Speaking of Delaware...I noticed this evening that DelDOT is using "bubble shields" on I-495...
I did not use Interstate 95 once between Exit 109 in Maryland and Exit 3 in Delaware.I can't remember the last time I actually drove THROUGH the toll booths in Delaware, especially with a free alternate available with little or no time penalty.
A combination of speed limit-distance computation and personal experience (of which I've had a bit lately, with all these DC-Vermont trips I've been taking).
One thing I don't understand about your comment. If it takes longer to bypass around, how can that be "moving at a faster rate of speed"?
Something about use I-495 if over 14'6", I think.
Because it's DelDOT and oversigning things is right up there with carbon copying signs on their priority list.Something about use I-495 if over 14'6", I think.
But they already plaster that on the bottom of every Interstate 95/U.S. 202 north sign beyond the I-295 split, so why have even more signage? :crazy:
Something about use I-495 if over 14'6", I think.
A section of Del. 9 near Dover Air Force Base is closed for construction, the Delaware Department of Transportation says.
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The closing will allow for connection of new interchange ramps at Del. 1 with Del. 9 and Kitts Hummock Road.
Del. 9 will be closed between Kitts Hummock Road and Bergold Lane.
So Delaware has both State Route 9 and U.S. Route 9? I thought they didn't have identical numbers within the Interstate/US Highway/State Route numbering systems? :confused:Not in Delaware. Old US 202 is DE 202. I can't tell you how awful that situation is. They should have taken a page from US 322 in NJ and numbered it DE 204. Or Business 202 would work. At least US 9 doesn't come close to intersecting DE 9.
State and county officials are hoping a $75 million project will improve traffic flow along one of the area's main beach evacuation routes.
Instead of widening Del. 26, Delaware Department of Transportation officials said they plan to add turn lanes and signals in the coming years to reduce congestion.
According to officials, the Del. 26 project, which could break ground as soon as 2012
HMSHost, which has operated the plaza since it opened in 1964, won the bid to build a $32 million facility and run it for the next 35 years. The Maryland-based company operates more than 80 highway rest stops in North America.
"We want to be open for the July Fourth holiday," Wilkins said.
When the plaza closed in September, I-95 travelers were left without a rest stop for 95 miles, between the Chesapeake House rest stop in Maryland and the John Fenwick Service Area in New Jersey.
...all pile drivings have been completed, and work has begun on the approach foundations for the new $230 million bridge spanning the inlet, DelDOT said in a project update.
The new bridge design calls for a 2,600-foot-long bridge with a 900-foot span across the inlet. It will be supported by cables in a design similar to the Roth Bridge over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.
The inlet was 25 feet deep in 1965, but over time has deepened to 100 feet or more in some places.
It is expected to be completed in spring 2011.
"We want to be open for the July Fourth holiday," Wilkins said.
When the plaza closed in September, I-95 travelers were left without a rest stop for 95 miles, between the Chesapeake House rest stop in Maryland and the John Fenwick Service Area in New Jersey.
95 miles? Apparently they haven't been to Virginia post rest area closing. Besides the state line welcome centers, travelers going north on I-95 or I-85 (to I-95) don't have much in the way of rest areas anymore (as I found out today too).Same deal on I-81, with a few still scattered around along the route.
Northern Delaware’s transportation planning agency has released its recommendations for improving the region’s roads from 2011 through 2014.
The Wilmington Area Planning Council’s draft Transportation Improvement Program includes about $1.9 billion worth of projects in New Castle County and Cecil County, Md. The plan focuses on preserving existing infrastructure and addressing safety concerns, rather than new projects, because of funding shortfalls in the region, the agency said.
Key projects include adding two high-speed E-ZPass lanes to the I-95 toll plaza near Newark, improvements to the interchange at Del.1 and I-95, the U.S. 301 expressway near Middletown and rail track expansion in New Castle County.
Some projects, including the E-ZPass lanes on I-95, will be funded by the federal stimulus program.
The draft plan is available for public review at www.wilmapco.org/tip or at the WILMAPCO office, 850 Library Ave., Suite 100, Newark. A public workshop is scheduled for 4-7 p.m. Feb. 22 at WILMAPCO.
Nope...those are in suburban Maryland...
Del. 299 upgrades in works (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100215/NEWS/2150333/1006/Del.-299-upgrades-in-works)
Planning continues for stretch through Middletown near potential hospital site
The last time I was in Delaware, DelDOT was rebuilding the Delaware House. Are we to assume they're going to get rid of those "Duncan Hines logo" shields too?
(http://www.aaroads.com/delaware/delaware050/i-095_nb_exit_003a_06.jpg)
Or are they "Peek Freans logos?" I always thought those were funny names.
Pretty good chance they'll keep them.
From this fall...
(http://www.millenniumhwy.net/2009_Northeast_Day_5/Images/250.jpg)
I really wish they would keep those. They do look really neat, shape wise. They also look more like a Denny's logo.Ah yes, Denny's. Makes a lot more sense than "Peek Freans" or "Duncan Hines."
DelDOT's latest update on the project: "As of this week, all four footers of the bridge are complete. Eventually they will be put underground and not visible, however like the foundation of any structure they are key in giving the bridge its strength and long-term stability."
The new bridge design calls for a 2,600-foot-long bridge with a 900-foot span across the inlet. It will be supported by cables in a design similar to theRoth BridgeSR 1 Turnpike Bridge over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.
The current construction is the state's second try at a new bridge over the inlet. Problems with the first bridge approaches came to light in 2007, when fill dirt at the site began to shift and slip, creating a multimillion-dollar setback.
The contract was abandoned and re-advertised and the bridge re-designed. It is expected to be completed in spring 2011.
Drivers can visit the project Web site, www.irib.deldot.gov, to get traffic updates, view cameras or get more information on the construction
14.Corridor Management Plan
ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF A SCENIC BYWAY DESIGNATION IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT IDENTIFIES STRATEGIES DESIGNED TO PRESERVE THE UNIQUE AND IRREPLACEABLE ATTRIBUTES OF THE BYWAY.
THE RED CLAY VALLEY SCENIC BYWAY ALLIANCE, COMPRISED OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM NON-PROFIT AGENCIES, PRESERVATION GROUPS, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, STAKEHOLDERS, RESIDENTS OF THE AREA AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC, COMPLETED SUCH A CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN IN 2008.
ONE OF THE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS OF THAT PLAN WAS TO EXPLORE THE DELISTING OF STATE ROUTE 82 AS A STATE ROUTE, IN ORDER TO HELP PROTECT ITS INTRINSIC QUALITIES.
REMOVING THE STATE ROUTE DESIGNATION IS A STRATEGY THAT HAS BEEN USED IN OTHER COMMUNITIES IN AN EFFORT TO PRESERVE RESOURCES FOUND ALONG THEIR ROADWAY.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN 1998, APPROXIMATELY FIVE-AND-A-HALF MILES OF STATE ROUTE 82 LOCATED IN UNIONVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA WAS DELISTED BY THAT STATE IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE HISTORIC, VILLAGE CHARACTER OF THAT COMMUNITY.
When exactly will DE 82 be taken down? I will try my best at getting down there and getting shots of any DE 82 shields.
I think at that point they should just truncate 82 back to US 1 if DE 82 is canned
Heh, maybe DelDOT will supply us with more NJ 82 shields for Morris Avenue, if NJ thought of extending it into the city of Elizabeth further
Heh, maybe DelDOT will supply us with more NJ 82 shields for Morris Avenue, if NJ thought of extending it into the city of Elizabeth furtherThis is tending toward Fictional Highways, but not in a million years. 82 NEVER went straight. 24-S turned right on what is now 439 (which I'm sure you know). NJDOT is not about to take over another highway just for a number - quite the opposite, it's enjoyed dropping highways in city limits (see 124).
Construction of new high-speed E-ZPass lanes at the I-95 Newark toll plaza will begin in mid-April, the Delaware Department of Transportation announced.
The $32 million project will extend from the Del. 896 interchange to the Otts Chapel Road bridge area. It is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
A-Del Construction Co. of Newark was awarded the contract for the work, which will include conversion of the main plaza structure as well as the southbound satellite plaza, DelDOT said.
As many as 125,000 vehicles pass through the toll plaza at peak times during holidays and weekends, causing major backups. DelDOT said construction of the new E-ZPass lanes will allow motorists to maintain highway speed through the area. Similar lanes have been in use at two toll plazas on Del. 1 for several years.
The project is expected to be completed in about 16 months.
Details on the project can be found at http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/recovery/pages/tollplaza/index.shtml">www.deldot.gov.
Ten more red-light cameras are coming to intersections across Delaware.
The cameras will be installed in all three counties by early summer, the Delaware Department of Transportation announced today, bringing the total number across the state to 30.There will be seven new locations in New Castle County, one in Kent County and two in Sussex County.
The cameras make video recordings of vehicles going through a red light and the registered owner is sent a violation notice requiring payment of a $112.50 fine. The citation is considered a civil offense and does not affect a motorist’s insurance rates or add points to their driving record.
The new locations:
New Castle County
Old Baltimore Pike at Salem Church Road/Salem Woods Drive
Kirkwood Highway at Harmony Road
Kirkwood Highway at Red Mill Road/Polly Drummond Hill Road
Churchmans Road at Del. 1 northbound ramps
Naamans Road at Shipley Road/Brandywine Parkway
Del. 273 at Harmony Road/Gerald Drive
Del. 273 at Del. 7
Kent County
U.S. 13 at Scarborough Road
Sussex County
Del. 1 at Munchy Branch Road/Miller Road
Del. 1 at Old Landing Road
The two Sussex locations will be installed first.
In the first 30 days of operation, motorists will be issued a warning with no fine. “Red light camera enforcement” signs also will be placed at each location.
"We know this program is saving lives and reducing the number of angle crashes, which are more likely to result in serious injury or death," said Transportation Secretary Carolann Wicks.
DelDOT reports that the 20 cameras already installed generate $5.2 million annually, with 41,000
violations issued. DelDOT expects an additional $2.5 million from the new locations.
are fully operational.
Video footage can be viewed and fines paid at http://www.deldot.gov/information/red_light/.
DelDOT has really gotten into the red light camera act. Most new and major intersections accross the state now are equipped with them.
Remind me to find a way to obscure my license plate before my trip into Delaware next month.
Remind me to tell you that doing so is both illegal and of poor character...
QuoteRemind me to find a way to obscure my license plate before my trip into Delaware next month.
Remind me to tell you that doing so is both illegal and of poor character...
Some places got a bad reputation for that, but not eveywhere. For the record, the red light cameras I'm familiar with in this area do not have short yellows. All have the minimum 3 seconds.Rule of thumb is 1 second per 10 mph. Are all your signals on 25-30 mph roads?
...The intersection (DE 2/Harmony Road) is one of 10 statewide that will get new red-light cameras in the next few months, bringing the statewide total to 57 and, officials say, making some of the state’s most dangerous intersections a little safer
Of the roughly $5 million the cameras generated in fines last year, about $2.4 million went to the companies that operate them.
Delaware leases the cameras from American Traffic Solutions Inc. of Arizona for about $4,000 each a month, which includes maintenance, support and operation. The company covers the $1,500 to $2,000 cost of installation, while DelDOT pays to prepare the site.
Fines are $112.50 in Delaware. The fine increases $10 for every month it is late, up to three months.
In other states, it's a criminal offense and carries a heftier fine. Cameras in those states must capture an image of the driver's face so they can be linked to the crime.
Most states require the fine money to be spent on public safety efforts or medical trauma centers.
Access from Del. 1 to Frederica Road at the north end of Frederica will be closed starting today to allow for construction of a new overpass.
The Delaware Department of Transportation says traffic will be detoured to the Del. 1/Frederica Road intersection south of Frederica.
The north intersection will remain closed until late this year or early 2011, DelDOT says.
That strikes me as it being the interchange by which DE 1 traffic would access DE 30, moreso than Wilkins itself necessarily being DE 30. I'm sure it's a State Road linking 30 and 1 anyway, so may as well sign it from 1 to 30 seamlessly.
BTW, Alex, in this project (http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/sr1_30_gsi/index.shtml), DelDOT themselves still refer to that stretch of Wilkins Rd as DE 30. Could it be that DE 30 wasn't extended along the new frontage road after all? Or could it be a case where they consider BOTH roads to be part of DE 30?
For those who may be interested, here's the proposed layout (http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/north_frederica/pdfs/preferred_alternative.pdf).
Dover -- The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) recently completed a Virtual Public Workshop intended to receive public comment on a proposal to declassify State Route 82, removing the state route designation from the roadways that are part of the corridor. As a result of the response generated by the online presentation, DelDOT has announced that no change will be made.
The Virtual Workshop was posted on the DelDOT website on March 4, 2010 and remained available for public viewing and comment for a period of 30 days, until April 4th. Viewers were given an opportunity to respond to the delisting proposal, also online. During the presentation and survey period, DelDOT received 120 responses. Seventy-five percent (75%) of respondents indicated that they opposed the removal of the state route designation from SR82. The main concern expressed by opponents of the proposal was the value of the state route designation when giving directions to visitors who would make their way through the roadways that constitute SR82.
State Route 82 is a five-and-a-half mile corridor in the Red Clay Valley, and is part of a network of roads that were designated by DelDOT as a Scenic Byway in 2004. SR82 includes Campbell Road, New London Road, and Creek Road. The Scenic Byway designation requires the development of a corridor management plan to help preserve the attributes of the byway. The information on the reason for the delisting, including the assurance that it would have no impact on DelDOT's maintenance responsibilities or 911 response, was presented in the online Virtual Workshop. Opponents of the proposal also noted disagreement with the contention that truck and other vehicular traffic would be reduced, and the opinion that the state route designation was part of the historical qualities of the byway.
Concern was also expressed that the new Auburn Heights Preserve on Creek Road in Yorklyn is dependent upon the state route designation in increasing awareness of the location.
A plan to reconfigure several intersections along U.S. 9 has had mixed reception from nearby residents.
Delaware Department of Transportation spokesperson Jason Lang said the changes, through the Highway Safety Improvement Program, are meant to prevent traffic accidents at the intersections of U.S. 9 and Gravel Hill, Hudson, Sweetbriar and Dairy Farm roads.
"There have been enough (accidents) to trigger this project in order to improve safety," he said, though he could not provide exact numbers.
Each intersection is being widened to create separate lanes for through traffic, as well as left and right turns, Lang said.
According to plans, he said Log Cabin Hill Road may be closed or realigned at the Dairy Farm Road intersection, because the road currently funnels traffic almost directly into the intersection.
MILLVILLE — A plan to improve alternative routes for use during the long-gestating Del. 26 improvement project is slated to begin next month, officials said.
Delaware Department of Transportation spokesman Jason Lang said the improvements, which would focus on a series of roads south of the major artery in Millville and Ocean View, will provide a detour when construction on the main project begins.
"The State Route 26 Detour Routes project will cost just under $10 million to build," he said. "And the State Route 26 Mainline project is estimated to cost $30 million."
In 2004, DelDOT released a plan for widening Del. 26, the corridor that connects the beach resorts to U.S. 113, but the project has been repeatedly delayed.
Lang said funding issues have kept the project from moving forward.
Construction on the main project is currently scheduled for fall 2012, pending funding availability, he said.
"We've come a very long way from Hot Shoppes," Gov. Jack Markell said Friday before cutting the ribbon at the 42,657-square-foot Delaware Welcome Center building. The site will open to the public Thursday.
Construction of the center began in fall 2009. The Delaware Department of Transportation owns the site, but no state funding was expended on the project. Delaware makes money from rents and gets a cut of the sales, but more details were unavailable Friday.
Future maintenance will be done by HMSHost, a firm that built and will maintain the center for the next 35 years. HMSHost operated the previous 29,000-square-foot plaza, which was built in 1964.
Everything about the $35 million site -- the only impression many get of Delaware on the state's 24-mile stretch of I-95 -- is bigger and newer.
The previous incarnation saw about 3 million visitors per year. The new center is expected to have 4.5 million visitors. There are 603 parking spaces for cars and 38 for buses.
The site will have 250 employees between restaurants, shops and a 21-pump Sunoco station.
State transportation officials are unveiling a $4 million plan to improve safety at seven intersections along the U.S. 113 corridor in Sussex County.
The plan, which includes work at five crossovers along the dual highway between Millsboro and Dagsboro, has been in the works for several years, and is unrelated to the $839 million long-term bypass plan for the corridor.
The Delaware Department of Transportation said the intersections were identified as having high accident rates. They are in the state's Highway Safety Improvement Program.
"All the sites already demonstrate the need for improvements," said Mike Williams of DelDOT.
Design work should be finished by fall 2011, with construction to begin in spring 2012, Williams said.
The intersections had 217 crashes among them from January 2002 to May 2006, according to DelDOT data.
The proposed work, and crash totals for that period, include:
•Millsboro: Closing the median crossover to prohibit turns from Sheep Pen or Park Pond roads; 19 crashes.
•Millsboro: Blocking left turns from Radish Road and Second Street, creating channels for turns from lanes on U.S. 113; 26 crashes.
•Millsboro: Blocking left turns from Delaware Avenue in both directions, creating channels for turns from U.S. 113; 26 crashes.
•Millsboro -- Del. 20/Hardscrabble Road: Extending acceleration lane along southbound U.S. 113 from eastbound Del. 20; 56 crashes.
•Dagsboro: Blocking left turns from Molly Field Road and Cricket Street, creating channels for turns from U.S. 113 lanes; eight crashes.
•Dagsboro: Creating an additional southbound left turn lane on U.S. 113 onto Dagsboro Road/Del. 20, and closing a median opening north of the intersection; 55 crashes.
•Ellendale: Blocking some turns onto or off Staytonville Road, while allowing some turns off or onto Fleatown Road; 27 crashes.
DelDOT's plans, which are not final, call for designated left-turn lanes in each direction of Kennett Pike, also known as Del. 52.
That would give the state highway separate lanes for turning onto Kirk Road to the east and Campbell Road to the west. DelDOT also plans to add right-turn lanes, bicycle lanes, a street light, a curb along the southbound right-turn lane and new traffic signal masthead arm poles that hang over the intersection.
All the funky shaped rest area signs on I-95 are gone. Looks like they are making some progress on the reconstruction though. The I-95 south ramp from DE-896 south is closed for the express EZ-pass construction. Ironically the detour is the toll shunpike along DE-2 and DE-4 into Maryland.
