The proposed implementation of the FY18 - FY23 Capital Transportation Plan pegs a US 40 / DE 896 interchange commencing construction in FY22, with prep design work and ROW acquisition starting now. This document is a few months old, so I'm not sure how accurate the dates are at this point. Nonetheless, it's a ballpark estimate.
http://www.deldot.gov/information/pubs_forms/CTP/ctp18-23/FY18-FY23-CTPProposedProjectImplementation.pdf?02242017
For a project that far out, the dates are probably good...they generally don't change schedules every few months. Delaware does a pretty decent job of keeping up with their time estimates. I'm used to NJDOT scheduling where whatever FY the project is proposed, count on it being pushed back a year or two (or 5 or 10 or....)
Does it really take 5-7 years to get everything done, i feel like traffic will be worse @273, @896 @harmony road/I-95 because the traffic is already ridiculous. They need to change the way processing construction & ROW goes because all the projects are to slow. Im happy they are finally fixing roads & stuff but just 2-3 years ago nothing was happening. I think the biggest project was the winding of SR1 from U.S40 to SR 273
In short, yes. There's a LOT of behind the scenes stuff that takes place. Look at it this way: If DOT wanted to build a road and take your house, you won't be pleased. You'll want as much money as possible. Negotiations take place. And so forth. So the ROW isn't just a matter of buying up land.
But before that, they need to design the road and the overpass. They need to figure out what traffic will be like in 25 years. They need to get an idea of the future building in the area...what will be developed, what the county thinks will happen. They'll want to know travel patterns on 95. They'll want to know travel patterns on 301. They'll want to know how much UD will grow. There's a lot of information to gather. And based on that, they'll come up with numerous plans to build the overpass. How many lanes. How many ramps. Diamonds...cloverleafs...DDIs...SPUIs...partial Diamonds...and the list goes on. They'll get public input.
And public input...that is an eye opener. You'll have people like yourself saying the project should've been done 5 years ago. You'll have others saying the project shouldn't be done at all. Why not better mass transit? Why not build a train line? Just add bicycle lanes...that'll resolve the issue. Everyone is an expert...and they'll gladly tell DelDOT they always do it wrong, and they should do it their way. You'll have homeowners and business owners questioning how much land they're going to take. Are they going to lose their house? If they don't take their house, will they have a highway at their front door? And then there's elected officials, who, imo, get a little more say than they should. If they are really opinionated one way or another about the project, they could sway DelDOT in a way 100 homeowners feeling the opposite way can't.
So DelDOT has to take all that public comment and decide what the people like the best. Even if the majority are against the project, DelDOT knows they have to do something. So they look at the best possible plan with the fewest issues. It is many times not as simple as just agreeing to something. That best possible plan may double the estimated cost of the project. It may encroach on wetlands. How do they route traffic thru the intersection during construction? The best laid plans may become stuck in mud if they can't keep traffic maintained thru the project area during construction.
Once all of that is decided on, then they have to start with the ROW process.
If you're still reading this...remember, this goes on for every single project they want to execute. Even a simple traffic light can take years. Because if your house is on that corner, and they tell you they need 40 feet of your yard to build a few extra lanes, and light poles will be shining in your house, are you going to be happy about it? Probably not.
And finally, remember...you are looking at this project thru blinders...you probably travel this intersection and see it as your biggest headache. DelDOT had to deal with hundreds of headaches throughout the state, and they have to decide which ones they want to tackle soonest. I seriously doubt DelDOT's biggest project a few years back was a minor widening on Route 1...which shows just how much work they are doing around the state which you aren't even aware of. A few years back, when you said they were doing nothing, they were rebuilding that 95/1 interchange. They were doing work in Kent and Sussex counties. They were planning on the 301 Bypass. They were rebuilding the 95/202 interchange. They were doing quite a lot!
Every project they're working on today had a long, multi-year history attached to it. It's finally 40/896's turn.