Durham’s meandering Cooks Creek floods Red Bridge Road

Durham Township residents whose homes were ravaged by Tropical Storm Ida continue to face massive cleanup operations and the township itself expects a hefty road repair bill.
Residents who normally bask in the natural beauty of Red Bridge Road, which lies along meandering Cooks Creek witnessed nature’s ferocity Sept. 1 as a flash flood unleashed by Ida swept through, damaging houses, a machine shop and out-buildings, tearing through lawns and ripping up fences and portions of the road.
Flood waters from Cooks Creek also surged into the Village of Durham along Durham Road and Old Furnace roads, flooding homes and dumping mud over the first floor of the tiny U.S. Post Office situated in the Durham Grist Mill.
The replica Durham boat housed in a pavilion on the adjacent Village Green had to be tied to a tree to ensure its safety, according to Roadmaster Peter Cox.
Cooks Creek flood waters raged,  under and over Durham Road and along Rattlesnake Road, cutting wide swaths that wiped out wide stretches of cornfields and tossed debris and rocks into the creek bed.
Cox met with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Sept. 15 and toured the affected properties.
Danielle Cox, township administrator-secretary, said the supervisors met to approve a disaster declaration Sept. 2 and President Joseph R. Biden granted a major disaster declaration Sept. 10, triggering a release of federal funds. She said 17 township homes were damaged and three were uninhabitable.
She also provided the following list of road damage and estimated repair costs: (Durham Road and Route 212 are state roads so the state is responsible for those repairs. Red Bridge and Old Furnace roads are township-owned.)
A 250-foot section of Red Bridge Road was washed away. The road, lined with dumpsters, is temporarily closed but accessible to fire and emergency vehicles. Cost: $38,000.
On Durham Road, a portion of the road edge was washed out and the guide rail compromised. Cost $20,000.

The Route 212 and Red Bridge Road creek embankment is washed out under Route 212 and now undercut 10 to 15 feet and is considered a potential disaster by the township road crew. Repair costs could reach $3 million due to the height of the drop-off.
Debris removal and dumpsters from homes on Red Bridge and Old Furnace roads. Cost, $5,000.
Rescue operations, some extremely dangerous, involving fire company and township personnel. Cost, $27,000.
Park cleanup and debris removal. Cost, $1,000.
The Stouts Valley Bridge that crosses Cooks Creek at the intersection of Stouts Valley, Rattlesnake and Red Bridge roads is owned by Bucks County, and the township asked the county bridge commission to inspect it. The bridge is in poor condition and although there is no visible damage, the flood waters poured over the top of the bridge railing during the flood.
The good news, according to the roadmaster, is that the repairs made to Dogwood Lane after torrential rain several years ago did hold up during the flood. The work there is complete with the exception of guide rails now in the design stage.
In other business at the meeting, the roadmaster reported the township had purchased an equipment trailer, complete with chains and binders and priced at $7,234 from Ringo Hill Farms Equipment Co. in Springfield Township. It had previously budgeted $10,000 for the trailer.
The supervisors approved the hiring of Donald Crouse as a part-time skilled laborer for $15 per hour. He will work with the road crew.
An open house at the Durham Grist Mill on Oct. 9 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. will feature tours of the mill.

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