The state Department of Transportation is about to move forward with a Del. 54 improvement project, which will address safety and traffic issues caused by development along the east-west thoroughfare in southeastern Sussex County.
The project, which has been in the works since an initial survey was conducted in 2003, will increase the width of the road by 40 feet, making room for left turn lanes, a bicycle lane and sidewalks.
Road construction will be conducted in a two-mile span between Selbyville and Fenwick Island, from the west end of the highway at Bayside on Del. 20 to the Mallard Lake Development at Keenwick Road.
DelDOT spokesperson Michael Williams said a bid of about $10 million has been accepted for the project, although an award letter has not yet been issued.
The intersection of Del. 20 and Del. 54 will see a significant improvement through the project, he said.
"With the increased development in that area in the last couple years and the heavy traffic in summer, a dedicated turn lane is the perfect option," he said.
WILMINGTON -- Seven new red-light cameras will be added to the 27 already in place in the city -- and all will soon be converted to digital technology.
The new cameras will be activated Oct. 4, Police Chief Michael Szczerba said.
The new locations are eastbound on Pennsylvania Avenue at Lincoln Street, eastbound Pennsylvania Avenue at Franklin Street, eastbound Lancaster Avenue at Cleveland Avenue, southbound South Heald Street at D Street, westbound Fourth Street at Adams Street, westbound Fourth Street at Washington Street and westbound Lancaster Avenue at Cleveland Avenue.
The digital conversion will provide better-quality images of vehicles traveling through intersections and will better allow city officials to determine if violations actually took place. For example, the new images will make it easier to determine if a vehicle came to a complete stop at a red light before making a right turn, Szczerba said.
Vehicle owners will still get photos sent to them, but they soon will be able to view a 10- second video of the alleged infraction online, city Communications Director John Rago said.
The digital conversion of the 27 current red-light cameras will be done by December.
Mayor James M. Baker said the program has reduced red-light violations at intersections by about 50 percent since the program began in 2001, making them safer.
But critics have called the program a money grab. The $110 tickets generate about $2.2 million a year. About 37 percent of that goes to ACS Government Solutions, the Baltimore company that manages the red-light program for the city.
The land between Millsboro and Frankford is home to many Sussex County poultry farms and cornfields, a quiet, rural area that has co-existed peacefully with U.S. 113 since the highway was built almost a century ago.
But now, as a state road project threatens to split their countryside, residents and farmers are joining forces to fight the $839 million bypass the state says is needed to keep roads from clogging in the decades ahead.
Hundreds of county residents have told state transportation officials they don’t want its U.S. 113 bypass plan, mounting a level of opposition reminiscent of the effort that halted a similar, related project near Milford in 2008.
From her neighbor’s backyard, Nancy Davis looks out at Betts Pond, just outside Millsboro, where the calm water is often used by fishermen and kayakers.
Under DelDOT’s plan, a highway bridge would span part of the pond to route cars around downtown Millsboro, destroying the tranquility she and her neighbors love.
“It’s quiet around here,” Davis said. “We want to keep it that way.”
More than 700 people are on record opposing the Delaware Department of Transportation's preferred route, compared with fewer than 50 people who support state's plan. Millsboro Town Council and the town's mayor have voted to support the plan.
The opposition was documented in petitions, comment forms, letters and e-mails submitted to DelDOT.
DelDOT initially attempted to keep the identities of the writers secret, citing privacy concerns, and released them only after The News Journal appealed to the Attorney General's Office under the Freedom of Information Act. The office agreed that the identities of the commenters were crucial to understanding the agency's decision on the project.
The not-in-my-backyard battle pits DelDOT's portrait of a highway clogged with beach-bound traffic against people who say the plan would run too close to residential neighborhoods, divide or ruin farmland and cost too much money.
"Highway engineers get kind of taken away with their maps and lines and grandiose projects, and sometimes it takes the citizens and Legislature to get them back to the ground level," said Frankford-area orchard owner Jim Bennett, a leading opponent.
The debate has attracted residents not just from the Millsboro-to-Selbyville corridor. A petition drive run by three Millsboro-area residents snagged more than 500 signatures this summer. Davis and her neighbor, David Potter, were among the leaders.
"I didn't talk to anybody in favor of the bypass," Davis said.
The fight has energized farmers whose land would be taken, with the politically powerful county Farm Bureau weighing in against the project.
"They're going to cut off this pristine farmland just so somebody could get to the beach five minutes faster," said third-generation farmer Paul Parsons, who will have three of his family's four Dagsboro-area farm parcels affected -- the bypass slicing them in half or running along the edge. "It's just ridiculous."
Others have expressed concern about the environmental impact as the bypass bridges Indian River, Pepper Creek and Vines Creek.
"They are pristine watersheds, with a major highway," Bennett said.
Linda Mancuso, who lives on Betts Pond Road outside Millsboro, said she understands the need for a bypass but doesn't quite get why it's so close to her home.
"Basically, they're in our backyard," Mancuso said. "It just seems like our central area right there is taking a large brunt of this bypass."
DelDOT officials say they're just proceeding with a traffic-oriented imperative. If something isn't done, they say, in two more decades, U.S. 113 will be almost too clogged to move.
"The people living and doing business in the area in 2030 are going to thank us for having that foresight," said spokesman Mike Williams. "This isn't about today -- it's about 20, 30 years from now."
He said residents' complaints that the plan is simply focused on beach-bound tourists are wrong -- it's meant to address both long-distance and local drivers.
Many of the opponents are demanding the 12.7-mile bypass from north of Millsboro to south of Frankford be dropped in favor of widening and improving the existing highway corridor. That "on-alignment" option is being proposed for other phases of the project in Georgetown and Ellendale.
The state has set aside $1 million for early land purchases and development for the Millsboro-south portion. DelDOT said projects such as this are usually funded up to 80 percent by the federal government, putting Delaware's share at about $167 million.
Today, the dual highway is a main corridor for residents who commute to Georgetown and Dover from the south. Truck traffic still hauls poultry from processing plants, but the chickens have been joined during the summer by a huge flow of beach traffic.
Tourists can head directly south to Ocean City, Md., or use Del. 24, 26 or 54 to get to Delaware's southern resorts, bypassing often-clogged Del. 1 at Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.
DelDOT's preferred plan also turns part of U.S. 113 into a limited-access highway from south of Frankford -- where the bypass would connect -- to the state line at Selbyville. On that portion of the highway, the "on-alignment" element, residents and business owners will be able to access U.S. 113, but will have to use an overpass to head in the opposite direction.
Bennett has a keen perspective on the situation -- he served as a member of the original working group of area residents, business owners and civic leaders who gave input on options.
He and others say instead of building a bypass, DelDOT should widen and improve the existing U.S. 113 footprint, perhaps adding lanes gradually as time and money allows.
Bennett said the state's plan -- to build the bypass first and then improve the southern section of the highway, from south of Frankford to the state line, would create a huge mess when the bypass dumps travelers back onto an unimproved highway.
"This is going to have to be built in its entirety," Bennett said. "You can't just build half of it and end up with people nowhere."
By 2030, traffic along the north-south corridor between Millsboro and the state line at Selbyville could increase by up to 53 percent -- almost 20,000 more cars a day. By 2025 on Del. 24, an east-west route that connects with U.S. 113 in Millsboro, driving will be so slow, it will be more like walking, residents fear.
That's the reason area residents such as Karen Twilley support the project.
Twilley lives on the west side of the highway outside Millsboro, and said it takes too much time to get from one side of town to the other -- up to a half-hour to travel three miles at some times. If she needs to go to a doctor's appointment in Rehoboth, for example, "to get through that mess is torture," she said.
"The traffic is insane," Twilley said. "Something needs to happen."
Noticed 2 more roundabouts in southern New Castle County on Friday: at DE 15/St. Annes Church Rd, and at St. Annes Church Rd/Wiggins Mill Rd. Both junctions involved realignment of all roads involved, and all have a 4th, currently unused leg to serve future development. If you look at Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=39.427243,-75.733545&spn=0.011702,0.02738&z=16), you can see the ROW plats for both junctions.
The $11 million project should be done by the end of the year, but motorists can still expect delays in the meantime
By ROBIN BROWN • The News Journal • October 15, 2010
An $11 million project to improve U.S. 301 in the Middletown area is on schedule to be finished by the end of the year, state road officials said today.
But motorists can expect some daytime delays Monday and Tuesday as the next phase of the project begins.
The massive project -- blamed for creating a variety of traffic issues including minor crashes involving inattentive drivers -- began in July 2008, with A-Del Construction as its primary contractor.
Jim Westhoff, a DelDOT community relations officer, said the upcoming delays will be caused by the removal and replacement of concrete barriers to establish a new traffic pattern.
Traffic will be shifted to the outside lanes of each direction between Del. 299 and Ash Boulevard, Westhoff said.
“This lane shift is necessary to allow contractors to complete new medians and turn lanes,” he said.
The new traffic pattern is expected to last about six weeks, Westhoff said, to be followed by the final placement of asphalt on U.S. 301 north of Del. 299.
But, he said, “because the work is weather sensitive, this phase of the project could be prolonged by poor conditions.”
Construction at the I-95 toll plaza near Newark is expected to cause extreme delays next week because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Delaware Department of Transportation said.
Travel delays are expected to start as early as Tuesday morning and continue until the evening of Nov. 29. At peak times, delays are expected to stretch for miles.
DelDOT released a chart (http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?template=zoom&Site=BL&Date=20101118&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=101118021&Ref=V1) showing expected peak travel times on I-95 during the holiday weekend.
Motorists are encouraged to use alternative routes or to travel during hours with lower traffic volumes.
Plenty of people come through the door these days at Leon's Garden Center on Elkton Road, not far from the busy I-95 toll plaza near the Delaware-Maryland line.
Too often, owner Leon Silicki said Tuesday, they're looking for a way to beat toll plaza charges and epic interstate traffic snarls near Newark that DelDOT warns could reach meltdown levels this Thanksgiving.
"Traffic is incredible. Our big thing is we probably have 50 people coming in a day, asking 'How do I get back to I-95,' because they don't want to go through the toll or pay the toll," Silicki said. "It's almost to the point where it becomes annoying for local people."
By Sunday, Delaware's stretch of I-95 will likely be annoying for a lot more than locals as an unfinished, $32 million toll plaza expansion turns into the biggest holiday traffic turkey of any predicted by highway, bridge and airport agencies across the mid-Atlantic.
Usually reserved DelDOT officials have admitted publicly that lane and toll-booth closings are likely to cause backups in coming days that will last through Monday. Problems "are expected to be greater than in recent years, and could stretch for miles and take hours to clear."
Jim Lardear, public and government affairs director for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said Tuesday that backups could stretch 20 miles, dwarfing last year's seven-mile crawl.
"It's important that people plan ahead and look for alternatives," Lardear said.
Warnings about the Delaware bottleneck already have gone out to highway agencies from North Carolina to Boston, and roadside message boards have been placed in Pennsylvania and Maryland miles before the Delaware line.
"We seriously considered offering alternate route directions, but it became an overwhelming task, because we have thousands of different destination points from start to end," said Michael Williams of DelDOT.
Newark's toll plaza handled an average 73,000 vehicles daily last year, peaking at 130,000 on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
Forecasts for travelers elsewhere were relatively serene, by comparison.
The Maryland Transportation Authority holiday advisory focused heavily on Delaware's choke point. MTA officials also cautioned that the U.S. 40 Hatem Memorial Bridge over the Susquehanna River at Perryville was unlikely to offer solace for those abandoning I-95, because of lane closings and construction on that span.
An estimated 700,000 vehicles are expected to travel I-95 in Maryland, and 460,000 are predicted for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge crossing east of Annapolis.
Jenny Robinson of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said the Keystone State, like Delaware and Maryland, halts construction projects during the Thanksgiving holiday whenever possible to keep traffic flowing even in heavy hours.
"Thanksgiving is the busiest travel season of the year. There's going to be a lot of volume on the highways regardless of whether or not there's construction," Robinson said. "People certainly should be aware of that and plan on extra time."
Pennsylvania and surrounding states will step up police patrols and enforcement of seat-belt laws and other regulations, Robinson added.
Delaware River and Bay Authority Police Master Cpl. Joseph DiStefano said all lanes and booths will be open on the twin spans of the Delaware Memorial Bridge this holiday, with traffic for Wednesday through Sunday expected to hit 320,000 vehicles, up from 316,000 last year.
Traffic is expected to be heaviest from 3 to 8 p.m. today, DiStefano cautioned.
States all along the Atlantic Coast now maintain websites that offer real-time maps with highways color-coded by current congestion levels. DelDOT's map page is at www.del dot.gov/traffic/map.ejs. PennDOT operates a travel advisory at www.511pa.com. Maryland's version is at www.traffic.md.gov.
In addition, the multi-state I-95 Corridor Coalition maintains an elaborate trip-planning and congestion-monitoring site at www.i95travelinfo.net.
The coalition service allows travelers to get estimates of current travel times and locate bottlenecks at any point along I-95 and nearby interstates between Florida and Maine. By Tuesday afternoon, the Newark-area portion of the coalition's map was locked in a state of perpetual red and purple, codes for heavy and stop-and-go traffic.
Thanksgiving holiday travelers caught some breaks Wednesday as Delaware moved to uncork a potentially historic bottleneck by waiving tolls on its turnpike, and a much-publicized protest at the nation's airports appeared to have fizzled.
The decision to suspend collection of northbound Delaware Turnpike tolls between 3:15 p.m. and 11 p.m. Wednesday came after traffic backed up nearly six miles onto Maryland's John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway. Though the toll plaza at Newark is a well-known bottleneck where hourlong delays are not unusual, it was the first time in at least 15 years the state has waived collections.
The delays were far more severe Wednesday for auto travelers heading through Delaware — at least until the tolls were waived. Shortly before 3 p.m., the Maryland Transportation Authority estimated the delay at the toll plaza at 30 minutes.
In the days leading up to the holiday, transportation officials in the two states had issued public warnings that construction at the toll plaza could result in a traffic jam of historic proportions — perhaps stretching a far back as the Susquehanna River — because of a construction project that has closed three of the nine northbound toll lanes.
The public warnings may have had their intended effect. Teri Moss, a spokeswoman for the Maryland toll authority, said the vehicle count at the Kennedy Highway toll plaza leading to Delaware was 3,000 between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday — compared with 4,200 the same time a year ago. She said that could indicate many travelers changed their routes or travel times.
Moss said that after Delaware waived the tolls, the backups into Maryland eased considerably. By late afternoon, a traffic camera on I-95 at Elkton, which had earlier captured a slow-moving backup, showed that traffic was heavy but flowing freely.
Michael Williams, a spokesman for the Delaware transportation department, said travelers shouldn't necessarily expect that the state will be as generous with southbound travelers this weekend.
The traffic conditions affecting the northbound lanes Wednesday were "certainly exceptional," he said.
"We've never had lane closures that couldn't be opened before a major holiday," he said, adding that it was the first time in the 15 years he's been with the agency that tolls were waived.
REHOBOTH BEACH -- Political opposition grew on Wednesday to a proposed 16-mile bypass of U.S. 113 in Sussex County, threatening the future of the project.
Three state lawmakers met privately with Transportation Secretary Carolann Wicks in Rehoboth Beach in an effort to stop the current plan.
"There's no support for the southern end of the route," said Sen. George Bunting Jr., D-Bethany Beach, referring to residents of Dagsboro, Frankford and Selbyville. "I don't know how there can be a much stronger signal than that."
There's not much support for the northern route, either. Several legislators, including those who attended the meeting, have expressed outrage that the state has been paying a group of developers led by Robert Tunnell Jr. $50,000 a month since 2008 to reserve land for the project near where Del. 24 intersects U.S. 113.
The state is also paying a developer at the Dagsboro end of the route $10,000 a month not to build.
The News Journal reported on Sunday that the deals are costing taxpayers $721,000 a year, ostensibly to prevent the developers from launching new housing complexes during the worst housing market in Sussex County's history.
"My personal opinion is it [the project] costs too much money," said Sen. Robert Venables Sr., D-Laurel, who co-chaired the bond bill committee but did not attend the meeting Wednesday. The proposed eastern bypass does not make sense, he said, because of the need for three bridges, including a span twice as long as the new bridge over the Indian River Inlet. That project has been plagued with problems.
About six years ago, a study group began investigating the feasibility of a U.S. 113 relief route to direct traffic around Millsboro, where the highway has the highest fatality rate of any state highway. Many accidents have occurred at the numerous intersections along the roadway. Traffic on the overburdened road is primarily regulated with stop signs and yield signs.
Traffic in the rural area has increased steadily as vacationers from more populous areas have jammed roads leading to the state's beach towns.
REHOBOTH BEACH -- Political opposition grew on Wednesday to a proposed 16-mile bypass of U.S. 113 in Sussex County, threatening the future of the project.
Three state lawmakers met privately with Transportation Secretary Carolann Wicks in Rehoboth Beach in an effort to stop the current plan.
"There's no support for the southern end of the route," said Sen. George Bunting Jr., D-Bethany Beach, referring to residents of Dagsboro, Frankford and Selbyville. "I don't know how there can be a much stronger signal than that."
There's not much support for the northern route, either. Several legislators, including those who attended the meeting, have expressed outrage that the state has been paying a group of developers led by Robert Tunnell Jr. $50,000 a month since 2008 to reserve land for the project near where Del. 24 intersects U.S. 113.
The state is also paying a developer at the Dagsboro end of the route $10,000 a month not to build.
The News Journal reported on Sunday that the deals are costing taxpayers $721,000 a year, ostensibly to prevent the developers from launching new housing complexes during the worst housing market in Sussex County's history.
"My personal opinion is it [the project] costs too much money," said Sen. Robert Venables Sr., D-Laurel, who co-chaired the bond bill committee but did not attend the meeting Wednesday. The proposed eastern bypass does not make sense, he said, because of the need for three bridges, including a span twice as long as the new bridge over the Indian River Inlet. That project has been plagued with problems.
About six years ago, a study group began investigating the feasibility of a U.S. 113 relief route to direct traffic around Millsboro, where the highway has the highest fatality rate of any state highway. Many accidents have occurred at the numerous intersections along the roadway. Traffic on the overburdened road is primarily regulated with stop signs and yield signs.
