It looks like part of Broad Branch Road is about to end up in Broad Branch Stream

by Marlene Berlin

Flash floods closed parts of Broad Branch Road more than a few times this summer, including a three-week stretch from the end of July into August, when DDOT had to perform substantial repairs between Brandywine and Davenport Streets. This was after a downpour turned Broad Branch Stream into a river, ripping up sections of the roadbed.

Substantial work has been done on the west side of the roadway at the Soapstone culvert north of the Broad Branch and Beach Drive intersection.

But little has been done to build up the roadbed on the stream side, just north of the culvert. Here, the stream has been high and close to the road as it is, and the roadbed has taken a beating from the summer’s flash floods.

From the West Ridge Trail, it is easy to see the degradation of the roadbed.

It doesn’t look like it would take much to wipe out this section of Broad Branch Road. Will the remnants of Hurricane Michael do the job? Or another storm? DDOT has been planning an overhaul of the 1.7 mile stretch between Linnean Avenue and Beach Drive since 2011. Negotiations with embassies with land adjoining the roadway are ongoing, and at last word, DDOT was preparing for meetings this fall to determine the next steps.