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Delaware

Started by Alex, February 11, 2009, 10:22:27 PM

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Alex4897

An example of that being various stretches of Kirkwood Highway during rush hour.
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jeffandnicole

Quote from: froggie on September 04, 2013, 03:20:40 AM
Not necessarily.  Even if traffic becomes more congested, traffic will eventually reach an equilibrium.  With *NUMEROUS* examples both across the country and even within Delaware, even if "traffic gets bad", the powers-that-be may well just sit and not do anything about it.


It's not that they won't do anything about it, but they may be limited on their options.  Depending on how much they listen to the local residents and businesses, they may make small improvements.  But if residents don't want a bypass for whatever reason, DelDOT may be hesitant to spend the money when there are other issues statewide where the money can be spent.

The Kirkwood Hwy (the Concord Pike is another example) has been tinkered with over the years, but with businesses and parking lots up against the road, it gets trickier trying to widen it.

Alex4897

I noticed DelDOT has gone ahead with truncating DE 2 to the intersection of Main Street in Newark.  Anyone have pics of the new DE 279 shields that should've been installed from this?
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roadman65

After hearing this thread, I now understand why Delaware only has one interstate in one county and at less than 25 miles.  Obviously they hate freeways, and it was because of the heavy beach traffic on US 13 through New Castle and Northern Kent Counties that got the DE 1 Turnpike off the ground.

Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

froggie

QuoteAfter hearing this thread, I now understand why Delaware only has one interstate in one county and at less than 25 miles.  Obviously they hate freeways, and it was because of the heavy beach traffic on US 13 through New Castle and Northern Kent Counties that got the DE 1 Turnpike off the ground.

It's moreso the fact that, when the Interstate system was designed and largely built, there was basically nothing in Delaware south of the C&D canal (excluding Dover proper and Dover AFB).  Yes, there was beach traffic, but not a whole lot and  Delaware had already largely 4-laned US 13, US 113, and DE 1 by the end of the 1950s so there wasn't a pressing need for a freeway route.  That has largely come within the past 20-30 years, well past the peak of the Interstate.

elsmere241


jeffandnicole

I like the residents & politicians that complain about how these plans will destroy the 'historic' town...which is mostly made up of relatively newer homes.  If anything, wouldn't cutting access improve the historic area by limiting the amount of thru-traffic the town would see?

Here's a GM aerial shot of the area: http://goo.gl/maps/Bt6TS .  Zoom out to see the larger picture of what I'm talking about here.

Of the 4 ways to exit the town, 3 ultimately lead to DE 273 only.  Even if the intersection here is shut down, there are still 3 ways to exit the town: Via Old Baltimore Pike onto 273 (about 1/2 - 3/4 mile north of the intersection they want to close), towards a shopping center which leads onto 273, and then North on DE 7 towards an existing interchange with DE 1, which is near Christiana Mall.

So, I can see DelDOT's point of view - the intersection they want to close is mostly redundent.  It's the one furthest removed from the main part of town, and traffic can still access the 2 roadways. 

They can possibly eliminate one light at the interchange with DE 1 by creating a SPUI type intersection under Rt. 1, although it'll be a bit tight to wedge in as the interchange wasn't built for such a intersection.

Alex4897

I personally think that DelDOT needs to find an alternative without cutting Main Street access.  Most other exits are congested, narrow, or empty out in bad places.  That, the presence of the fire department, and its flood emergency usage make it IMO un-removable.
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elsmere241


Alex

Widening, lights, turn lanes planned in Del. 72 project

QuoteThe state Department of Transportation this month detailed plans to widen a mile-long section of Del. 72 at U.S. 40 by adding a through lane in both directions from Del Laws Road to GBC Drive. The $21-million project would include additional east- and westbound left-turn lanes along U.S. 40 at Del. 72.

DelDOT first proposed the safety and congestion fixes in 1999 but postponed plans in 2005 due to budget constraints. More recently, the intersection made the state's 2011 list of high-crash sites with 89 collisions over three years.