Traffic in the rural area has increased steadily as vacationers from more populous areas have jammed roads leading to the state's beach towns.
DelDOT decided in April that the route proposed for a bypass would take traffic to the east of Millsboro, Dagsboro and Frankford. The crescent-shaped highway, known variously as the blue route and Millsboro-South Area, is estimated to affect 1,298 acres. The project needs to be approved by the Federal Highway Administration. Wicks has said the earliest that approval could come would be 2012. It is expected to cost between $687 million and $839 million.
Sen. Harris McDowell, R-Wilmington North, said the residents of Sussex County presented strong arguments when they came before the bond bill committee last spring to oppose the bypass project.
"I thought they made a very good case," he said.
As the meeting with Bunting broke up on Wednesday, Rep. John Atkins, D-Millsboro, and Rep. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View, said they asked Wicks to focus first on the Millsboro problem by moving the route north through land already owned by the state, eliminating the need for access to the Tunnell project.
Atkins said he suggested that the route go farther north before rejoining U.S. 113 on state-owned land near Sussex Central High School and the Stockley Center.
"John's idea is the best solution I've heard so far," Bunting said of Atkins' proposal. "I think we brought some things to light."
Wicks said the legislators outlined their objections to the alignment and DelDOT will continue "to work on their concerns and issues." She was accompanied by the recently-named deputy transportation secretary, Cleon Cauley Sr., who is a land-use lawyer.
Gov. Jack Markell and Wicks on Monday announced they would investigate the deals in response to outrage from citizens and legislators.
Markell appointed his chief of staff, Tom McGonigle, to conduct a "thorough review" of the two agreements.
The review will examine the process for making agreements in advance of highway construction. The agency has no formal policy defining or governing such agreements, according to Frederick Schranck, deputy attorney general assigned to DelDOT.
Bunting said Wednesday he is glad Markell has called for the investigation.
The process for acquiring land in advance of highway construction "should be more open," Bunting said.
The legislators were "the last in line" to be told, he said. "The public should know about it."
Angry citizens are contacting local lawmakers to request the project not be funded. Venables said he plans to meet with a group of concerned residents this week.
"I just doubt DelDOT's ability to build three new bridges, including a new span across the Indian River," said Carrie Bennett of Frankford.
Another holiday, another traffic nightmare.
That's the warning Delaware travel authorities are sending to Christmas drivers, who could find themselves stuck in the same kinds of backups that made Thanksgiving a headache for hundreds of thousands of people.
The I-95 toll plaza near Newark is still undergoing reconstruction, so there are fewer travel lanes to handle the crush of holiday traffic, which AAA Mid-Atlantic predicts will be greater than last year.
The Delaware Department of Transportation said this week the delays "could stretch for miles and take hours to clear," the same wording the agency used in its pre-Thanksgiving message.
Combined with some of the region's highest per-mile toll rates, the congestion in Delaware angers people like Greg Cohen, president of the American Highway Users Alliance, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., that pushes for safe and uncongested highways.
"It's still frustrating for people from out of state to pay these tolls year after year and then sit in traffic year after year," Cohen said.
At Thanksgiving, the crush of traffic led to 10-mile backups. On the Wednesday before the holiday, DelDOT waived the tolls for about 21,000 northbound drivers stalled by an overturned tractor-trailer, costing the state about $86,000 in lost income.
DelDOT should consider waiving its tolls again if traffic piles up for Christmas travelers, Cohen said.
"If you're charging people a toll, you should provide a guaranteed level of service," Cohen said. "If you can't do that, you should waive the toll. It's a lot of money, but it would be a nice Christmas present for a lot of people."
DelDOT isn't inclined to do that again, an official told the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council on Friday.
"It was an emergency situation," said Brian Motyl, administrator of DelDOT's Transportation Trust Fund, which pays for road projects statewide. But "we have to be careful when we do that because it is a revenue source."
The Thanksgiving jam could have been worse, DelDOT Secretary Carolann Wicks said in a statement this week.
Drivers heeded the agency's dire warnings and apparently found alternative routes, she said. Traffic through the toll plaza was down nearly 10 percent, or almost 69,000 vehicles, from last year.
Cohen was unmoved.
"In the spirit of the season, I don't want to be mean about it, but that's small comfort for people who want to take the most direct route to their destination," Cohen said.
DelDOT said the toll plaza reconstruction project will help alleviate the kind of congestion it has been causing lately.
Once finished, the plaza will have two high-speed E-ZPass lanes and seven cash lanes in each direction. Also, the plaza will get wider northbound approach lanes, new signs and pavement markings, better lighting and an overhead passage for toll collectors.
The $32 million project is funded by the federal stimulus program, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
"Perhaps when all the pain of the reconstruction is over, we'll all be cheering Delaware," Cohen said.
AAA Mid-Atlantic predicts more than 25,000 Delawareans will travel at least 50 miles from home during the Christmas season, an increase of 3.4 percent from last year, said spokesman Jim Lardear.
"You can figure most of those people will be on I-95," he said.
Nationwide, 92.3 million Americans are expected to travel between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, an increase of 3.1 percent from last year, AAA reported.
Nearly all of those travelers -- 94 percent in Delaware, 93 percent nationwide -- are expected to go by car.
AAA has predicted increases in holiday travel all year, which is an indicator of an improving economy, Lardear said.
Drivers may be frustrated by a recent spike in gas prices -- the average is now $3.11 a gallon in Delaware, up from $2.55 last year -- but they're keeping their travel plans intact, he said.
Delaware has a bad reputation among many out-of-state travelers because of its congestion and high toll, Cohen said. Delaware's charge of $4 each way for passenger vehicles is one of the highest per-mile tolls on I-95, which stretches 1,830 miles between Maine and Florida.
There are no tolls on I-95 south of Baltimore all the way to Miami. When the federal government banned tolls on interstate highways in 1956, Delaware and other northeastern states were exempted because they already had tolls on the roads, Cohen said.
"But still, it isn't very nice to take advantage of people," he said.
DelDOT collected $117.2 million in I-95 tolls last year. They money makes up about 28 percent of the state's Transportation Trust Fund, which pays for road projects statewide.
"Most of the locals know to avoid that interchange," Lardear said. But out-of-state travelers "don't know the way around it, so they get stuck in it."
Alternate routes like U.S. 40, U.S. 1 and U.S. 301 aren't designed to handle the 73,000 vehicles that pass through the toll plaza daily, let alone the 130,000 vehicles typical for a peak travel day, Lardear said.
Cohen said he knows the local roads that will take him around the toll plaza and past a doughnut shop or a diner with good milkshakes.
"It's not good for my waistline, but I'd rather stop there because I'd rather not pay the toll," he said.
DelDOT said the toll plaza reconstruction project will help alleviate the kind of congestion it has been causing lately.
Once finished, the plaza will have two high-speed E-ZPass lanes and seven cash lanes in each direction. Also, the plaza will get wider northbound approach lanes, new signs and pavement markings, better lighting and an overhead passage for toll collectors.
If they do that, then I feel it would only be necessary to do that for the Delaware Memorial Bridge, but in the free direction at the border.
DelDOT said the toll plaza reconstruction project will help alleviate the kind of congestion it has been causing lately.
Once finished, the plaza will have two high-speed E-ZPass lanes and seven cash lanes in each direction. Also, the plaza will get wider northbound approach lanes, new signs and pavement markings, better lighting and an overhead passage for toll collectors.
I don't think that will be helpful enough. The best solution here, if not implementing 100% open road tolling, is at least to go to one-way tolling. (Southbound to complement the NB toll at the Susquehanna.) That gives you several more booths in the tolled direction and no more backups in the open direction.
The $150 million Indian River Inlet bridge has been delayed for the second time in recent months and is now not scheduled to open until December.
The latest trouble for the 2,600-foot span centers on massive, hanging frames that will be used in molding each of the over-water segments of the structure...
...Contractor Skanska USA has hoisted one of the frames to a point close to its starting position near the bridge's north tower. A second will be positioned on the south side in several weeks, said Geoff Sundstrom, DelDOT deputy public-relations director.
Months were lost, however, after workers discovered that a key pair of 200-ton metal frames needed extensive reinforcement and modification before they can be used to mold the 24-foot, 400-ton sections of reinforced concrete that will support the roadway.
Construction is set to begin next week on a new bridge over Del. 1 into Christiana Mall.
Mumford & Miller, a Middletown-based contractor, has been awarded the $12.2 million contract to build the bridge, the Delaware Department of Transportation announced Monday.
The project is scheduled to start Monday and be completed within 259 days, DelDOT said.
The work will require nighttime road closures for now, said DelDOT spokesman Bob King. As the project nears completion, daytime closures will be needed for short periods, he said.
"If you're talking about nighttime travel, there will be a lane or two closed," he said. "During the day, there won't be many closures."
The project involves construction of the new bridge about a tenth of a mile south of the existing bridge. The new bridge will tie in to the mall's "ring road."
The bridge project is part of the much larger redesign of the interchange at I-95 and Del. 1, which has become increasingly congested during rush hour and holidays.
High-speed ramps will be built to connect Del. 1 northbound with I-95 northbound and to connect I-95 southbound with Del. 1 southbound.
The bridge over Del. 1 must move south to make space for the elevation and slope of the connection ramps, King said.
Construction of those ramps is expected to begin later this year, DelDOT said. Bids for the contract are scheduled to be opened next month.
The ramps are the final piece of DelDOT's I-95 Improvement Program, which has cost about $135 million so far. That project, which began in the late 1990s, involved:
-Building an interchange at the Churchmans Road and Del. 7 intersection.
-Rebuilding the Churchmans Road bridge over I-95.
-Rehabilitating the ramps at I-95 and Del. 896.
-Adding a fifth lane along I-95 both northbound and southbound near Christiana Mall and Del. 141.
-Building high-speed E-ZPass lanes at the I-95 toll plaza in Newark, which is expected to be finished this summer.
Prodded by Gov. Jack Markell's threat to kill the U.S. 113 project south of Milford, Sussex lawmakers have tentatively agreed to support a scaled-back highway expansion plan that would partially bypass Millsboro but keep improvements to the north and south on the existing alignment.
The consensus approach -- not put to a vote -- could include a two- or four-lane route that would connect U.S. 113 near Sussex Central High School and the Stockley Center to Del. 24 near Mountaire's poultry processing plant, east of Millsboro.
Legislators who attended a meeting on the project at DelDOT's Georgetown offices Wednesday said the connector would divert some east-west traffic and poultry trucks around Millsboro, reducing pressure for a far more costly and expansive highway relocation in that area.
DelDOT has spent about $14 million exploring an elaborate series of options along a 40-mile corridor between Milford and the Maryland line. After legislators began opposing those alternatives in the Millsboro area, Markell late last month threatened to pull the plug, saying lawmakers were wavering in their support of the project.
EWARK -- After five months of construction along Elkton Road, the state transportation department this week announced the work on roughly two miles between Gravenor Lane and Delaware Avenue is expected to be completed by September of 2012.
To make room for bike lanes, the road will be trimmed to one lane of traffic in each direction with a left-turn lane on each side, DelDOT officials said at an informational session.
Mary Whistler, who lives in the Devon neighborhood, said although bike lanes will make the area safer for cyclists, reducing traffic to one lane in each direction will likely worsen traffic on Elkton Road and adjacent streets.
"I don't think, in this day and age, you take two lanes and turn them into one -- not when people are gonna start driving on parallel streets to stay away from it," Whistler said.
"Elkton Road is bad enough to begin with -- why make it smaller?" she asked.
DelDOT engineers took into account traffic flow and growth, saying one lane of traffic and a turn lane in each direction would be enough.
"That was something we looked at very hard and detailed in the planning process," said Mark Tudor, a DelDOT engineer.
Construction is set to be done in four phases, which may run concurrently. The project is still in phase one, which is expected to run through fall 2011, DelDOT officials said.
In the initial phase of development, crews are mainly working in the eastbound lanes and adjacent streets.
Having to relocate utilities such as gas, water lines, storm and sanitary sewer lines, and inclement weather are factors DelDOT officials said could delay the project's completion -- although crews have not yet run into any significant setbacks.
"There haven't been too many days lost to weather, thank goodness," Gary Laing, a DelDOT spokesman, said Monday.
With this particular project, DelDOT officials said, they have worked to tailor their approach to accommodate various segments of the community while getting the job done quickly.
"We're really dealing with a range of constituents," Laing said, adding UD students, Newark residents and business owners -- generally -- have different sets of concerns about the project.
However, easy access to businesses along Elkton Road is an overarching issue, and one Laing said the agency deals with in nearly every project along arterial routes.
For area businesses, the construction has meant more customers grumbling about navigating orange traffic barriers and cracked pavement.
However, for the most part, they're supportive of the project.
"Overall, what they're doing, I think, is good for the community. A little bit of inconvenience is OK," said Abe Santos, owner of Re Ink Advantage on Elkton Road.
Santos gets a panoramic view of the road work from his shop windows. Around the corner from Santos at the Apna Bazaar, owner Rohit Patel said traffic and detours now will pay dividends as the community around the road continues to develop later.
"They're making improvements so, I mean, I don't have any complaints," Patel said. "It's going to improve the community area, down the road -- long term -- it's going to benefit us."
Hmmm... Is this north or south of Del. 4? My favorite route to avoid that absurd toll at the Delaware/Maryland line is (southbound) either Del. 273 west or Del. 896 north to Del. 4; Del. 4 west to Del. 2; Del. 2/Md. 279 back to 95.
(Northbound, I avoid the Susquehanna toll as well by using US 1, unless I'm in a hurry.)
Hmmm... Is this north or south of Del. 4? My favorite route to avoid that absurd toll at the Delaware/Maryland line is (southbound) either Del. 273 west or Del. 896 north to Del. 4; Del. 4 west to Del. 2; Del. 2/Md. 279 back to 95.Consider Chestnut Hill Rd. - not sure if it's faster, but I like the drive on a 2-lane better than the other major routes.
(Northbound, I avoid the Susquehanna toll as well by using US 1, unless I'm in a hurry.)
Temporary lane closures on Del. 1 begin this evening as the Delaware Department of Transportation starts a nearly nine-month project to construct a new bridge into the Christiana Mall.
DelDOT said last week lane closures would be mostly at night as the 259-day project gets under way.
Some daytime lane closures may be necessary for short periods, according to DelDOT.
The new bridge will be south of the current Del. 1 overpass and tie into the mall's "ring road."
DelDOT awarded the $12.2 million construction contract to Mumford & Miller, a Middletown-based contractor.
To date, DelDOT has spent $135 million since the late 1990s on improvements to the busy I-95 and Del. 1 interchange.
Other projects include building an interchange at Churchmans Road and Del. 7 and adding a fifth lane northbound and southbound on I-95.
Later this year, more backups are expected at the interchange as DelDOT begins a multiyear project to build high-speed "flyover" ramps to connect southbound I-95 with southbound Del. 1 and northbound Del. 1 with northbound I-95.
DelDOT officials said last August the ramp project could take several years and cost $191 million.
DelDOT has said the ramps will relieve the rush hour and weekend backups at the current interchange that are the source of aggravation for suburban commuters and mall shoppers.
TOP REVENUE-GENERATING OPTIONS
Raise Del. 1 weekday toll to $2, weekend toll to $3: $36.4 million
Raise all I-95 tolls by $1: $24.5 million
Charge toll for new Indian River Inlet bridge: $7.6 million
Raise Del. 1 commercial vehicle toll by $1: $4.5 million
Increase gas tax by 1 cent: $4.5 million
Estimated state road and transit budget shortfalls have swollen to nearly $1 billion for the next five years and $3.7 billion through 2023, according to an updated tally released late Tuesday by a panel seeking options for closing the gap.
In the first draft of a plan to deal with the growing money shortage, Transportation Trust Fund Task Force members listed possibilities that included hikes in tolls on Del. 1 and I-95, new fees for some types of driver's license renewals and motor vehicle transactions, higher penalties for insurance violations and a boost in billboard fees.
Those actions, however, would barely make a dent in the deficits, which ultimately will have to be settled by lawmakers and Gov. Jack Markell. The 10 largest revenue proposals, including some given little chance of approval, would generate only about $210 million annually.
"This is getting to look to me like it's unobtainable," said Sen. Robert L. Venables, D-Laurel, who co-chairs the Legislature's capital budget committee. He added later: "I don't think the General Assembly realizes what we're working on and how bad these figures are."
Other, more drastic steps that made the list of recommendations included new tolls on Del. 1 ramps that are currently free south of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal and along the Del. 1 main line south of Milford, as well as higher fuel taxes and fees for transit services used by the disabled and elderly.
Lawmakers formed the trust fund panel last year in response to warnings that DelDOT would run out of money as early as 2012 for projects financed only with state revenues. A report is due to the General Assembly and Markell by March 31.
"We're now down to the core programs, primarily," said outgoing DelDOT Secretary Carolann Wicks. "All we really have are federally funded projects like the U.S. 202 interchange, Route 54 -- they're all federally funded. We've already lost all of the state-only projects."
Markell's office released a cautious written statement late Tuesday after receiving a briefing on the draft list.
Tolling the free ramps from the SR 1 Bridge at South St. Georges (though I doubt they could get the law changed as to why those are free).
Many of things will never fly, such as adding tolls to an arterial highway. But others, like the toll increases and EZPass account maintenance fees probably will.
Speed cameras, eh? Those would certainly cement my decision to take I-95 rather than go up the Eastern Shore in the future.
Northbound Del. 1 near Christiana Mall will be closed for eight hours tonight to allow for overhead sign removal, DelDOT reports.
The work is part of an interchange project to improve the connection with I-95.
The northbound lanes will be closed from 9 tonight until 5 a.m. Thursday.
Northbound traffic will be detoured onto Del. 273 at exit 162, west to I-95 and north to the Del. 1 exit (4A).
The southbound lanes were closed for the work on Tuesday night.
Tolls on the Delaware Memorial Bridge would rise by a $1 for passenger cars and trucks with a similar per-axle increase for commercial vehicles under a proposal to avert a budget crisis at the bridge authority.
The rate hike would help pay for a variety of projects, Salmon said, including $29 million in improvements to I-295, $28 million for painting and structural work on the bridge, $10 million for upgrades at toll collection stations, $9 million for inspection of bridge cables and suspension ropes and $4.3 million to replace the electronic signage system that lets motorists know when lanes on the bridge are closed.
