NE Branch Detour

If you ride the NE Branch Trail of the ATTS you may have noticed that a section of it is closed for construction work on the levee.

Frequent commenter JeffB Jeff L was kind enough to take this photo and to ask the PG County Department of Public Works and Transportation about the work.

Work will be done in sections and as each section is completed, work will move to the next section. There is no definitive schedule as work depends upon what needs to be done in a particular section, weather, etc.

They will not be setting up detour routes; however, prior to and during construction of a section, bikers will be alerted to the section closure by variable message boards.  Bikers may use County roadways; however, they will not be paving any areas for detours.  Given budget constraints and safety concerns, temporarily paving sections would not be feasible.  They have coordinated the bike trail aspect with Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission.  They are the lead agency related to bikers and will do periodic postings on their website.

The work is mandated by the Army Corps of Engineers in response to Hurricane Katrina.  The levee system has to be raised with no vegetation.  The County is funding the project through tax dollars - there was no federal earmark, nor was it part of an economic stimulus project..  Work will be supervised by County staff and performed by a contractor.  If the work were not done and a flood were to occur, the County could not apply for emergency reimbursements and people would not be able to purchase flood insurance. 

The project was brought to the community via public meetings, local municipalities were notified and Park and Planning took the lead with, and interfaced with, the bicycle community.  They have it posted on their website, and it is posted on DPWT's website, as well.

Comments

[PdE]

The NE Branch trail is currently closed between Riverdale Rd. and Decatur St. Taylor Rd. is an easy detour. Going south (downstream) on the trail, turn right on Riverdale and left on Taylor. Taylor ends at Decatur, the trail resumes at the intersection. I understand budget constraints but it would not cost THAT much to post a couple of signs for the detour.

[oboe]

@PdE,

And PG officials said they'd "get the word out" via "various message boards".

See! The system works!

[Greenbelt]

The detour on the far (east?) side of the river is actually very nice too, although a quarter mile or so is dirt double track. I made a video of both detour routes: http://vimeo.com/41526455

[JeffB]

Much as I am an all around great guy I think the credit has been misplaced.

Some other Jeff?

[Greenbelt]

Yes, some other Jeff.

[Mike]

Did they put up signs on the trail during the planning process?

[Dave]

I rode through there yesterday northbound - took Taylor Rd to Riverdale. It was fine. No idea how I was supposed to know that, I just tried to stay parallel to the river. It's an easy route though, Taylor Rd is a nice neighborhood street.

Thanks to the useless PG officials who can't be bothered to put up a sign. Maybe because this project isn't packed with layers of back-scratching and corruption.

[Greenbelt]

I think the outreach to local communities was meager at best. We never heard about this up in Greenbelt or College Park, and there are lots of local newspaper that will print notices for free.

My main concern is the amount of time this is scheduled to take -- at least a year. Why does it need to take so long? I fear a more typical dig and depart construction process (like the portion of the NW Branch trail that's still dug up after 7 months by the new skatepark). I hope to take pictures of the site every couple weeks to assess the progress.

I'm also interested in why the Corps of Engineers is making the county do this? Is it that the levees are too low for higher projected flow heights in floods? Is it because the levees need to be strenghten to withstand longer floodstage periods?

From my perspective, there has been very little transparency on this so far.

[washcycle]

Yes, not JeffB, JeffL

[Jim T]

Presumably the outreach was to the flood-prone communities who wanted this the upgrade.

The Corps can not make the county do anything. But its certifications have legal significance for those who want federal subsidies.

The problem here is that people built homes in floodplains and originally tolerated occasional flooding. As development made the ground less permeable, the flow of the river during floods worsened; and as sea level rises, the natural drainage worsens. These days, FEMA often buys out the flood-prone homes, but a few decades ago the fashionable thing to do was build a levee.

The same processes continued, and warmer atmospheric temperatures further intensifies rainstorms. So the levees are inadequate--and in a worst-case scenario they could be overtopped, fail, and people would be as flooded as if they were not there.

FEMA offers people flood insurance at a subsidized rate. One of the subsidies has to do with people behind levees. If the levee is certified as able to withstand a 100-year storm, then the rate is calculated as if the levee will hold for any storm. But if the levee can not withstand a 100-year storm, then the rate is calculated as if that levee may fail.

So if they don't make this repair, we will have a bunch of people in that area suddenly paying flood insurance premiums roughly equal to their annual tax bill. And if they opt out of buying flood insurance, they will be ineligible for other disaster insurance.

[think a little]

Is this a detour around the rapists?

[washcycle]

Huh?

[Jim T]

He was talking about Northwest Branch.

[Dave]

@washcycle - he's referring to this - http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/five-women-attacked-near-west-hyattsville-metro-042912

[think a little]

yeah...that little problem.

If memory serves the NE and NW branches both serve the Hyattsville area meeting near the metro station.