BOWERS BEACH, Del.-- Governor John Carney made his way to Bowers Beach Wednesday afternoon to learn about a project that will help with coastal flooding in the area.
DelDOT crews said they've been in talks with residents for a few years now to fix the flooding issue that stretches about three-fourths of a mile of South Bowers Road.
Director of Transportation Resiliency & Sustainability Jim Pappas said the road has been as much as two feet underwater--making it a tricky commuting situation.
"If that one location, or if that one road is shut down, there's no emergency access, there's no community that can get in and out, the mail can't get delivered, medicines can't get delivered to the mail, so it's a significant concern," he explained.
The fix is the first of its kind. DelDOT crews said it's a durable, cheaper solution: adding a roughly 5-inch thin type of porous asphalt material on top of the road, as opposed to a full reconstruction.
"Normal, conventional materials would actually dam the water from going one side of the road to the other," Pappas said. "This material is actually going to allow the water, because it's got about 20 percent of voids in it, it actually allows the water to flow through it."
Gov. Carney said the area is a prime location to try the initiative out.
"That kind of experimentation is a priority in the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill," he said. "There's additional money for innovative projects, which this is one, and it's these kinds of project that enables us to address the real concerns that people in this community have."
Officials said the First State expects to invest about $680,000 for this project and construction could begin as early as summer. DelDOT said the work will take about a four to six weeks to complete.