Bridge authority plans $1 toll hike on Delaware Memorial (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110427/NEWS02/104270350/-1/7daysarchives/Bridge-authority-plans-1-toll-hike-Delaware-Memorial)Hopefully incentive to get more traffic off this bridge on summer weekends and onto US 322.QuoteTolls on the Delaware Memorial Bridge would rise by a $1 for passenger cars and trucks with a similar per-axle increase for commercial vehicles under a proposal to avert a budget crisis at the bridge authority.QuoteThe rate hike would help pay for a variety of projects, Salmon said, including $29 million in improvements to I-295, $28 million for painting and structural work on the bridge, $10 million for upgrades at toll collection stations, $9 million for inspection of bridge cables and suspension ropes and $4.3 million to replace the electronic signage system that lets motorists know when lanes on the bridge are closed.
DelDOT expects the cable-supported north and south sections of the bridge deck to meet in the middle by October, with the roadway expected to be opened to traffic in December, about eight months past the original plan.
Markell also gave the Sussex County legislators an ultimatum, telling them to reach a consensus by the end of the legislative session on U.S. 113 improvements or risk having the money spent elsewhere in the state. All planning on the U.S. 113 project, on which $14 million already has been spent, was stopped.
Now, the 12 Sussex lawmakers agree unanimously that they won't support the current bypass plan, according to Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach. The House majority leader said Thursday he had drafted a letter outlining a new proposal for Markell. The delegation said it wants all improvements to U.S. 113 from Milford to Selbyville to be made on the highway's current alignment, with a short bypass diverting traffic east of the town of Millsboro, Schwartzkopf said.
The lawmakers support routing the bypass at Millsboro through as much state land as possible, such as the Stockley Center north of Millsboro, Schwartzkopf said.
Possible locations for Riverfront span to be discussed
A Wilmington Riverfront transportation coalition will take plans for a new bridge over the Christina River to the public from 5 to 7 p.m. next Monday at the Center on the Riverfront.
The session, at 815 Justison St., will include possible locations for the new span, which will expand links to several routes, including I-95, I-495, U.S. 13 and local roads.
The Delaware Department of Transportation's long-range plans call for a bridge that would connect the Riverfront area just south of The Shipyard (formerly the Shipyard Shops) with U.S. 13 south of the South Walnut Street and South Market Street split.
Current estimates peg the cost at about $45 million, including $33.4 million for construction and $8.6 million for right-of-way purchases, possibly beginning as early as next year. Construction is unlikely to begin before 2014, however, with the Federal Highway Administration picking up 80 percent of the cost of land and construction.
Wilmington Initiatives, a group that includes the city of Wilmington, the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization and state transportation agencies, will sponsor the session.
Information will be available on several other projects, ranging from sidewalk and lighting improvements to streetscape and beautification efforts. Most are intended to promote a balance of transportation services, including mass transit, pedestrian, bicycle, rail and motor vehicle.
Although DelDOT has warned that the state's Transportation Trust Fund is short of cash, the Markell administration's proposed Bond Bill for the fiscal year that begins July 1 sets aside $8.6 million to begin land purchases.
The Delaware River and Bay Authority has approved a $1 increase to the toll at the Delaware Memorial Bridge, a spokesman said.
The toll is currently $3. The new $4 rate goes into effect July 1, said DRBA spokesman Jim Salmon.
The $4 toll will apply to passenger vehicles; a $1 per axle increase was also approved for commercial vehicles.
The increases are expected to raise an additional $22 million in revenue annually -- money that will be used for capital improvements at the bridge and the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.
The money raised will be used for a variety of projects -- not just at the bridge. Among them are I-295 highway upgrades that are expected to cost $29 million and dock work and improvements to passenger loading systems at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry that are expected to cost $15 million.
Tolls to go up on Delaware Memorial Bridge (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110517/NEWS/110517026/Tolls-go-up-Delaware-Memorial-Bridge?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home)QuoteThe Delaware River and Bay Authority has approved a $1 increase to the toll at the Delaware Memorial Bridge, a spokesman said.
The toll is currently $3. The new $4 rate goes into effect July 1, said DRBA spokesman Jim Salmon.
The $4 toll will apply to passenger vehicles; a $1 per axle increase was also approved for commercial vehicles.
NEW CASTLE — New Jersey's E-ZPass service center is taking over management of accounts issued by the Delaware River and Bay Authority.
The authority operates the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects New Jersey and Delaware near Wilmington.
It has 43,000 E-ZPass accounts.
The DRBA says it will save $750,000 per year by having the New Jersey operation handle its accounts.
Customers will also save. Their monthly membership fee will be $1 instead of the current $1.50 and they won't have to pay to buy transponders any more. They'll also benefit from additional discount plans.
Southbound I-495 in Claymont will be reduced to one lane for months starting next week as crews peform maintenance on a bridge over the highway, officials announced today.
Both southbound lanes will be closed between the Naamans Road and Philadelphia Pike exits from 9 p.m. Wednesday until 5 a.m. Thursday to allow for placement of a barrier wall to protect workers. Detours will be posted.
One lane of the highway will then reopen.
Contractors will be working behind the barrier wall during the daytime, according to a statement from the Delaware Department of Transportation.
The project also includes rehabilitation of the Naamans Road bridge over I-95.
The northbound and southbound right lanes of I-95 will be closed from 9 p.m. Thursday until 5 a.m. June 17 to allow for placement of barrier walls beneath the Naamans bridge. Then the right shoulders will remain closed around-the-clock until the work is completed in mid-September 2012.
Motorists on Del. 1 will get better access to Del. 12 at Frederica this week, but a new overpass under construction won't be opening until early July.
Starting Monday, southbound motorists on Del. 1 will be allowed to exit onto Del. 12 (Frederica Road) at the north end of the town. And drivers on Del. 12 will be able to enter the southbound lanes of Del. 1 at the north end of the town, said Michael Williams of the state transportation department.
But access to and from northbound Del. 1 will continue to be from Frederica Road at the south end of the town until the overpass is opened.
Went along I-95 southbound through Delaware today and photographed some new signs going up between the service plaza and the Newark tolls. The Newark toll plaza is nearing completion and I must say, it doesn't look half bad...
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5312/5858596886_1d91a48c32_z.jpg)
A new overpass on Del. 1 at Frederica will be open to traffic on Tuesday, officials announced today.
The overpass, to open by the end of the day, will allow traffic entering and exiting the northbound lanes to cross over the highway to connect with Del. 12 at the north end of town.
Ramps for southbound access were opened earlier this week, following more than a year of construction. The project eliminated a stop-sign controlled median crossing that was the scene of numerous accidents, some fatal.
The Delaware Department of Transportation has other overpasses planned for Del. 1, with some awaiting funding:
• Del. 30 (Wilkins Road/Cedar Neck Road). Construction will begin in spring 2012.
• At south end of Frederica, junction with Frederica, Tub Mill Pond and Milford Neck roads. Construction might begin in fall 2013.
• At Little Heaven, junction with Bowers Beach and Clapham roads. Construction could begin late summer or early fall of 2014.
• At Milford, junction with Northeast Front Street and New Wharf Road. Construction might begin in fall 2015.
• Thompsonville Road south of Frederica. Construction could begin late summer or early fall 2015.
• Barratts Chapel Road north of Frederica. Construction and right-of-way plans are currently not funded. No design work is being planned.
An overpass at Del. 9 at the south end of Dover was completed in November 2009.
Went along I-95 southbound through Delaware today and photographed some new signs going up between the service plaza and the Newark tolls. The Newark toll plaza is nearing completion and I must say, it doesn't look half bad...
1. Del. 1 at I-95: Christiana Mall bridge relocation, $12.2 million, through November 2012.
2. I-95 Newark toll plaza: $30 million, could open all lanes by July Fourth weekend.
3. Elkton Road: Casho Mill to Delaware Avenue, $10.5 million, through September 2012.
4. Kirkwood Highway: Del. 7 to Del. 100 at east end of Elsmere, $2.1 million, repair/repaving through mid-November.
5. Del. 141 Newport Bridge: 1-95 at Newport, $14.8 million, through summer 2014.
6. Del. 1: Barkers Landing (St. Jones River south of Dover Air Force Base) to Frederica, repairs/repaving.
7. Indian River Inlet Bridge: $150 million, lane restrictions. Opens in December.
8. Del. 54: West of Fenwick Island, $10 million, widening and improvements through May 2012.
Looks like we have some progress at the Newark Toll plaza. Here's what I saw when I was through that area just now.
I didn't pass through the toll plaza (haven't in years), and I was taking my usual diversion route: MD 279/DE 2, Otts Chapel Road, Welsh Tract Road, DE 896. So I crossed over 95 twice on both Otts Chapel and Welsh Tract. There were signs on I-95 saying "new traffic pattern (today's date)"
Looks like we have some progress at the Newark Toll plaza. Here's what I saw when I was through that area just now.
I didn't pass through the toll plaza (haven't in years), and I was taking my usual diversion route: MD 279/DE 2, Otts Chapel Road, Welsh Tract Road, DE 896. So I crossed over 95 twice on both Otts Chapel and Welsh Tract. There were signs on I-95 saying "new traffic pattern (today's date)"
Southbound was not done yet. Looked like the left lane was going through the high-speed E-ZPass (but not at high speed yet), the center two were going to the booths (the left of 2 lanes signed for E-ZPass Only), and the right lane is still exit-only at DE 896/Exit 1. Traffic was rather heavy in the one cash approach lane, and looked like it was moving at medium speed through the high-speed lane.
Some good news for the road-weary this holiday weekend -- the I-95 toll plaza in Newark, which has been a major chokepoint, will be easing its grip on traffic.
As of Monday, the highway-speed E-ZPass lanes -- where electronic transponders are read without vehicles having to slow down or drive through a traditional tollbooth -- are completed and open for business, said Delaware Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Williams, with two lanes on the northbound side and two lanes on the southbound side.
The expectation is that the lanes will ease congestion at the tolls, which had gotten worse over the past year as construction shut down conventional toll lanes to make way for the new E-ZPass lanes.
"It is not going to magically make backups or delays go away," said Williams, adding that during unusually high-volume times like holiday weekends, that would be next to impossible. But he said the new lanes are a major change and drivers should notice a much more "comfortable" ride through the plaza.
Looks like we have some progress at the Newark Toll plaza. Here's what I saw when I was through that area just now.
I didn't pass through the toll plaza (haven't in years), and I was taking my usual diversion route: MD 279/DE 2, Otts Chapel Road, Welsh Tract Road, DE 896. So I crossed over 95 twice on both Otts Chapel and Welsh Tract. There were signs on I-95 saying "new traffic pattern (today's date)"
Is that faster than Chestnut Hill Rd.? Or about the same?
Looks like we have some progress at the Newark Toll plaza. Here's what I saw when I was through that area just now.
I didn't pass through the toll plaza (haven't in years), and I was taking my usual diversion route: MD 279/DE 2, Otts Chapel Road, Welsh Tract Road, DE 896. So I crossed over 95 twice on both Otts Chapel and Welsh Tract. There were signs on I-95 saying "new traffic pattern (today's date)"
Is that faster than Chestnut Hill Rd.? Or about the same?
Was just going to ask the same thing. Also, is it just me, or are more and more people catching on to skirting the MD/DE state line toll? Last time I skirted it I made the mistake of going all the way up to DE-4 and sat in a 10-15 minute queue (of course, I could sit in that same queue on I-95 and pay $4, too!). That WAS Memorial Day weekend though, if I recall...
Looks like we have some progress at the Newark Toll plaza. Here's what I saw when I was through that area just now.
I didn't pass through the toll plaza (haven't in years), and I was taking my usual diversion route: MD 279/DE 2, Otts Chapel Road, Welsh Tract Road, DE 896. So I crossed over 95 twice on both Otts Chapel and Welsh Tract. There were signs on I-95 saying "new traffic pattern (today's date)"
Is that faster than Chestnut Hill Rd.? Or about the same?
Looks like we have some progress at the Newark Toll plaza. Here's what I saw when I was through that area just now.
I didn't pass through the toll plaza (haven't in years), and I was taking my usual diversion route: MD 279/DE 2, Otts Chapel Road, Welsh Tract Road, DE 896. So I crossed over 95 twice on both Otts Chapel and Welsh Tract. There were signs on I-95 saying "new traffic pattern (today's date)"
Is that faster than Chestnut Hill Rd.? Or about the same?
Was just going to ask the same thing. Also, is it just me, or are more and more people catching on to skirting the MD/DE state line toll? Last time I skirted it I made the mistake of going all the way up to DE-4 and sat in a 10-15 minute queue (of course, I could sit in that same queue on I-95 and pay $4, too!). That WAS Memorial Day weekend though, if I recall...
This past weekend, I was able to get down to Frederica, and check out SR-1's newest interchange, which opened June 28, 2011.
<snip>
A Maryland-based company won a $111.9 million contract Wednesday to rebuild the always busy and often snarled I-95/Del. 1 interchange, undercutting DelDOT's estimate by nearly $34 million and shaving 14 months off the state's construction schedule.
Jessup-based Cherry Hill Construction Inc.'s bid was about 23.2 percent lower than the nearly $145.7 million that DelDOT expected to pay for the sprawling, multi-ramp and multi-overpass design.
Revamped I-95 toll plaza gets official rededication (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110726/NEWS02/107260335/-1/7daysarchives/Revamped-95-toll-plaza-gets-official-rededication)
Contract cuts cost, time of I-95 project (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110707/NEWS02/107070340/-1/7daysarchives/Contract-cuts-cost-time-95-project)QuoteA Maryland-based company won a $111.9 million contract Wednesday to rebuild the always busy and often snarled I-95/Del. 1 interchange, undercutting DelDOT's estimate by nearly $34 million and shaving 14 months off the state's construction schedule.
Jessup-based Cherry Hill Construction Inc.'s bid was about 23.2 percent lower than the nearly $145.7 million that DelDOT expected to pay for the sprawling, multi-ramp and multi-overpass design.
Revamped I-95 toll plaza gets official rededication (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110726/NEWS02/107260335/-1/7daysarchives/Revamped-95-toll-plaza-gets-official-rededication)
The pictures PennDOTFan posted give a sense for where the express carriageway begins on the southbound side. Anyone know where it begins going north?
The Delaware Department of Transportation said Monday that the proposed Governor's Square III Shopping Center can be built without having to build a multimillion-dollar overpass of Del. 7 over U.S. 40.
The move clears the way for New Castle County Council to vote on a rezoning request by developer DelleDonne & Associates that would allow the shopping center to be built. The property is now zoned for office space.
DelDOT's conclusion, made as the agency announced it has completed its review of DelleDonne's traffic-impact study, marks a reversal of the agency's comments in March, when it refused DelleDonne's request to waive the study.
At that time, DelDOT officials said huge improvements of the Del. 7 and U.S. 40 intersection might be needed to maintain required traffic-service levels. Monday, DelDOT said new data show that congestion at the intersection has actually dropped from 2009 to 2010.
The improvements include widening Del. 7 to four lanes from Newtown Road to a point north of Rivers End Drive; extending the southbound left-turn lanes at 7 and 40 to 725 feet; improving intersections and adding traffic lights along Del. 7; and sharing in the costs of any of the improvements performed by DelDOT.
The threshold for an intersection to be at "failed" status is for a vehicle to be delayed for 55 seconds at peak-evening driving times, Bhatt said. "The delay for a vehicle to get through routes 7 and 40 is now 53.6 seconds.
"The agency finds acceptable service levels can be maintained if the developer makes certain improvements in the corridor," DelDOT said in a statement.
The new Indian River Inlet Bridge moved a step closer to completion today.
Following final concrete formation for the north side of the bridge, workers removed the steel structure used for its construction, the Delaware Department of Transportation announced.
Removal of the 300-ton structure -- called a form traveler -- also means boaters will now have more clearance for traveling beneath the new bridge.
DelDOT said the channel was closed in cooperation with the Coast Guard between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. today while the form traveler was lowered onto a barge. Designed specifically for this project, the form traveler will be taken to Virginia and recycled.
A similar structure remains on the south side of the bridge, where four sections remain to be built.
The final concrete pour is expected in late October or early November, with completion of the $150 million bridge planned in December.
The cable-supported span will carry Del. 1 across the inlet, replacing an older, lower bridge that has been plagued by underwater erosion.
Traffic on Del. 1 remains restricted to one lane in each direction during construction.
I have never considered adding a traffic light to be an "improvement"...
The Department of Transportation has announced Middletown-based Mumford & Miller Concrete Inc. has received the winning bid for the I-95 and U.S. 202 reconstruction project.
The construction, slated to begin in November and be completed by fall 2014, will have a price tag of $27,607,113.22, the lowest of five bids received.
DelDOT says the project will include the removal of the I-95 southbound ramp to the U.S. 202 loop ramp and relocating the ramp to become a directional ramp that would tie into U.S. 202 with a new traffic signal.
The project will address a vertical clearance by lowering I-95 southbound under U.S. 202, bridge rehabilitations, widening the ramp from I-95 to U.S. 202 northbound from one to two lanes and extending the two-lane ramp from U.S. 202 to I-95 southbound further down I-95.
US 202 around there has undergone a lot of changes over the last few years. In 2006 I took some pictures of what looked like a new road layout only to find the Augustine Cut Off exit has since been removed. Will the I-95/US 202 ramp be the last work to take place?
This project eliminates Exit 8A of Interstate 95 southbound to make way for a new wider ramp from U.S. 202 south onto I-95 south.
(http://www.aaroads.com/delaware/delaware050/i-095_sb_exit_008a_04.jpg)
Middletown company wins bid for I-95-U.S. 202 project (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110927/NEWS/110927018/-1/7daysarchives/Middletown-company-wins-bid-95-U-S-202-project)QuoteThe Department of Transportation has announced Middletown-based Mumford & Miller Concrete Inc. has received the winning bid for the I-95 and U.S. 202 reconstruction project.
The construction, slated to begin in November and be completed by fall 2014, will have a price tag of $27,607,113.22, the lowest of five bids received.
DelDOT says the project will include the removal of the I-95 southbound ramp to the U.S. 202 loop ramp and relocating the ramp to become a directional ramp that would tie into U.S. 202 with a new traffic signal.
