INDIAN RIVER INLET, Del. — Waves have breached the dune on the northbound side of the Indian River Inlet bridge, causing flooding on Route 1. Northbound was closed by DelDOT officials at 9:45 a.m.
The flooding happened around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Despite the presence of water on the roadway, Route 1 initially remained open earlier in the morning, with officials advising drivers to exercise extreme caution while navigating this section of the road.
The Atlantic has breached the dunes along the Indian River Inlet and is now washing onto Route 1. A long duration coastal flood event is currently ongoing along the Delaware coast. Currently we are going through a 2 day stretch of coastal flooding, which is equal to the number of days it used to happen all year long. This rise in coastal flood days is a result of sea level rises of more than 10 inches since 1950 along the Delaware coast.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.