Road work is underway on Sunnyside Road to prevent flooding and ease congestion. Sunnyside Road is one of a limited number of east-west crossings over the north-south railway line that divides Beltsville from Greenbelt. As a result, it – like Powder Mill Road – carries significant traffic. It also acts as a southern alternative to the even more congested bridge on Powder Mill Road.
Sunnyside frequently floods and, on June 3, 2018, seven people had to be retrieved from their cars when they attempted to drive along the flooded road. As Prince George’s County Fire Department spokesman Mark Brady tweeted laconically, ‘Seven people were assisted to high ground by PGFD Tech Rescue – Swift Water Team. Occupants OK – cars not so much.”
The road improvements will raise the level of the road overall and elevate it where the flood waters now cross at the road’s low point, accommodating the wetlands beneath and around it.
Read more of this story in the January 10 News Review
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