The project will address a vertical clearance by lowering I-95 southbound under U.S. 202, bridge rehabilitations, widening the ramp from I-95 to U.S. 202 northbound from one to two lanes and extending the two-lane ramp from U.S. 202 to I-95 southbound further down I-95.
The ramp from the Christiana Mall to northbound I-95 will close permanently Tuesday as part of an ongoing road project in the area, state officials announced today.
Instead, traffic will be directed to the ramp for northbound Del. 1 near JCPenny’s, and then be able to exit onto northbound I-95.
Delaware's sometimes notorious I-95 interchange at U.S. 202 will get a three-year, $27.6 million makeover starting next month, under a DelDOT plan that could include weekend-long closings of some ramps and even lanes along the interstate.
"The main reason for the work is to address backups that occur on northound 95 approaching U.S. 202," said project manager Mark Tudor. "The project will provide a two-lane ramp all the way, almost, to the north side of the Brandywine River Bridge.
Widening and improvements also are planned along the ramp between southbound 202 and the interstate, Tudor said, to ease friction and weaving as drivers merge into a single lane before moving onto I-95.
To make room for that work, the ramp from southbound I-95 to southbound Concord Pike will be relocated to the north side of the interchange, with a new traffic signal installed along northbound Concord Pike to allow vehicles to cross onto southbound lanes leading into Wilmington.
NEW CASTLE COUNTY
» Summit Bridge, U.S. 301/Del. 896: Lane closings in both directions through May 1.
» Delaware Memorial Bridge: Weekday closings of two to three southbound lanes through Dec. 16, excluding holidays.
» I-495: Southbound lane restriction between Exit 6 (Naamans Road) and Exit 5 (Philadelphia Pike), and at various times between Edgemoor Road and Christina River bridge.
» Del. 1 at Christiana Mall: Nighttime lane closings, excluding Sundays, through Nov. 22.
» Del. 141 viaduct around Del. 4: Various ramp and lane restrictions.
KENT COUNTY
» U.S. 13 between St. Jones River and Court Street, Court Street between U.S. 13 and Bay Road: Lane closings for repaving.
» U.S. 13 southbound between North State Street and Kings Highway: Nighttime lane closings for water-main installation.
SUSSEX COUNTY
» Del. 1 Indian River Inlet bridge: Speed restrictions, access detours.
» Front Street, Seaford: Nanticoke River bridge closed through Dec. 16.
As part of a $10 million project, workers are stabilizing and stiffening steel gusset plates, sandblasting the 600-foot span and painting it bright blue, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns and operates the bridge. Work began in April and should end in December 2012.
Only two of Summit's four lanes have been open since the spring to reduce the amount of weight on the bridge at any one time, said Sarah M. Rivette, a spokeswoman for the corps in Philadelphia.
All four lanes should reopen Monday after contractors strengthen the span by replacing a 700-pound gusset plate below the deck at the bridge's northeast end. The slab of steel connects adjacent bridge beams and girders to trusses.
I don't know the history of that service area, but Hot Shoppes was the name of a big restaurant/cafeteria chain in the Washington area back in the 50s and 60s. Maybe it wasn't that the service area was called Hot Shoppes, but that Hot Shoppes had the food franchise there? Just a guess....
US 202 around there has undergone a lot of changes over the last few years. In 2006 I took some pictures of what looked like a new road layout only to find the Augustine Cut Off exit has since been removed. Will the I-95/US 202 ramp be the last work to take place?
(http://www.speedcam.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/us202.jpg)
Finally :clap: :clap: :clap:
New Indian River Inlet Bridge taking shape (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100302/NEWS/100302036/1006/New+Indian+River+Inlet+Bridge+taking+shape)QuoteDelDOT's latest update on the project: "As of this week, all four footers of the bridge are complete. Eventually they will be put underground and not visible, however like the foundation of any structure they are key in giving the bridge its strength and long-term stability."QuoteThe new bridge design calls for a 2,600-foot-long bridge with a 900-foot span across the inlet. It will be supported by cables in a design similar to theRoth BridgeSR 1 Turnpike Bridge over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.QuoteThe current construction is the state's second try at a new bridge over the inlet. Problems with the first bridge approaches came to light in 2007, when fill dirt at the site began to shift and slip, creating a multimillion-dollar setback.
The contract was abandoned and re-advertised and the bridge re-designed. It is expected to be completed in spring 2011.
Drivers can visit the project Web site, www.irib.deldot.gov, to get traffic updates, view cameras or get more information on the construction
After years and millions of dollars, the new Indian River Inlet Bridge will open to traffic Jan. 20, state officials say.
Following a brief ribbon- cutting ceremony for invited officials, the transition will begin with the rerouting of southbound Del. 1 traffic from the existing bridge, followed by the rerouting of northbound traffic, according to the Delaware Department of Transportation.
The 2,600-foot-long structure will first carry one lane of traffic in each direction on the southbound side of the bridge. This pattern is expected to continue into the spring, while the contractor George & Lynch completes the roadway approaches on the northbound side of the bridge.
Officials say the new traffic pattern will consist of one lane in each direction through the spring, when all four lanes are expected to open.
Through April 2013, phase one of the $27.6-million project...
To help improve traffic flow, crews will widen the ramp from one lane to two, nearly to the north side of the Brandywine River bridge. They will also construct a 12-foot shoulder to the right and a six-foot shoulder to the left
Also during phase one, the ramp from southbound U.S. 202 to I-95 north will be extended to allow for better merging.
In the project's second year, contractors will lower the roadbed of I-95 southbound by three feet where it passes under U.S. 202. This should address a clearance problem -- the risk of large vehicles hitting girders supporting the overpass.
Work has begun in Bear on a project to widen a stretch of Del. 7 that's grown thick with apartment buildings and town home developments in recent years.
Crews will spend the next 20 months adding a lane in each direction to a mile-long section of the highway, known as Bear-Christiana Road, between Del. 273 and Newtown Road.
Sidewalks, bus stops and bike lanes also are planned, as well as a new traffic signal at the intersection with School Bell Road, according to the state Department of Transportation. Construction is expected to conclude in the winter of 2013.
After the work, the section of Bear-Christiana Road will match the corridor's four lanes between Newtown Road and U.S. 40 in the area of Governor's Square, said spokesman Bob King of DelDOT. Both widening projects were approved in 2000 as part of a 20-year plan for improvements along U.S. 40. When DelDOT hosted public workshops about the Newtown to Del. 273 widening in 2003 and 2004, officials anticipated that construction would have concluded by 2005.
Delays followed, in part because of funding shortages but also because traffic along the corridor didn't grow as much as projected -- a trend reflected statewide, according to transportation planners. The Wilmington Area Planning Council has found that few sections or intersections on the U.S. 40 corridor are considered "failing" at this time. Transit usage has grown considerably -- by 11 percent -- along the corridor, said agency planner Dan Blevins.
Plans for more developments in the area have been filed with New Castle County, so things could soon change. Traffic growth along the corridor was greatest in the area of the road widening.
I just found this postcard from US 13 at I-95 during the 1960's. Check out the old BGS:Very nice find! Check out the Esso sign and is that a gas price sign, looks like 26cpg.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/retrolandusa/5794864559/in/photostream
Very nice find! Check out the Esso sign and is that a gas price sign, looks like 26cpg.I was thinking more about the "Toll" bannered I-95 sign, but the Esso sign is noteworthy too.
With all of the lanes now open on the Indian River Inlet Bridge, engineers turned on the lights Thursday night for the first time.
The blue LED lights illuminating the stay cables will be on each night. There are 76 low-wattage (55 watt) bulbs and 16 LED fixtures illuminating the outside faces of the pylons, according to the Delaware Department of Transporation, making for a total of 92 lights.
DelDOT says a blue lens was added to soften the lighting, reduce glare and minimize any impacts to migratory birds that can become disoriented in the more traditional bright white lights.
This is one of the first cable stay bridges to use LED lighting technology and will offer substantial energy cost savings for the bridge lighting, DelDOT says.
The last of the four lanes on the new Indian River Inlet Bridge opened this week to traffic, ending a multiyear project that involved numerous lane closures and shifting traffic patterns. The pedestrian walkway is scheduled to open by Friday.
The next phase of construction at Delaware’s most congested interchange soon will close the loop ramp from northbound Interstate 95 to northbound Del. 7 and temporarily alter exit patterns from the Christiana Mall.
Both changes make room for construction of elevated flyover ramps connecting Del. 1 and I-95 that ultimately will allow for smoother merging and less congestion along the corridor, according to the Delaware Department of Transportation.
Also starting July 16, officials will close the Christiana Mall exit near JCPenney until November to allow for construction on the ramp and its tie-in to Del. 7 – also part of the larger interchange project.
Around July 23, crews will reopen the exit to northbound I-95 from Mall Ring Road (near Nordstrom and the Park & Ride lot) after a year’s closure, officials said.
Construction on the interchange is expected to wrap up by the end of next year, DelDOT said.
Indian River bridge lights up (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120525/NEWS15/305250068/New-Indian-River-Inlet-Bridge-lights-up)Not real good pics, but here it is.QuoteWith all of the lanes now open on the Indian River Inlet Bridge, engineers turned on the lights Thursday night for the first time.
The blue LED lights illuminating the stay cables will be on each night. There are 76 low-wattage (55 watt) bulbs and 16 LED fixtures illuminating the outside faces of the pylons, according to the Delaware Department of Transporation, making for a total of 92 lights.
DelDOT says a blue lens was added to soften the lighting, reduce glare and minimize any impacts to migratory birds that can become disoriented in the more traditional bright white lights.
This is one of the first cable stay bridges to use LED lighting technology and will offer substantial energy cost savings for the bridge lighting, DelDOT says.
The last of the four lanes on the new Indian River Inlet Bridge opened this week to traffic, ending a multiyear project that involved numerous lane closures and shifting traffic patterns. The pedestrian walkway is scheduled to open by Friday.
So they're finally building the I-95 to DE-1 flyover! It's about time!
Wilmington officials announced that an exit on I-95 northbound will be closed from midnight Thursday until 5 a.m. Friday.
Crews will remove overhead signs at Exit 8 (U.S. 202, Concord Pike). There will be signage alerting drivers to the closure and detours.
Drivers headed north should take the Marsh Road exit, turn left and then left onto I-95 southbound to Exit 8B (U.S. 202, Concord Pike/West Chester) or 8A (Concord Avenue).
I don't know if this has been mentioned here, but the SR 1 freeway now extends south over the Barkers Landing Bridge: http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=39.1061&lon=-75.4544&zoom=13&layers=MHere's a 24/7 traffic camera at Barkers Landing, click on the yellow circle to the right to view. The next cam at DE 1 and Bowers Beach Rd shows my old homestead when the cam pans (the big white house).
I don't know if this has been mentioned here, but the SR 1 freeway now extends south over the Barkers Landing Bridge: http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=39.1061&lon=-75.4544&zoom=13&layers=MHere's a 24/7 traffic camera at Barkers Landing, click on the yellow circle to the right to view. The next cam at DE 1 and Bowers Beach Rd shows my old homestead when the cam pans (the big white house).
www.deldot.gov/public.ejs?command=PublicCameraDisplay&county=2
From what I can see the freeway is built to just north of Little Heaven. Before DE 1 was built this was US 113, a 2 lane hwy. It was a very dangerous intersection because to turn left off Trap Shooters Rd onto US 113 north (which 99% of traffic did) the structure of the old drawbridge obscurred your view. They didnt have the access roads like now, Trap Shooter Rd intersected directly (and deadended at) US 113. I lost a friend and an aquantiice here in two separate crashs and many many others died here also. :-(
Does anybody have any idea why Google Maps doesn't display any traffic info at all for DE-1 south of Dover (where the expressway portion ends)? I realize that it's not a freeway but I think everyone can agree it's still a major roadway facility, and certainly carries more traffic in the summer than US-13 or US-113 in southern Delaware. So why then, on Labor Day, is there no traffic information??Depends on DelDOT or whatever other agency collects traffic information. The NYC area is well represented by INRIX on freeways, and NJ (as an example) collects their own information through 5-1-1 and interagency coordination to cover state highways and other major roads (even down to the town level). If a major roadway isn't covered, it's because Delaware doesn't have a system set up for that road, not because of Google Maps.
https://maps.google.com/?ll=38.863236,-74.929504&spn=0.559243,1.130219&t=h&z=10&layer=t
Depends on DelDOT or whatever other agency collects traffic information. The NYC area is well represented by INRIX on freeways, and NJ (as an example) collects their own information through 5-1-1 and interagency coordination to cover state highways and other major roads (even down to the town level). If a major roadway isn't covered, it's because Delaware doesn't have a system set up for that road, not because of Google Maps.
Because what is measuring the phones as probes? Hint: it's not the phone companies.Depends on DelDOT or whatever other agency collects traffic information. The NYC area is well represented by INRIX on freeways, and NJ (as an example) collects their own information through 5-1-1 and interagency coordination to cover state highways and other major roads (even down to the town level). If a major roadway isn't covered, it's because Delaware doesn't have a system set up for that road, not because of Google Maps.
This is confusing to me - "if a major roadway isn't covered"? I was under the impression that traffic data for Google maps/maps on an iPhone is generated using phones as probes. I currently live in Fairfax, Virginia; when I check traffic on my phone, I can see traffic on nearly any minor arterial in Virginia or in DC. When I was in Delaware yesterday, I could see traffic for roads in neighborhoods in northern DE. Why then would there be no data along DE-1 south of Dover, with thousands of cars jammed up?
I'm driving from Pocomoke City to Dorsett VA, and I wanted to make it to Delaware since I've never been there. I notice on my map the "First Mason Dixon Stone" is a couple of miles of US 50. Is that stone still the legal corner of Delaware so I can say I've been to the state if I circle the stone?
Workers will soon close the exit ramp from southbound I-95 to southbound U.S. 202 [should reference Delaware 202]/Concord Pike for eight months to make way for the ongoing realignment of ramps at the interchange, officials say.
Starting the week of Sept. 24, motorists will be directed to follow a 2-mile detour north of Wilmington...
The overall interchange project is expected to wrap up in spring 2015, said Vernon Lawton, an area engineer for DelDOT.
Initially, the existing ramp was to remain open while crews built the new one in phases. Crews now hope to complete the replacement ramp by April or May 2013, weather permitting, Torrijos said.
State transportation officials are gearing up for a long-delayed, $65 million project to widen a stretch of Del. 26 between Clarksville and Bethany Beach, with construction expected to begin next fall.
Night construction could reduce the project duration by 18 months as work could continue through the peak tourist season. Construction could then conclude within 2½ years, rather than four, officials estimate.
During peak season (May 16 to Sept. 30), no work will be permitted Fridays through Mondays or on holidays. From Tuesdays through Thursdays, daytime lane restrictions won’t be allowed unless the contractor can maintain two lanes of traffic, Frey said.
In the off-peak season, lane restrictions are possible seven days a week. Winter is also when crews will tackle bridge reconstruction that will close two points of Del. 26 for up to eight weeks and require detours, officials said.
Planned improvements on Del. 26 include expanding the roadway from a width of roughly 40 feet to 64 feet. That will mean two, 11-foot-wide travel lanes; a 12-foot-wide continuous center turning lane; and 5-foot-wide paved shoulders in each direction. That work would extend from the intersection of Del. 26 at Omar and Powell Farm roads to Bethany Beach, to the point where Garfield Parkway expands to three lanes beyond the Assawoman Canal Bridge.
In addition to improving bicycle lanes along the corridor, plans call for installing 3.5 miles of sidewalks, six miles of curbing and delineating 230 entrances for businesses and residences, many of which have open, undefined entryways.
Work began in 2010 to widen and improve five miles of adjacent roads to serve as alternate routes during construction on Del. 26. To expedite that $11 million project after utility-related delays, the contractor began working on more than one section of roadway concurrently. Construction is expected to wrap up by next summer.
Drivers should brace themselves for more detours at the I-95/Del. 1 interchange near Christiana Mall – this time, full closures of Del. 1 starting next weekend and continuing into early November.
Depending on the day, crews will close the highway after 9 p.m. (later on weekends) and work through early morning. The roadway should reopen by 6 a.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m Saturdays and 8 a.m. Sundays. DelDOT’s contractor must maintain the current number of traffic lanes during peak travel hours.
The overnight closures are necessary to make room for the placement of large steel girders – part of the elevated fly-over ramps being built as part of the ongoing interchange project at I-95 and Del. 1.
One new flyover ramp will ultimately carry traffic from northbound Interstate 95 to northbound Del. 7. The other flyover ramp will carry traffic from southbound I-95 to the new mall bridge, Torrijos said.
The multiyear project aims to create smoother merging and less congestion at one of Delaware’s busiest interchanges. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of next year.
State prepares for widening of Del. 26 (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120927/NEWS1501/309270035/State-prepares-widening-Del-26?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home)QuoteState transportation officials are gearing up for a long-delayed, $65 million project to widen a stretch of Del. 26 between Clarksville and Bethany Beach, with construction expected to begin next fall.
Interstate 95 will shut down for bridge construction at the U.S. 202 interchange the weekend before Halloween...
Crews will close the highway from 8 p.m. Oct. 26 through 5 a.m. Oct. 29 to place large steel girders over the interstate – part of the new Exit 8 bridge to northbound U.S. 202, said Javier Torrijos, construction group engineer for DelDOT's north district.
Also inaccessible that weekend will be ramps from southbound U.S. 202 to northbound I-95 and from northbound 202 to southbound I-95. Those are in addition to the ramp from southbound I-95 to southbound 202, which is closed through April or May.
The new ramp bridge will have a minimum 18½-foot clearance over the interstate, eliminating a substandard clearance that currently causes problems for oversized trucks, said Vernon Lawton, an area engineer for DelDOT.
The I-95/U.S. 202 project is part of a $27.6 million makeover to improve safety and traffic flow through the heavily congested area. In a recent three-year period, the interchange had the highest crash rate among the six interchanges along I-95 in Delaware, according to a recent analysis by the Wilmington Area Planning Council.
Traffic cork set for I-95 (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20121012/NEWS1501/310110086/Traffic-cork-set-95)Advance VMS on I-95 only mention closing on Oct. 26, with no mention of a reopening date/time. I got the impression that it was going to be long-term based on that - very misleading.QuoteInterstate 95 will shut down for bridge construction at the U.S. 202 interchange the weekend before Halloween...QuoteCrews will close the highway from 8 p.m. Oct. 26 through 5 a.m. Oct. 29 to place large steel girders over the interstate – part of the new Exit 8 bridge to northbound U.S. 202, said Javier Torrijos, construction group engineer for DelDOT's north district.