QuoteConstruction would begin in late 2016 at the earliest...

QuoteOther safety improvements include eliminating left turns onto Broadleaf Drive from northbound Del. 72 and prohibiting left turns from southern end of Fox Run Circle onto northbound Del. 72.

Plans also include a new signal at Wrangle Hill and Del Laws roads.

DelDOT estimates construction would take two years. The agency is accepting comments on the plans through Oct. 10.

elsmere241

Quote from: Alex4897 on September 13, 2013, 06:40:31 PM
I personally think that DelDOT needs to find an alternative without cutting Main Street access.  Most other exits are congested, narrow, or empty out in bad places.  That, the presence of the fire department, and its flood emergency usage make it IMO un-removable.

This at least explains DelDOT's reasoning:

http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/sr1/sr1-wide/pdf/September12ChristianaMeeting_v5.pdf

Alex4897

I think they should upgrade the stretch of Old Baltimore Pike in between DE 273 and Christiana in conjunction with cutting most movements from Main Street.
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Alex4897

And in the long run, I think an interchange between Rte 273 and Old Baltimore Pike would help, in conjunction with widening both roads.


I drew out DelDOTs current plans over at Rte 1 for reference.
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Alex4897

#338
Some Wikipedia writer decided to write about the "I-99 Corridor" from Delaware to South Carolina using DE 1, US 13, and a few other routes.
According to the one source that the article mentioned (which was a report that Virginia did on the matter, which included responses from involved states), Delaware was the only one that seemed interested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Interstate_Highways#Interstate_99_.28Delaware.E2.80.93South_Carolina.29
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Alex

Del. 1 expansion may provide noise relief to some neighborhoods

QuoteNoise relief concessions could account for $10 million or more of the $180 million in costs to widen Del. 1 from Del. 273 to the Roth Bridge, highway officials said Tuesday night.

QuoteThe project would add one lane in each direction between Del. 273 and the south side of the & D Canal, with work starting with the northernmost — and oldest — two-lane section some time after 2015.

Plans call for a third lane each way between Del. 273 and Tybouts Corner, and a fourth lane each way between Tybouts and the south side of the Roth Bridge, along with reconstruction of four interchanges.

The Roth Bridge was designed to carry four lanes of traffic and will not require additional construction, only re-striping of the lanes, officials have said.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: Alex on September 25, 2013, 09:06:22 AM
Del. 1 expansion may provide noise relief to some neighborhoods

QuoteNoise relief concessions could account for $10 million or more of the $180 million in costs to widen Del. 1 from Del. 273 to the Roth Bridge, highway officials said Tuesday night.

QuoteThe project would add one lane in each direction between Del. 273 and the south side of the & D Canal, with work starting with the northernmost – and oldest – two-lane section some time after 2015.

Plans call for a third lane each way between Del. 273 and Tybouts Corner, and a fourth lane each way between Tybouts and the south side of the Roth Bridge, along with reconstruction of four interchanges.

The Roth Bridge was designed to carry four lanes of traffic and will not require additional construction, only re-striping of the lanes, officials have said.

QuoteHighway officials have said the work is needed to ease traffic congestion, improve safety, provide for emergency needs and accommodate planned and anticipated development.

Except..."provide for emergency needs" would generally mean shoulders on the roadway.  By restriping the Roth bridge from 3 lanes to 4, they elimiinate the emergency access.  If they stripe the new left lane close to the left barrier, that'll at least an okay but less than standard right shoulder. If they restripe the bridge to provide equal left and right shoulder widths, it leaves no room for unimpeded vehicle access.

