'Comes with the territory:' Harmony Church Road to be closed for 3 weeks to address erosion

Road closure in Darlington tied to global warming

Jeff Hager

Hello! I cover Harford and Cecil counties for WMAR-2 News. If you have a story idea to share, please email me at [email protected].

DARLINGTON, Md. —  A road grader is already preparing Harmony Church Road in Darlington for work, which will shut down the road for three weeks, and residents we spoke with are taking it in stride.

“There are a couple of bridges on the road that in our time here, they’ve closed the road for months to repair those bridges or to put in a new bridge,” said Peter Griffiths. “I think it comes with the territory of living out in a rural area that you are going to be inconvenienced every once in a while."

The work which will close the cut through from Priestford Road to Nobles Mill Road will address erosion along Deer Creek that threatens the road’s surface.

A study out of College Park eight years ago identified this stretch as one of the top ten in Harford County that is becoming threatened by an increased number of storms and their intensity due to global warming.

“We’ve lived out here for 25, 30 years and we have noticed that the heavier rainfall has eroded the road, and they’ve had to grade it and smooth it out much more frequently,” said Griffiths. “So I think it’s a good plan to be pro-active.”