiting and the Brooke Fire Station emergency personnel responded quickly and saved his life. It hit me hard to think that my dad may have died if the road had been flooded and the response time may have been longer.”

Different organizations have come together to mitigate the safety risk to residents who travel on Brooke Road, said Kalinski, who thanked Shelton and federal officials for their response to the recent flooding.

“… the Emergency Response Team and the National Guard stepped up this past week and had a High Water Vehicle at the ready since we anticipated more flooding than we got.  It was good to know that plans were in place to be able to quickly reach the residents of the area in case of emergency,” she said.

VDOT plans to make some repairs to stabilize a portion of Brooke road, though these repairs do not directly relate to prevention of flooding.

“Starting Monday, October 1, VDOT will be starting a project to stabilize a slope supporting a section of Brooke Road between Camp Geary Lane and Marlborough Point Road. The road will always remain open to traffic, but drivers can expect single lane closures with one-way, alternating traffic in this area on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The project is expected to be underway through November 2018,” said Hannon.

The planned work is separate from work underway now on the lower portion of Brooke Road in Stafford County. That $7.3 million project aims to straighten the winding portion of Brooke Road.