An article in today’s Delaware News Journal updates us on the long planned widening of Interstate 95 between Exits 4AB (Delaware 1 & 7) and 5A/B (U.S. 202 & Delaware 141) through Christiana Marsh.1 This work follows area projects completed within the last ten years including the extension of the Delaware 1 (& 7) freeway to include a partial-cloverleaf interchange with Delaware 58 (Churchmans Road) and the replacement of the Churchmans Road bridge over Interstate 95 with a new wider span (the new span accommodates the wider footprint of expanded Interstate 95).
Built between April 2005 and December 8, 2006, the $13 million Churchmans Road overpass spans Interstate 95 just east of its predecessor. The new bridge includes a bike path, but overall retains just two lanes with full shoulders/merge lanes (similar to the original span). Photo taken 12/23/06.
Widening of the most congested stretch of Interstate 95 between Baltimore and Philadelphia involves building an additional main line travel lane in both directions. Crews will add lanes on the outside of both carriageways, a process expected to take 1.5 years and cost $51 million according to the New Jersey firm R.E. Pierson Construction Co, the likely contractor for the work. Pierson can complete the work in much less time than two other contractors bidding on the work, but for a higher cost. DelDOT is waging time over money in their decision, a wise move given the daily congestion-related traffic jams on the stretch. At least four 11′ lanes will remain open at all times during the project.
A look at typical mid-afternoon traffic along Interstate 95 south through Christiana Marsh. The congestion occurs here because of two distinct reasons: The substandard ramps to/from Delaware 1 south of Interstate 95 at Exit 4 and the near coincidental left and right-hand merges of traffic onto Interstate 95 south from Interstate 295 south (left) and U.S. 202 & Delaware 141 (right). Photo taken 12/23/06.
According to 2005 traffic counts conducted by DelDOT, 189,485 vehicles a day traveled along Interstate 95 between Delaware 1 & 7 and the split with Interstate 295. Interstate 95 was lasted widened between Newark and Wilmington during the 1980s, and today’s News Journal article indicates 123,000 vehicles per day traveled on the same stretch of freeway in 1990. So why such a long wait in between expansion projects given the dramatic increase in traffic?
All of this ties into the overall improvement of Interstate 95 formally announced December 2, 2003, but in the works since the early 1990s. Improvement projects not only involve the widening of Interstate 95 through Christiana Marsh, but also a significant improvement to the antiquated Exit 4 (Delaware 1 & 7) interchange. Extreme growth of suburban areas along the U.S. 40 corridor between Bear and Glasgow, the U.S. 301 corridor between Glasgow and Middletown, and points south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal have placed an extreme duress on both the Delaware 1 freeway and full-cloverleaf interchange between Interstate 95 and Delaware 1 & 7. Issues with the substandard interchange between Interstate 95 and the Delaware 1 freeway were discussed over 15 years ago, yet no improvements were made (outside of structurally repairing the aging overpasses of Interstate 95 over Delaware 1 & 7 below during 1997).
A common traffic standstill at the Delaware 1 & 7 northbound off-ramp to Interstate 95 north (Exit 165B). Ramps emanating from the adjacent Christiana Mall complicate matters even more with multiple on-ramps. This problem has grown tremendously since 1997 and back-ups have been known to stem as far south as the Delaware 273 interchange. Photo taken 12/23/06.
The August 13, 1992 News Journal article “Big Road Projects Delayed” cites “Interstate 95’s new Delaware 7 interchange – Delayed one year, to 1996-97” as one of the projects delayed or removed due to a budget problem of the time. The delay was due to early fallacies involving moving money from the Transportation Trust Fund to the General Fund without securing its replenishment, issues that planted the seeds for the current Deldot fiscal crisis. Ten years in the future, not one shovel of dirt has yet turned to improve the junction, and it appears unlikely that that statement will be rendered untrue until at least 2010, barring more delays related to the ongoing DelDOT fiscal crisis.
A number of readers have commented both in the article and the adjoining forum that Interstate 95 is woefully inadequate through Christiana Marsh and in Delaware in general. One reader suggested regulating the traffic flow along the freeway and others point out that the widening will only augment the existing problem, not solve it.
Unfortunately when the almost 200,000 cars a day using that stretch include a wide mixture of through traffic between New Jersey and Maryland and commuter traffic between Newark, Bear, Middletown, and Wilmington, the concept of lane control is impractical if not impossible. One way to address this issue, and an issue not considered since perhaps the early days of the Delaware Turnpike, is to construct express and local lanes along Interstate 95. Express and local lanes, similar to that along Interstate 270 in Maryland and California 91 in Riverside County, partition traffic based upon its destination. The usual scenario involves high-speed lanes dedicated to traffic just passing through the local area, to destinations somewhere else, within the middle of the freeway right-of-way. These roadways generally involve just a few on and off-ramps, mostly between themselves and the parallel local lanes, to minimize the impact of weaving traffic concerns. Meanwhile the outside lanes resemble the traditional freeway with full access between all interchanges. Those lanes serve most commuting interests.
When the widening is completed, upgrading of the Delaware 1 & Interstate 95 interchange will commence. Thus far a high-speed flyover is planned from I-95 south to Delaware 1 south and the Delaware 1 north to I-95 northbound ramp will be expanded to two lanes. I do not believe this is enough to solve the problems at this major freeway junction, as other loop ramps and weaving traffic patterns will remain if not addressed by either collector/distributor lanes or additional high-speed ramps.
Further in the future are planned upgrades of Exits 1 (Delaware 896), 3 (Delaware 273), and 5A/B (U.S. 202 & Delaware 141). Similar issues exist there and no interchange upgrades have occurred since the 1980s.
Additional Sources
1 – “Churchmans Road bridge over I-95 completed.” The News Journal, December 8, 2006.
I-271 in greater Cleveland also has a great express lane system. It’s even better than the express lanes on I-270 in greater Washington. They’re wider and better marked.
It’s an intriguing idea. I use DE 141 to go to and from work these days. Crossing over I-95 (and I-295) there are five carriageways. Segregating traffic makes sense there. My question is, how could DelDOT tie in a local/express configuration from the south?
Something definitely needs to be done. At the PM rush hour, a significant destination for the traffic out of Wilmington on I-95 south is DE 1 south. What with all the weaving that stream of traffic has to do, it snarls all the streams that cross it.
Meanwhile, the new signage that’s started to pop up on I-95 as part of the “fifth lane” project leaves a bit to be desired.
Specifically – the text is all a size smaller. I have to squint to read numbers in shields. On the distance signs for upcoming interchanges, the numerals in “3 1/2” are all the same size, making the “1/2” the first thing you see.
We were emailed that Clearview signage has debuted along the scope of the I-95 5th Lane highway project. Any details?
Yes, the new signs all seem to have it. I wouldn’t say now that all the numerals on signs are too small, but sometimes they made the wrong choice. There is one particularly glaring sign with the “3 1/2” example I noted before.
What’s strange is that some signs have come up, and then come down again. one that comes to mind was on I-95 north just after the ramp from DE 141, warning about the height restriction on 95.