Alex4897

So I drove home through the mall interchange today as they were hanging BGSs along the new northbound 1-95 ramp.  One had been hung and another was being assembled on the ground.  A crane was lifting an exit plate into place as I passed.
The sign that was up had a shield for I-95 north on top.  The rest of the sign was divided in half, the right had a sign declaring destinations for I-295, New York, and New Jersey.  The left had destinations listed as I-495, Wilmington, and Philly.
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ChezeHed81

Alex4897 was referring to this sign:






Route 1 will have a new left exit, number 165 C, to I-95 northbound.  It will reduce the weaving conflict from mall traffic to Route 7 northbound and I-95 southbound versus Route 1 exiting traffic to I-95 northbound.  In effect, there will be 3 lanes of traffic exiting from Route 1 northbound to I-95 northbound instead of the current 1.  Exit 165 C's right lane and Exit 165 B will merge together before entering I-95 on the right side.  Exit 165 C's left lane will enter I-95 northbound on the left, taking over the left lane.  I-95 will retain 5 lanes through Churchman's Marsh.

Does anybody know why Exit 165 seems to be suffixed backwards?  As one travels northbound, the suffixes run C, B, then A.  Shouldn't A be the first suffix reached when traveling northbound?

Alex4897

Yea, that's the sign I was referring to.

As for the exit numbers, I'm assuming it has to do with how everything was numbered before construction of the new interchange, although I never paid attention to exit suffixes so I can't attest to this.
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PHLBOS

Quote from: ChezeHed81 on September 29, 2013, 10:38:45 PM
Alex4897 was referring to this sign:


I guess DelDOT didn't get the memo prohibiting the use of state names as control destinations.  Although, IMHO, the use of such in this instance makes greater sense.

Granted, it could be argued that the use of New York could refer to NYC. 

Additionally, DelDOT aslo forgot about the only approved/recommended use of the Clearview font is for the control destinations and nothing else.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

jeffandnicole

I would've liked to see larger shields as well.  The lettering is nice and large, but the shields are more suited for a small, low speed roadway, not Rt. 1.

elsmere241

Quote from: PHLBOS on September 30, 2013, 08:29:46 AM
Additionally, DelDOT aslo forgot about the only approved/recommended use of the Clearview font is for the control destinations and nothing else.

That's one thing they've never understood with Clearview.

PHLBOS

Quote from: elsmere241 on September 30, 2013, 09:26:39 AM
Quote from: PHLBOS on September 30, 2013, 08:29:46 AM
Additionally, DelDOT aslo forgot about the only approved/recommended use of the Clearview font is for the control destinations and nothing else.

That's one thing they've never understood with Clearview.
Maryland's the same way.  It seems as though DelDOT copied Maryland's specs. for Clearview applications and exit tab layouts.

Quote from: jeffandnicole on September 30, 2013, 08:59:21 AM
I would've liked to see larger shields as well.  The lettering is nice and large, but the shields are more suited for a small, low speed roadway, not Rt. 1.
Agree.  One positive is at least the 3di-shields (the 3-di shields are using the correct FWHA series fonts (series C).
GPS does NOT equal GOD

OracleUsr

Quote from: elsmere241 on September 30, 2013, 09:26:39 AM
Quote from: PHLBOS on September 30, 2013, 08:29:46 AM
Additionally, DelDOT aslo forgot about the only approved/recommended use of the Clearview font is for the control destinations and nothing else.

That's one thing they've never understood with Clearview.

I still think Virginia's implementation at the Dulles Access/Toll Road is really butt-ugly.  Narrow tab, LEFT banner in Clearview...At least Delaware TRIED for MUTCD compliance.
Anti-center-tabbing, anti-sequential-numbering, anti-Clearview BGS FAN

cpzilliacus

Quote from: OracleUsr on September 30, 2013, 06:18:27 PM
Quote from: elsmere241 on September 30, 2013, 09:26:39 AM
Quote from: PHLBOS on September 30, 2013, 08:29:46 AM
Additionally, DelDOT aslo forgot about the only approved/recommended use of the Clearview font is for the control destinations and nothing else.

That's one thing they've never understood with Clearview.

I still think Virginia's implementation at the Dulles Access/Toll Road is really butt-ugly.  Narrow tab, LEFT banner in Clearview...At least Delaware TRIED for MUTCD compliance.

Don't blame VDOT - both roads are under jurisdiction of the  Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).
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