The Delaware Department of Transportation this week presented plans for a $1.75-million fix to improve safety and reduce congestion along a half-mile stretch of Churchmans Road, between Christiana Hospital and the Del. 1 interchange. Construction is expected to begin next fall.
DelDOT engineers hope that adding a third right-turn lane will help. When crews complete the separate interchange project at I-95/Del. 1, coordination of signals on the corridor should also improve traffic flow, said Jenna Frye, the project engineer.
A major highway for people hoping to evacuate southern Delaware coastal communities is closed after ocean water breached sand dunes along the road.
Sussex County officials say Delaware Route 1 is closed in both directions north of the Indian River Inlet Bridge because of water on the road. The dune breach occurred around dawn Sunday morning. Officials say the highway will remain closed indefinitely as Hurricane Sandy closes in on Delaware.
Construction will begin Monday on a new Del. 1 interchange at Milford’s southern border, state officials announced today.
The work, expected to last about 14 months, will eliminate an accident-prone intersection that includes Wilkins Road, Del. 30 and Cedar Neck Road.
Delaware Department of Transportation officials said the contractor chosen for the work, George & Lynch, Inc. of Dover, submitted a bid of $9,222,466, the lowest of six received.
The initial work will require no lane closures but restrictions will be announced later, DelDOT said.
Work to begin Monday on new Del. 1 interchange at Milford (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20121127/NEWS15/311270023/Work-begin-Monday-new-Del-1-interchange-Milford)QuoteConstruction will begin Monday on a new Del. 1 interchange at Milford’s southern border, state officials announced today.
The work, expected to last about 14 months, will eliminate an accident-prone intersection that includes Wilkins Road, Del. 30 and Cedar Neck Road.
Delaware Department of Transportation officials said the contractor chosen for the work, George & Lynch, Inc. of Dover, submitted a bid of $9,222,466, the lowest of six received.
The initial work will require no lane closures but restrictions will be announced later, DelDOT said.
Part of Newark's Elkton Road now has a new name--South Main Street.
Newark City Council decided back in June to re-name the portion of Elkton Road between West Main Street and West Park Place effective New Year's Day, saying Elkton Road has been part of downtown Newark since Council expanded downtown's boundaries in 2007.
Council members believe the name change will foster growth by associating Elkton Road with Newark's downtown section.
Affected businesses and residents were told of the change in September, and DELDOT has completed changing road signs along the re-named road.
A ceremony recognizing the name change is set for Friday morning in the parking lot of Buffalo Wild Wings at 100 South Main Street.
did this sign get zapped, then?
Part of Newark's Elkton Road now called South Main Street (http://www.wdel.com/story.php?id=48085)
Was told about the renaming of Elkton Road to South Main Street by one of my best friends and a lifelong Newark native. He said that the renaming was more motivated to dissociate Newark with Elkton. After an airport run to PHL on Christmas Day, we rode through the new "South Main Street".
(http://www.aaroads.com/forum_images/northeast/de-002b_273_wb_896_nb_app_split.jpg) (http://www.aaroads.com/forum_images/northeast/de-002b_273_wb_896_nb_app_split.jpg)
Approaching the split of DE 2 Business/273 and 896 at the end of Newark business district. South Main Street begins to the left over what was Elkton Road.
Northbound Delaware 1 and 7 shifted from the summer onto a new alignment. To go along with this, a new sign bridge style (for DE at least) was posted at the off-ramp to Interstate 95 north. Still lots of work to be done on the flyovers.
According to DelDOT, they will be placing the beams over I-95 in February. There will be multiple 12-hour closures of I-95.
http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=4605
Why the space next to the I-95 North in the first photo? Seems like the I-295 and I-495 shields could have gone in that space. The shields also look small compared to the text on those panels.
One person did not believe me and said to me "That exit numbers do not go that high." Oh , yes they do and up to 171 as we all know.172. Thanks for playing. Good night.
Hey what about exit 354? :POne person did not believe me and said to me "That exit numbers do not go that high." Oh , yes they do and up to 171 as we all know.172. Thanks for playing. Good night.
Does not belong, and the DRPA's explanation to me (that they were just contining the exit numbering sequence) didn't make sense either!Hey what about exit 354? :POne person did not believe me and said to me "That exit numbers do not go that high." Oh , yes they do and up to 171 as we all know.172. Thanks for playing. Good night.
I counter that with, what about Exit J?Hey what about exit 354? :POne person did not believe me and said to me "That exit numbers do not go that high." Oh , yes they do and up to 171 as we all know.172. Thanks for playing. Good night.
did this sign get zapped, then?
(http://www.aaroads.com/delaware/delaware001/de-002b_273_wb_at_de-896_nb_02.jpg)
Updates on two major interchange projects in Delaware over the holidays:
(http://www.aaroads.com/forum_images/mid-atlantic/de-001_007_nb_exit_165b.jpg) (http://www.aaroads.com/forum_images/mid-atlantic/de-001_007_nb_exit_165b.jpg)
A project at the interchange of Del. 1 and Del. 273 would permanently close East Main Street north of the Christiana Park & Ride lot, state officials say.
The closure would make way for a new loop ramp to and from southbound Del. 1 at Del. 273. The DART bus hub and commuter parking lot would be moved to the Christiana Mall, project manager Darren O’Neill said.
Although construction is years away, DelDOT plans a public workshop next month to discuss the full project – to add a lane to Del. 1 in each direction from the Del. 273 interchange to the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, including the Roth Bridge.
Does anyone know what became of "Metroform," which used to be a "control city" for either Del. 1 or Del. 4 on I-95?
Does anyone know what became of "Metroform," which used to be a "control city" for either Del. 1 or Del. 4 on I-95?
It was the named coined for the development planned at DE 4 and 7 that never really went anywhere. The name was unpopular and so they took in public feedback and Churchman's Crossing was the most popular. Even still, there is nothing that really exists that is Churchman's Crossing. Stanton is still there and standard development along DE 58 has taken place in the form of shopping centers rather than the master planned concept that Metroform entailed.
Regarding the new signs pictured in the previous post, those have to be temporary in nature, because the sign bridges are still the originals (or at least the ones from the mid-80s) and DelDOT always uses that Maryland-style overhead with the corrugated panels with the sharp corners. Still though I was shocked to see that Exit 4 now departs in unison from I-95 north!
improve safety in high-crash areas
Quoteimprove safety in high-crash areas
More effective (and less costly) than widening the road for this would be installing a median barrier. I'm also doubtful that it needs the extra lanes, especially south of US 13. Even during rush hour, it's not that bad. And widening is only going to further complicate the problem where everyone "shunpikes" off DE 1 at the south end of the bridge.
What they could do is continue the second lane on SB 1 where it merges with 13, extending it as an auxiliary lane to the off-ramp at 72. I think that's the best way to alleviate what congestion exists outside of Christiana.
What bugs me more are the gantries along I-95 north between DE 1/7 and DE 141 that show the right-most lane as "exit-only" for I-295. It's not, you have to use that lane to get to Exit 5B for DE 141 north.
DelDOT explains options for $180 million project to overhaul Del. 1
Written by Jeff Montgomery The News Journal
Apr. 08
A state Department of Transportation workshop on options for a $180 million expansion of a major north-south highway drew dozens of residents to Bear on Monday evening, many concerned about noise or the sacrifice of local access to meet through traffic needs. The project, unlikely to begin before late 2015, would add one lane in each direction along nearly 10 miles of Del. 1, eventually creating three lanes each way between Del. 273 and Tybouts Corner and four lanes between Tybouts and the south side of the Roth Bridge.
Major overhauls of the Del. 273, Tybouts Corner and Del. 72 interchanges are planned, with less extensive work at U.S. 40. The Del. 273 options include a more complex and wider cloverleaf of ramps and overpasses, possibly moving some on- and off-traffic to intersections at Newtowne Road and Del. 7 or nearby School Bell Road . One feature of the proposed design would ease cross-traffic friction by dead-ending Del. 7 just north of Del. 273, along a stretch of road that doubles as East Main Street in the historic and repeatedly flooded crossroads village of Christiana. “I think that’s pretty rude, to shut us out,” said Charles Ford, who has lived along a private road on the south side of Christiana, near the proposed new closing point, for a decade. “It’s going to cause a lot of extra time, extra gas and useless mileage on our vehicles.”
Congestion, safety and long-term needs are driving all of the plans, officials said during the workshop at Leasure Elementary School. Northbound Del. 1 already fails to meet current traffic flow standards between U.S. 40 and Del. 273, and both directions fail immediately south of Tybouts Corner. “A big part of it right now is, you have a congestion problem, we have multiple accident areas that are consistent, they’re not just a fluke,” said Darren M. O’Neill, a project development group engineer with DelDOT. “There’s a projection of growth in this area. If we don’t do something, the level of service at almost every location is going to fail, which will only lead to more congestion and traffic,” he said. Officials expect traffic along the corridor to nearly double in some areas by 2040, reaching 125,000 cars daily north of Tybouts, and 140,000 daily to the south. Current studies are aimed at selecting long-term solutions that meet environmental and federal highway aid requirements.
Much of the early public response to the plan has focused on proposals to rework the Del. 273 interchange south of Christiana Mall, where backups and accidents are common at the Del. 1 on- and off-ramps and the adjacent signal where Del. 273 and 7 meet. The entire area often clogs dangerously, officials said, as through traffic tangles with driver efforts to dog-leg between Del. 1 and heavily developed areas of Del. 7 to the south along a too-short stretch of Del. 273. To some Christiana residents, however, the cul-de-sac plan represents the latest chapter in a sort of “death of a thousand cutoffs” for the long-ago bypassed community.
“When it rains, it floods, and cutting off where they’re proposing to cut off, the people that live there are stuck,” said Saddie Waters, who lives nearby and who has attended Christiana United Methodist Church most of her life. Major highway and commercial developments already have created a dead-end east of the town, forcing traffic through the Del. 1 mall interchange. In the north, commercial development prompted DelDOT to close West Main Street’s direct connection with Del. 273, shunting drivers instead onto a road that doubles as a shopping center access. East-west traffic in Christiana concentrates along a shoulderless, narrow, two-lane section of Old Baltimore Pike already known for epic traffic jams during holidays and summer weekends.
DelDOT plans another workshop from 6-9 p.m. April 18 at Wilbur Elementary School near the Del. 72 interchange. Separate sessions on possible noise consequences are planned during the summer.
Dave Watts on Facebook found a gem on the Delaware State Acrhives site about the Delaware Turnpike. Among other things, there is some discussion of the (long discontinued) ramp tolls on the Turnpike:
DELAWARE TURNPIKE SCRAPBOOK
Delaware Turnpike – John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (http://archives.delaware.gov/exhibits/document/scrapbooks/turnpike.shtml)
Wow. First article I read has to do with people arguing over patronage jobs. "The city was supposed to get that job...We won't take this lying down"
It just seems strange for people from the same party to be arguing publicly over political patronage, something seemingly more appropriate to the 19th century.
Southbound Del. 1 will be closed late tonight near Christiana Mall to allow for installation of an overhead sign structure, the Delaware Department of Transportation reports.
The road will be closed at the I-95 overpass from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. Saturday.
Southbound traffic will be detoured east on I-95, east on Del. 273 and back to Del. 1.
Sign work to close southbound Del. 1 at I-95 tonight (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130510/NEWS15/305100056/Sign-work-close-southbound-Del-1-95-tonight)QuoteSouthbound Del. 1 will be closed late tonight near Christiana Mall to allow for installation of an overhead sign structure, the Delaware Department of Transportation reports.
The road will be closed at the I-95 overpass from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. Saturday.
Southbound traffic will be detoured east on I-95, east on Del. 273 and back to Del. 1.
Sign work to close southbound Del. 1 at I-95 tonight (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130510/NEWS15/305100056/Sign-work-close-southbound-Del-1-95-tonight)QuoteSouthbound Del. 1 will be closed late tonight near Christiana Mall to allow for installation of an overhead sign structure, the Delaware Department of Transportation reports.
The road will be closed at the I-95 overpass from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. Saturday.
Southbound traffic will be detoured east on I-95, east on Del. 273 and back to Del. 1.
Really? Closing a roadway for 8 hours to add a sign structure? Something that normally take a 15+/- minute closure to complete?
Sign work to close southbound Del. 1 at I-95 tonight (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130510/NEWS15/305100056/Sign-work-close-southbound-Del-1-95-tonight)QuoteSouthbound Del. 1 will be closed late tonight near Christiana Mall to allow for installation of an overhead sign structure, the Delaware Department of Transportation reports.
The road will be closed at the I-95 overpass from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. Saturday.
Southbound traffic will be detoured east on I-95, east on Del. 273 and back to Del. 1.
Really? Closing a roadway for 8 hours to add a sign structure? Something that normally take a 15+/- minute closure to complete?
I dunno. Are they removing an old structure first? A structure that spans an entire roadway (or both roadways), takes more than 15 minutes to install.
It is our experience that most people do not realize that Route 2 comes into Newark from the east off of Capitol Trail, goes down Route 72 to Route 4, and then to the west to Elkton Road, and then to the state line. Nor do most people realize that Main Street and Elkton Road (up to Route 4) are designated as Business Route 2.
Given that very few people or businesses refer to any form of Route 2 in Newark, we propose to end Route 2 at Route 273. We would completely eliminate Business Route 2. Almost all of the roads where we propose to eliminate the Route 2 or Business Route 2 designation are also "braided" with another Delaware route designations which would remain unchanged (such as Route 273, Route 72, and Route 896). The exception is Elkton Road between the Maryland state line and Christina Parkway, which we propose to designate as Delaware Route 279. This then matches the other side of the state line which is designated as Maryland Route 279.
The goal of this effort is to simplify the route designations in Newark, reduce sign clutter, and reduce sign maintenance costs.
I'm not sure what to make of this:
http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/NewarkRouteChanges/index.shtmlQuoteIt is our experience that most people do not realize that Route 2 comes into Newark from the east off of Capitol Trail, goes down Route 72 to Route 4, and then to the west to Elkton Road, and then to the state line. Nor do most people realize that Main Street and Elkton Road (up to Route 4) are designated as Business Route 2.
Given that very few people or businesses refer to any form of Route 2 in Newark, we propose to end Route 2 at Route 273. We would completely eliminate Business Route 2. Almost all of the roads where we propose to eliminate the Route 2 or Business Route 2 designation are also "braided" with another Delaware route designations which would remain unchanged (such as Route 273, Route 72, and Route 896). The exception is Elkton Road between the Maryland state line and Christina Parkway, which we propose to designate as Delaware Route 279. This then matches the other side of the state line which is designated as Maryland Route 279.
The goal of this effort is to simplify the route designations in Newark, reduce sign clutter, and reduce sign maintenance costs.
http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/NewarkRouteChanges/pdfs/NewarkProposedRoutes.pdf
Why not just get rid of Business 2 after 25 years (I remember the signs going up in 1988) and route DE 2 through Newark again? Or send DE 4 down Elkton Road and eliminate the need for a DE 279?
I agree with elsemere241, why not just extend DE-4 to the state line, rather than have a new DE-279 arbitrarily change to DE 4 while DE 896 turns?
I would rather DE 2 be restored to its pre-1988 alignment. The current route takes it over Amtrak twice, can be hard to follow, and multiplexes with DE 4 or DE 72 its entire length, sometimes using two-lane roads. If DelDOT is that concerned about multiplexed highways (and difficult turns) it should move DE 896 back from Elkton Road to South College Avenue. As it is, DE 896 north has to go around the block along West Delaware Avenue, South College Avenue, and West Main Street. It might be better to curtail DE 896 at downtown Newark and come up with a new number for South College/Summit Bridge anyway.
If you must curtail DE 2, then Elkton Road below Christina Parkway should be DE 4, rather than bring in a new number. It might be a good idea for that stretch to be DE 2 and DE 4 anyway - something I thought would happen when Christina Parkway was built in 1983.
If you must bring in a DE 279, it should go all the way into downtown, whether or not DE 896 is moved or curtailed. There is no point in creating a new number for just a couple of miles that ends where a new route (in this case DE 4) begins.
If DelDOT is that concerned with route numbers from Maryland carrying over, might I suggest creating DE 285 (Chesapeake City Road, connecting to DE 71); DE 310 (which could replace the current DE 896 along Pole Bridge Road); and/or replacing DE 299 west of Middletown with DE 282. There are several other instances of highways having different numbers in each state and there's no reason to proactively change any of them.
The proposal page now has a place for public comments. Here's what I just posted:QuoteI would rather DE 2 be restored to its pre-1988 alignment. The current route takes it over Amtrak twice, can be hard to follow, and multiplexes with DE 4 or DE 72 its entire length, sometimes using two-lane roads. If DelDOT is that concerned about multiplexed highways (and difficult turns) it should move DE 896 back from Elkton Road to South College Avenue. As it is, DE 896 north has to go around the block along West Delaware Avenue, South College Avenue, and West Main Street. It might be better to curtail DE 896 at downtown Newark and come up with a new number for South College/Summit Bridge anyway.
If you must curtail DE 2, then Elkton Road below Christina Parkway should be DE 4, rather than bring in a new number. It might be a good idea for that stretch to be DE 2 and DE 4 anyway - something I thought would happen when Christina Parkway was built in 1983.
If you must bring in a DE 279, it should go all the way into downtown, whether or not DE 896 is moved or curtailed. There is no point in creating a new number for just a couple of miles that ends where a new route (in this case DE 4) begins.
If DelDOT is that concerned with route numbers from Maryland carrying over, might I suggest creating DE 285 (Chesapeake City Road, connecting to DE 71); DE 310 (which could replace the current DE 896 along Pole Bridge Road); and/or replacing DE 299 west of Middletown with DE 282. There are several other instances of highways having different numbers in each state and there's no reason to proactively change any of them.
I agree with everything you wrote.
One other thought on the proposals they have, if they are going to truncate DE 2 to East Main Street, why not renumber DE 72 from Possum Park Road northward to something else as well, and have DE 72 start at Library Avenue and DE 273. This would eliminate the somewhat odd concept of having DE 2/72 overlap westward with DE 2 ending and DE 72 continuing.
