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Residents of Potomac neighborhood relieved as Belfast Road reopens following washout

Residents of a Potomac, Maryland, neighborhood cut off for nearly a week after flooding washed away parts of the only access road are once again able to drive to and from their homes.

Monday’s torrential rainfalls wiped out a large section of Belfast Road, leaving more than 70 families unable to access their homes, Montgomery County said in a news release. For the past week, residents relied on shuttle buses to get in and out of their neighborhood.

Workers from the Montgomery County Department of Transportation worked tirelessly to fix the road, and following several days of infrastructure work, including the use of large amounts of gravel, Belfast Road reopened Sunday morning.

Residents affected by the road closure commended the department for its quick response.

“They’ve been great. They got it fixed as quickly as possible, and they had a shuttle running for us. So it wasn’t that big of an inconvenience, given the magnitude of what happened,” resident Rich Gale told WTOP.

More work is needed, including paving the road, but WTOP’s Mike Murillo reported those measures do not require a further closure of Belfast Road.[custom_gallery]

Md. business groups cheer Beltway-widening plan; former Gov. Glendening calls approach ‘nonsense’

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today. Groups representing commuters and businesses urged the Maryland Department of Transportation to move forward with Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.’s plan to widen two interstate highways that run through Montgomery County.
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