I prefer "concurrent" or "co-signed" or even "share pavement" to "multiplex." Where did that term for two or more routes signed on the same road originate?m.t.r. "Decommissioned" came from Route 66 fandom.
The Delaware Department of Transportation has rescheduled the opening of the new ramp from I-95 southbound to U.S. 202 southbound.
Officials have moved the ramp’s opening — part of a three-year project to improve the interchange — to Tuesday because of recent rains.
The event had been scheduled to occur today.
Rush W sent me this Newark Post article on the Newark route renumbering:
A route to less clutter: DelDOT to consolidate Newark route numbers (http://www.newarkpostonline.com/news/article_081d2586-e14b-11e2-94de-001a4bcf887a.html)
Per the article, were the route changes made official?
A public workshop today in New Castle will discuss upcoming construction on southbound I-295 and U.S. 13 just south of the interstate’s overpass.
Plans include installing a tunnel under U.S. 13 to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists, as part of a larger recreational trail envisioned between Wilmington and New Castle. Three lanes of traffic will be maintained at all times during construction, with the exception of two planned weekend detours for closings.
Southbound I-295 is also being reconstructed between Del. 9 and I-95, including the removal of five bridges and the replacement of the bridge spanning U.S. 13 and several safety improvements to the ramps in both directions.
Those interested may stop by the meeting between 4 and 7 p.m. at the Howard J. Weston Community Center, 1 Bassett Ave. in the Manor Park community near New Castle.
What five bridges are being removed? I think I can identify four of them. First would be the bridge on I-295 south that goes over the former ramp from US 13 south to I-295 north. Another might be the ramp from US 13 north to I-295 south might be moved so that bridge over I-295 north can be removed. Then there are 2 bridges on I-295 south that are west of US 13 that are not present on I-295 northbound. But I'm stuck on the fifth bridge.
I'm most interested if they will add another lane to I-295 south across US 13. The concrete pavement on I-295 south which is west of US 13 is in quite bad shape.
2) Over US 13 North/SouthThat one doesn't count as a removal. It's covered separately in the article:
...including the removal of five bridges and the replacement of the bridge spanning U.S. 13...Unless they are mistakenly counting that bridge twice (as a replacement and a removal).
Eighty percent of the project is covered by federal funds.WTF? That's a toll road why does it get Fed funding?
QuoteEighty percent of the project is covered by federal funds.WTF? That's a toll road why does it get Fed funding?
The northern part of DE 1 is free and on the NHS, which is why it's in the 80% category.QuoteEighty percent of the project is covered by federal funds.WTF? That's a toll road why does it get Fed funding?
The northern part of DE 1 is free and on the NHS, which is why it's in the 80% category.QuoteEighty percent of the project is covered by federal funds.WTF? That's a toll road why does it get Fed funding?
I read someplace (might have been on Scott Kozel's site (http://www.pennways.com/DE-1_KWVM_Hwy.html)) that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns all of the bridges over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, including that big cable-stayed span that carries Del. 1 over the canal - and that the Corps may not charge tolls on those bridges, which is why the northernmost toll barrier on the Relief Route (Del. 1) is just south of interchange immediately adjacent to the interchange on the south side of the bridge.
Rush W sent me this Newark Post article on the Newark route renumbering:
A route to less clutter: DelDOT to consolidate Newark route numbers (http://www.newarkpostonline.com/news/article_081d2586-e14b-11e2-94de-001a4bcf887a.html)
Per the article, were the route changes made official?
According to the DelDOT page I referenced a month ago, no. They're still taking comments.
I read someplace (might have been on Scott Kozel's site (http://www.pennways.com/DE-1_KWVM_Hwy.html)) that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns all of the bridges over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, including that big cable-stayed span that carries Del. 1 over the canal - and that the Corps may not charge tolls on those bridges, which is why the northernmost toll barrier on the Relief Route (Del. 1) is just south of interchange immediately adjacent to the interchange on the south side of the bridge.
The project was funded 50% federal/50% state. The toll free portion was built with federal funding while the southern half was funded by the State of Delaware with bonds that are being repaid by tolls. The reason why the C&D bridge is free is that originally the St. Georges/US-13 bridge was going to be removed and DelDOT had to maintain a free crossing over the canal.
Originally, there wasn't an exit on the South side of the DE 1 bridge, so all traffic would have to pay a toll prior to being able to exit."Originally" meaning during planning: http://www.aaroads.com/delaware/sr1_turnpike.htm
The bridge was originally to be tolled, but to garner maintenance of the bridge by the Army Corps of Engineers required at least one toll free crossing at St. Georges. The pending closure and dismantling of the St. Georges Bridge nixed the proposal to include the new bridge as part of the tolled section of the SR 1 Turnpike, and thus the bridge remains a free entity. To maintain the toll free status DelDOT added an exit for U.S. 13 (by way of Lorewood Grove Road) at South St. Georges to the project.
Rush W sent me this Newark Post article on the Newark route renumbering:The latter part of the article makes reference to a rerouting the southern portion of US 202 off of I-95 and DE 141. In that case, the solution there is rather obvious; place the portion of US 202 south of I-95 back to its previous alignment to Business US 13 (currently signed as DE 202).
A route to less clutter: DelDOT to consolidate Newark route numbers (http://www.newarkpostonline.com/news/article_081d2586-e14b-11e2-94de-001a4bcf887a.html)
Per the article, were the route changes made official?
"Braided?" Don't think I've ever heard that term before, but it's better than "multiplex."The writer of the article may not necessarily be an engineer and/or roadgeek. :sombrero:
I prefer "concurrent" or "co-signed" or even "share pavement" to "multiplex." Where did that term for two or more routes signed on the same road originate?
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130807/LIFE04/130807015/Delaware-Spaces-Three-states-backyard-near-Newark
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130807/LIFE04/130807015/Delaware-Spaces-Three-states-backyard-near-Newark
As part of the on-going Route 1/I-95 Interchange Project, DelDOT's contractor, Cherry Hill Construction will be installing barrier walls, overhead signs, and paving. This construction will require lane and exit ramp closures beginning at 7 p.m. on Monday, August 26 and ending at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, August 27. The opening of the new fly-over ramp will eliminate the existing cattle chute on I-95 southbound to Route 1 southbound
[...]
6 a.m. on Tuesday, August 27
Re-open Route 1 southbound, removal of lane restrictions from I-95 southbound, and Opening of Fly-Over Ramp for I-95 southbound to Route 1 southbound.
Sounds like the first flyover for the I-95 interchange at DE 1 will open right before Labor Day.Just in time for the sum...mer... season...
http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=4865
In a major weekend traffic disruption, I-95 is shut down in both directions to allow for bridge demolition at the Concord Pike/U.S. 202 interchange north of Wilmington.
The road work is expected to divert an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 travelers a day to I-495, the recommended alternate route, before I-95 is reopened at 5 a.m. Monday.
Crews have closed the interstate at Concord Pike several times since last fall as part of the interchange reconstruction project.
Does Beaches really need a symbol?
(Also: right sign should be 7 NORTH 58.)
Delaware DOT is integrating toll collection more tightly into its motor vehicles division which handles the state's motor vehicle registry and issue of vehicle license plates. Division director Jennifer L Cohan told TOLLROADSnews in an interview Friday that with the growth of open road and all-electronic tolling she sees increasing "synergy."
"We are going to be doing more tolling to upgrade our highways. It's going to be free flow toll collection, so the synergy with the motor registry will only grow."
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130817/NEWS15/308170003/I-95-shut-Concord-Pike-until-Monday-morning?nclick_check=1You've inadvertently stepped into my wheelhouse ;) No, you don't need to close the road, but in this case, they realized that I-495 can easily handle the diverted traffic. It's a LOT more efficient to get work done without having to worry about traffic coming by. Instead of 15-minute slowdowns, waiting for traffic to clear, and being limited to overnight hours, they can accomplish in a single weekend what might have taken a month.QuoteIn a major weekend traffic disruption, I-95 is shut down in both directions to allow for bridge demolition at the Concord Pike/U.S. 202 interchange north of Wilmington.
The road work is expected to divert an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 travelers a day to I-495, the recommended alternate route, before I-95 is reopened at 5 a.m. Monday.
Crews have closed the interstate at Concord Pike several times since last fall as part of the interchange reconstruction project.
Completely unnecessary for what they are doing. Removing and installing bridge beams is not something that requires complete highway closures for an entire weekend. As I said before, comparing this to the NJ Turnpike, the turnpike would've been shut down many night and weekend for the past few years if they maintained the same policies.
You've inadvertently stepped into my wheelhouse ;) No, you don't need to close the road, but in this case, they realized that I-495 can easily handle the diverted traffic. It's a LOT more efficient to get work done without having to worry about traffic coming by. Instead of 15-minute slowdowns, waiting for traffic to clear, and being limited to overnight hours, they can accomplish in a single weekend what might have taken a month.
Delaware is getting its first set of overhead arrow-per-lane signs. The two that I've found are off northbound exit 5A, and southbound exit 4B, next to the offramps. Below is the sign assembly to be located at Exit 4B:
(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5527/9530374452_2942741eea_c.jpg)
By Tuesday morning’s rush, commuters will be relieved of a long-maligned choke point when the new flyover ramp from southbound I-95 to Del. 1 opens to traffic, officials say.
The new design is meant to eliminate dangerous weaving between lanes at Exit 4A and relieve chronic backups at peak hours.
Motorists exiting the southbound lanes of I-95 near Christiana will no longer have to compete with traffic entering the interstate, and vice versa.
“We’re closing the cattle chute,” Transportation Secretary Shailen Bhatt said Wednesday.
Bhatt was referring to the end of the existing ramp from southbound I-95 to Del. 1, where drivers haltingly merge into heavy mall-bound traffic and other vehicles traveling south on Del. 1/7.
The single lane in that last photo should be temporary, especially as the 'Right Lane Ends' signs are construction signs. I would like to believe the lane to the right of the barriers will merge into the lanes after the barrier and then end. Eventually, Rt. 1 is supposed to be widened from 2 to 3 lanes, and all 3 lanes thru this area will continue thru.
Two lanes will taper to one by the time the ramp meets southbound Del. 1 just north of the interchange with Del. 273, officials said.
He noted that drivers on the ramp won’t have to merge onto Del. 1 but will have the dedicated use of the left, southbound lane. That also should keep the bulk of the traffic entering Del. 1 out of the way of those in the right lane trying to exit the highway for Del. 273, Torrijos said.
DelDOT opened a series of briefings and rekindled a long-smoldering debate Monday over plans to rebuild parts of U.S. 113 in Sussex County, convening meetings in Millsboro and Dagsboro to outline its preference for an up to $839 million proposal to relocate the highway between Millsboro and the Maryland line.
The agency released its choice in a draft environmental impact statement with little fanfare earlier this month. Generally, the plan calls for a bypass of Millsboro, Dagsboro and Frankford along a new alignment swinging well east of the existing highway. The existing road would be upgraded from the Maryland line to north of Selbyville before shifting onto a new path east of the present highway.
Actual construction could be decades away, officials acknowledged. Options for bypassing Millsboro in the draft environmental impact statement retained many key features of an approach outlined in 2007. Town manager Faye Lingo said Monday that local officials still support the design.
Plans for the 16.9-mile stretch include six full interchanges, nine overpasses and five water crossings.
The single lane in that last photo should be temporary, especially as the 'Right Lane Ends' signs are construction signs. I would like to believe the lane to the right of the barriers will merge into the lanes after the barrier and then end. Eventually, Rt. 1 is supposed to be widened from 2 to 3 lanes, and all 3 lanes thru this area will continue thru.
I would not be so sure about the ramp expansion to two lanes. DE 1 currently is relegated to a single lane ramp at its merge with US 13 as well. Plus from the News Journal article:QuoteTwo lanes will taper to one by the time the ramp meets southbound Del. 1 just north of the interchange with Del. 273, officials said.
I would not be so sure about the ramp expansion to two lanes. DE 1 currently is relegated to a single lane ramp at its merge with US 13 as well.
QuoteI would not be so sure about the ramp expansion to two lanes. DE 1 currently is relegated to a single lane ramp at its merge with US 13 as well.
DE 1's right lane was actually extended past the merge to utilize some extra pavement. So technically DE 1 keeps more than one lane through that merge.
Fixed end quote tag - Alex
QuoteI would not be so sure about the ramp expansion to two lanes. DE 1 currently is relegated to a single lane ramp at its merge with US 13 as well.
DE 1's right lane was actually extended past the merge to utilize some extra pavement. So technically DE 1 keeps more than one lane through that merge.
Fixed end quote tag - Alex
We were referring to the movement from Interstate 95 south to Delaware 1 south, which is the predominate source of traffic for DE 1 headed south to Bear and Dover. The configuration heading south will change again once a decision is made on how to upgrade the interchange with DE 273.
QuoteI would not be so sure about the ramp expansion to two lanes. DE 1 currently is relegated to a single lane ramp at its merge with US 13 as well.
DE 1's right lane was actually extended past the merge to utilize some extra pavement. So technically DE 1 keeps more than one lane through that merge.
Fixed end quote tag - Alex
We were referring to the movement from Interstate 95 south to Delaware 1 south, which is the predominate source of traffic for DE 1 headed south to Bear and Dover. The configuration heading south will change again once a decision is made on how to upgrade the interchange with DE 273.
Someone had mentioned the merging of Rtes. 1 and 13 as a comparison to the I-95 south to Rte. 1 south ramp.
Personally, I hope this lays the groundwork for a Delmarva interstate, but that's probably far-fetched. Perhaps a relocated I-97? :biggrin:Well shit, I got it. Extend the recently-approved NC I-495 east to Norfolk, then up the Delmarva and connect it to existing DE I-495. The Capital Beltway can be I-69O.
As I recall, it was NIMBYs that killed the Milford bypass options as well...DelDOT had studied several southern bypass options for tying 113 south of Milford into DE 1.
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.
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.
The 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.
Construction would begin in late 2016 at the earliest...
Other 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.
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.
Noise 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.
The 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.
Del. 1 expansion may provide noise relief to some neighborhoods (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130925/NEWS/309250031/Del-1-expansion-may-provide-noise-relief-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.
Highway officials have said the work is needed to ease traffic congestion, improve safety, provide for emergency needs and accommodate planned and anticipated development.
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.
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3817/10011462335_78deaaf2dd_c.jpg)
Additionally, DelDOT aslo forgot about the only approved/recommended use of the Clearview font is for the control destinations and nothing else.
Maryland's the same way. It seems as though DelDOT copied Maryland's specs. for Clearview applications and exit tab layouts.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 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).
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.
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.
I still think Virginia's implementation of Clearview is really butt-ugly. At least Delaware TRIED for MUTCD compliance.Fixed.
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.
I disagree with Takumi's assessment. I actually like how VDOT implemented Clearview on placename signs (http://www.vahighways.com/placenames/index.html).I'll admit it looks good on placename and distance signs, now that they're actually doing it mostly correctly. I still don't like when they use it for everything on overhead displays (even the exit tab) or on gore signs. It's the combination of the numbers and all caps that incenses me in those two cases.
QuoteI 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.
"New Jersey" has been a control city for I295 as long as I can remember. You'll also see "NJ/NY" as the control city for I295.
Understood regarding the long-time usage of state names for control destinations on many highways (I-295 in DE included); but, many newer BGS replacements nationwide have eliminated such practices.QuoteI 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.
"New Jersey" has been a control city for I295 as long as I can remember. You'll also see "NJ/NY" as the control city for I295.
New Jersey was the original control city for I295 on Deldot maintained signs until the late 80s when NJ-NY was introduced. DRBA signs were shifted to NJ-NY later.
I guess DelDOT's removing the old small-green/yellow-light signals in Odessa along Rtes. 13/299. qq
(can't remember the name, are they eagle signals?)
http://deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=4907 (http://deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=4907)
Where are those u-turn signals that were in the bottom of the album?To the right of the photo in question, there's an EAST 92 reassurance sign just past the intersection; so it's along the stretch of DE 92 (Naaman's Road) between I-95 and US 202.
That works too. :-D
Where are those u-turn signals that were in the bottom of the album?
Where are those u-turn signals that were in the bottom of the album?To the right of the photo in question, there's an EAST 92 reassurance sign just past the intersection; so it's along the stretch of DE 92 (Naaman's Road) between I-95 and US 202.
Anyway, I just drove the DE 1 flyover for the first time. One minute of pure roadgeeking beauty.
I guess DelDOT's removing the old small-green/yellow-light signals in Odessa along Rtes. 13/299. qq
(can't remember the name, are they eagle signals?)
http://deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=4907 (http://deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=4907)
Boo! Though most of the old signals there were already replaced. Took a photo of the one remaining old 12x8x8 Eagle in July at least...
And yet somehow they built up the earth enough to prevent it from being an actual stack interchange. :-/
I went to downtown Newark and noticed that DE-2 now ends at 273 and all traces of Business 2 are gone. I didn't go down Elkton Road (excuse me, its now South Main Street) to see if DE-279 has been born but I imagine it is.
Adding to the Newark sign changes, I received an email from Bob today confirming that DE 2 ends at DE 273 (East Main Street) now:QuoteI went to downtown Newark and noticed that DE-2 now ends at 273 and all traces of Business 2 are gone. I didn't go down Elkton Road (excuse me, its now South Main Street) to see if DE-279 has been born but I imagine it is.
Today was a bit of a nightmare of a morning commute. :crazy:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131016/NEWS15/310160051/Del-896-reopened-after-tractor-trailer-crash-cleared (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131016/NEWS15/310160051/Del-896-reopened-after-tractor-trailer-crash-cleared)
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131016/NEWS15/310160010/Northbound-US-13-closed-at-St-Georges-Bridge (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131016/NEWS15/310160010/Northbound-US-13-closed-at-St-Georges-Bridge)
Relevant because of the potential connection between Churchmans Road and Delaware 1:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131106/BUSINESS12/311060073/Cavaliers-Country-Club-sell-half-land?gcheck=1
The parcel – which is the course’s western section and back nine holes – will require a variety of approvals from New Castle County and might need to be rezoned before any development takes place, a process that could take three to five years, Carucci said.
I don't see a problem with delaying that interchange. Plenty of other locations along DE 1 that are higher priority for improvements. Of those already within the pipeline: new interchanges at Little Heaven and on the northeast side of Milford (near Royal Farms). Could also see an interchange on DE 1 at DE 16, though I'm not finding anything on DelDOT's website.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131106/NEWS02/311060039/Kent-lawmakers-press-Del-1-interchange-feed-sports-complex
For the facility, Kent County donated 85 acres of farmland east of Del. 1 near the intersection of Milford Neck and Tub Mill Pond roads. The latest plans call for 12 synthetic turf fields; a grandstand seating 1,500; and 900 parking spaces.
Relevant because of the potential connection between Churchmans Road and Delaware 1:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131106/BUSINESS12/311060073/Cavaliers-Country-Club-sell-half-land?gcheck=1QuoteThe parcel – which is the course’s western section and back nine holes – will require a variety of approvals from New Castle County and might need to be rezoned before any development takes place, a process that could take three to five years, Carucci said.
I am sure this process will be streamlined, because that area is in dire need of more retail and traffic!
Building an entire interchange for a sports complex with 900 parking spots? As a comparison - the Christiana Mall has 6,000 parking spots!
They have a gallery of construction pictures from the '60s, half of the pictures didn't display for me for some reason but the ones that did were pretty cool.
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BL&Dato=20131114&Kategori=PHOTOS01&Lopenr=311140107&Ref=PH/The-construction-95?odyssey=mod%7Cdefcon%7Cimg%7CHome&nclick_check=1 (http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BL&Dato=20131114&Kategori=PHOTOS01&Lopenr=311140107&Ref=PH/The-construction-95?odyssey=mod%7Cdefcon%7Cimg%7CHome&nclick_check=1)
Article on the current status of the US 113 bypass:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131203/NEWS/312030050/Lawmakers-push-changes-DelDOT-s-US-113-bypass-plan (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131203/NEWS/312030050/Lawmakers-push-changes-DelDOT-s-US-113-bypass-plan)
Sussex County lawmakers on Monday pressed DelDOT to rework and step up efforts to develop a northeast bypass around Millsboro, while stressing continuing opposition to the agency’s preferred alignment for a longer U.S. 113 replacement road.
DelDOT’s draft environmental impact statement for the $839 million, 16.9-mile Millsboro-South portion of the U.S. 113 relief project would link the highway north of town to Delaware 24 on the east, then continue south to the Maryland line along a new alignment east of Frankford and Dagsboro.
Sussex lawmakers have threatened to block money for the work, however, citing opposition among residents and communities south of Millsboro where support for widening the existing road is greater.
Legislators and some residents and businesses urged the state to consider Millsboro’s congestion problem separately, and revise its preferred design in a way that pushes the bypass north, away from Millsboro Pond and residential areas. That alignment would cut partly across the protected Doe Run Nature Preserve, an area that state environmental officials say contains rare habitat and endangered species.
DelDOT Secretary Shailen Bhatt said federal agencies usually press highway departments to avoid environmentally sensitive habitats and wetlands whenever alternatives are available. Crossing a portion of the 180-acre Doe Run tract could, in addition, require approval from the full General Assembly.
Article on the current status of the US 113 bypass:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131203/NEWS/312030050/Lawmakers-push-changes-DelDOT-s-US-113-bypass-plan (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131203/NEWS/312030050/Lawmakers-push-changes-DelDOT-s-US-113-bypass-plan)
Anything worth reading there? I don't want to click to use up one of my few "free" articles for something that is just going to be more of the same (bypass downgraded, delayed, or likely cancelled IOW).
DelDOT replaced some of the BGSs along DE 1 approaching the US 40 interchange. They now include relevant control cities (Glasgow and Bear) as opposed to the unknown or distant places previously mentioned (State Road and Elkton). Its also in Clearview.
State Road doesn't even exist as far as I know. US 40's street name is Pulaski Hwy.State Road is a place, not a road.
An obscure place in Bear's shadow at thatState Road doesn't even exist as far as I know. US 40's street name is Pulaski Hwy.State Road is a place, not a road.
Heading north on Friday, noticed that the ramps at the new DE 1/DE 30 interchange are now open on both sides. The bridge over DE 1 at Wilkins Rd, however, is still under construction and looks like it'll still be a few months before it's completed. Also of note, the guide signage for the northbound exit is completely empty...it's just a green blank. My guess is due to the bridge still being built. Southbound exit is signed as DE 30.
The location of the problem is the Christina Parkway, that stretch of newer road between Elkton Road and South College Avenue that joins Chestnut Hill Road. It is designated as both Del. 4 and Del. 896.
A capital improvement project is in DelDOT’s current Capital Transportation Program to reconstruct Del. 4 to provide the consistent two lanes heading eastbound.
Design is currently underway, said department spokeswoman Sandy Roumillat. Funding for the construction, however, is four to five years out under current plans, she said.
She added restriping is not a recommended solution.
“We are not certain that the existing shoulder, which would become a travel lane, could handle increased traffic loads,” she said.
Been this way for decades and no attempts have been made to deal with it and based upon what the article reads, its still a long way off before it is ever dealt with.
Fix It: Bottleneck on Christina Parkway (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20140113/NEWS18/301130035/Fix-Bottleneck-Christina-Parkway)QuoteThe location of the problem is the Christina Parkway, that stretch of newer road between Elkton Road and South College Avenue that joins Chestnut Hill Road. It is designated as both Del. 4 and Del. 896.QuoteA capital improvement project is in DelDOT’s current Capital Transportation Program to reconstruct Del. 4 to provide the consistent two lanes heading eastbound.
Design is currently underway, said department spokeswoman Sandy Roumillat. Funding for the construction, however, is four to five years out under current plans, she said.
She added restriping is not a recommended solution.
“We are not certain that the existing shoulder, which would become a travel lane, could handle increased traffic loads,” she said.
Gov. Jack Markell is seeking a 10-cent increase in Delaware’s gas tax and borrowing $50 million more a year to fund a $500 million, five-year proposal to improve roads and bridges statewide. The proposals were announced today during a press conference Markell held to outline his infrastructure plan. The new tax and debt would generate about $100 million a year to fund the plan. The Legislature must approve the proposals.
Delawareans now pay 23 cents in state gas tax. A 10-cent increase is expected to generate about $50 million a year.
Been this way for decades and no attempts have been made to deal with it and based upon what the article reads, its still a long way off before it is ever dealt with.
Fix It: Bottleneck on Christina Parkway (http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20140113/NEWS18/301130035/Fix-Bottleneck-Christina-Parkway)QuoteThe location of the problem is the Christina Parkway, that stretch of newer road between Elkton Road and South College Avenue that joins Chestnut Hill Road. It is designated as both Del. 4 and Del. 896.QuoteA capital improvement project is in DelDOT’s current Capital Transportation Program to reconstruct Del. 4 to provide the consistent two lanes heading eastbound.
Design is currently underway, said department spokeswoman Sandy Roumillat. Funding for the construction, however, is four to five years out under current plans, she said.
She added restriping is not a recommended solution.
“We are not certain that the existing shoulder, which would become a travel lane, could handle increased traffic loads,” she said.
Remove the tolls on I-95. PROBLEM SOLVED.
Instead of creating a dead-end, the state would install a roundabout along Del. 7/East Main Street just north of Del. 273 in Christiana – an alternative that would retain full access to the village and address safety concerns at the intersection, officials say.
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/traffic/2014/05/20/truck-carrying-bees-overturns-on-95-on-ramp/9348173/ (http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/traffic/2014/05/20/truck-carrying-bees-overturns-on-95-on-ramp/9348173/)
nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope
I saw the headline and one photo of the empty, overturned truck. I'm clicking on absolutely nothing related to this story ever.
And that wasn't the only truck accident that day: http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/traffic/2014/05/20/crash-causes-delays-on-del-1-near-95/9333925/
In this one, the truck was hauling a power substation which was completely destroyed when it hit the overpass.
The truck had an 'Oversized Load' banner. And from what I remember there's no clearance plate on that overpass, so it's at least 14'6".
Something must've gone terrible wrong for this truck to go the distance it went, not hit anything, and then suddenly hit this overpass.
Luckily they determined the overpass was OK. It appears to have hit the 95 NB Overpass, which is not one of the new ones in this recently reconstructed interchange.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7414/9604424885_b4145120db_z.jpg)
I it looks like a "cover-up"... APL arrows overlaid on existing pull-through
Is it me or do those shields look smaller in the newer BGS'? I prefer the shield sizes (& direction cardinal sizes) on the older BGS'.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7414/9604424885_b4145120db_z.jpg)
I it looks like a "cover-up"... APL arrows overlaid on existing pull-through
That sign is now this...
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd144/roadnut/5AAB51B1-C88C-484E-BFCA-E0B29C76BF65.jpg) (http://s225.photobucket.com/user/roadnut/media/5AAB51B1-C88C-484E-BFCA-E0B29C76BF65.jpg.html)
So I was screwing around on Historic Aerials the other day and found a few things relating back to DE 1's construction that were interesting.
(http://i.imgur.com/1YRBbye.png)
The first was a traffic light at the Christiana Mall that appears to be on the mainline. I knew this configuration existed prior to noticing it on HA, but it reignited curiosity as to what this actually looked like. Does anyone of pictures of this old setup, from satellite or from the ground?
(http://i.imgur.com/LtDLliO.png)
The second appears to be either early plans for the Tybouts Corner interchange, or an early configuration of it. Was the access ramp to DE 1 north ever that far back? A quick glance at Google Maps shows what appears to be grading for this supposed ramp.
DOVER — To pay the toll or not to pay the toll?
That is the question.
It’s a question motorists are pondering more after weekend tolls increased a month ago on Del 1.
Starting Aug 1, the state increased the weekend rate from $2 to $3 for all vehicle classes, except oversized loads, from 7 p.m. Friday to 11 p.m. Sunday.
Weekday and ramp tolls in Smyrna and Dover didn’t change. But Delaware officials announced a $1 increase at the highway’s main plazas in June when it appeared the General Assembly wouldn’t consider the governor’s proposed 10-cents per gallon gasoline tax hike.
The toll increase is anticipated to net the state another $10 million. That money will be combined with $20 million in borrowing this fiscal year to fund statewide paving and transportation projects, officials said.
So, more motorists are looking for alternate routes — on “free” roads — to avoid paying those tolls.
Road, singular - US 13 is just fine.QuoteSo, more motorists are looking for alternate routes — on “free” roads — to avoid paying those tolls.
Must have been an earlier proposal. It makes sense to have the on-ramp to the west, as it serves US 13 southbound better than a left-hand turn onto Hamburg Road would have.
My family has taken to skipping the Biddles Corner toll plaza by exiting/reentering at the exits on either side of the toll. Doing that for a round trip saves us about $10 when we take two cars.Road, singular - US 13 is just fine.QuoteSo, more motorists are looking for alternate routes — on “free” roads — to avoid paying those tolls.
Road, singular - US 13 is just fine.QuoteSo, more motorists are looking for alternate routes — on “free” roads — to avoid paying those tolls.
How does one shunpike that toll? Take MD Exit 109 for MD (and DE) Route 279 North and then onto DE 4/896 South (College Ave)? :PPrecisely! I've done such for many years.
Could this be the first recognition of DE 279 by DelDOT?
<snip>
This is northbound on Elkton Road at Christiana Pkwy, if you couldn't tell from the picture.
Sorry for the bad quality, I had to use a friend's phone because my phone's camera went kaput, and I chose a bad spot on the bus to get a good shot. If anyone else wants to get a better shot of this then please do so.
Could this be the first recognition of DE 279 by DelDOT?
<snip>
This is northbound on Elkton Road at Christiana Pkwy, if you couldn't tell from the picture.
Sorry for the bad quality, I had to use a friend's phone because my phone's camera went kaput, and I chose a bad spot on the bus to get a good shot. If anyone else wants to get a better shot of this then please do so.
MDRoads photographed end and begin shields for DE 279 back in March. I'll be checking it out later on this month when I am back in Newark.
I spotted the BEGIN DE-279 on the MD line back in June. There was no END sign going south though.The only END sign is NB, and I saw that many months ago.
I don't take that ramp often so I don't exactly recall the signage for advisory limits, but the driver obviously wasn't taking any precautions approaching this curve.
I don't take that ramp often so I don't exactly recall the signage for advisory limits, but the driver obviously wasn't taking any precautions approaching this curve.
I don't seem to remember a large amount of signage warning of the loop. I take the exit for Red Lion Rd. everyday and there's nothing that's visible from that exit.
I see they still haven't fixed that "East" 896 guide in the second photo.
(http://www.aaroads.com/forum_images/mid-atlantic/de-273_end.jpg)Looks like somebody mixed up which shields get Series C and which ones get Series D. IMHO, the DE 141 numerals should be Series D and the 273 shield should be Series C; the opposite of what's shown.
Delaware 273 was dropped from its needless overlap with Delaware 9 in New Castle. A new end sign was installed where the state route east intersects Delaware 141 north and the turn of Delaware 9 to bypass the city street grid. Signage still remains further east for SR 273 however, including the original end assembly.
Anything fits in a circle if you manipulate it enough!
(http://i.imgur.com/62ilYp0.png)
But 896 shields with other narrow ones never became narrow. Mysteries of DelDOT....Never?
By year's end, truckers again could see cops on the lookout for Delaware Turnpike toll evaders along streets in this area, officials said.
The state Department of Transportation stopped paying for heightened enforcement from Delaware State Police and Newark police in 2007, according to police agencies. New agreements are under discussion.
"It was like as soon as we were gone, the truckers knew," Newark City Manager Carol Houck said. "Our guys just can't be out there all the time."
The Transportation Department is looking to reinstate money for special-duty patrols along routes restricted to local deliveries only, such as Delaware 4 and Old Baltimore Pike, also known as Delaware 281. The goal is to slow declining commercial toll revenues on Interstate 95.
USA Today: Delaware eyes truckers evading tolls on I-95 (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/08/toll-evaders/16922061/)QuoteBy year's end, truckers again could see cops on the lookout for Delaware Turnpike toll evaders along streets in this area, officials said.QuoteThe state Department of Transportation stopped paying for heightened enforcement from Delaware State Police and Newark police in 2007, according to police agencies. New agreements are under discussion.Quote"It was like as soon as we were gone, the truckers knew," Newark City Manager Carol Houck said. "Our guys just can't be out there all the time."QuoteThe Transportation Department is looking to reinstate money for special-duty patrols along routes restricted to local deliveries only, such as Delaware 4 and Old Baltimore Pike, also known as Delaware 281. The goal is to slow declining commercial toll revenues on Interstate 95.
USA Today: Delaware eyes truckers evading tolls on I-95 (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/08/toll-evaders/16922061/)Another article excerpt worth noting posted below (bold emphasis added):QuoteBy year's end, truckers again could see cops on the lookout for Delaware Turnpike toll evaders along streets in this area, officials said.QuoteThe state Department of Transportation stopped paying for heightened enforcement from Delaware State Police and Newark police in 2007, according to police agencies. New agreements are under discussion.Quote"It was like as soon as we were gone, the truckers knew," Newark City Manager Carol Houck said. "Our guys just can't be out there all the time."QuoteThe Transportation Department is looking to reinstate money for special-duty patrols along routes restricted to local deliveries only, such as Delaware 4 and Old Baltimore Pike, also known as Delaware 281. The goal is to slow declining commercial toll revenues on Interstate 95.
The weight restrictions on Delaware 4 aren't because of structural limitations on the bridge but to keep large trucks off the roads, said Mark Luszcz, chief traffic engineer for the state Transportation Department.In short, the restrictions weren't safety-driven but rather revenue-driven (surprise-surprise).
"The reason there's a truck restriction on Route 4 is because the viable route is I-95," Luszcz said.
That's what happens when you're too stupid to put in proper ramp plazas on your tollway. Put in ramp plazas that decrease in toll the further you get from the mainline toll plaza, and a lot of the problem will solve itself.Like other toll facilities, that plaza & its related-tolls were likely originally supposed to be torn down & gone after the original bonds that built the highway were paid off. The tolls only existed to expedite the construction of the road. The interchange ramp tolls were eliminated in 1976.
Delaware did charge at one time to exit at all the ramps leading up to the tolls. They were stupid to remove them not to think about installing them.Again, the road was likely destined to be free of all tolls (hence the I-95 shields) when the original bonds were paid off. Plus, the tolls (in terms of dollar amount) were a lot lower back then (10-cent, 25-cent tolls). The shun-piking en masse started in October 2007 when the current tolls rates took effect and the EZ-Pass discounts were eliminated.
I'd argue shun-piking went *down* since they added the Express lanes, as one can get from Exit 1 in Delaware to Exit 109 in Maryland in about 2 minutes, versus the 10 or so minute detour shunpiking would require.From the article:
Transactions fell 8% for the largest commercial category — 5-axle tractor-trailers — during the fiscal year ending June 30 and are down by 25% when compared to 2006 traffic. Overall commercial toll revenue was down by more than $2 million — 7.5% — from 2013, according to state data.
Delaware did charge at one time to exit at all the ramps leading up to the tolls. They were stupid to remove them not to think about installing them.
For those that take the road every day, it's probably worthwhile to detour. $8 a day round trip is $180 or so a month for a normal worker. Even more dramatic with truckers, which can be a $400 monthly expenditure.
I'd argue shun-piking went *down* since they added the Express lanes, as one can get from Exit 1 in Delaware to Exit 109 in Maryland in about 2 minutes, versus the 10 or so minute detour shunpiking would require.From the article:QuoteTransactions fell 8% for the largest commercial category — 5-axle tractor-trailers — during the fiscal year ending June 30 and are down by 25% when compared to 2006 traffic. Overall commercial toll revenue was down by more than $2 million — 7.5% — from 2013, according to state data.
The comparison didn't go into that particular detail (re: EZ-Pass Express Lanes) but nonetheless; shunpiking has indeed increased since the tolls went up and the EZ-Pass discounted were eliminated (for I-95 only, not DE 1).
In Delaware, all of the tolls on the ramps were for traffic entering northbound and exiting southbound. The Delaware Turnpike tolls were at present-day Exits 1, 3, and 4. I don't think there were any ramp tolls at Exit 5. They have been gone for a long time (the Delaware ramp tolls were removed in the 1970's, I think), but I recall the ramp tolls being very low, 5¢, 10¢, 15¢, 20¢ or maybe 25¢ at the most.As posted earlier, the ramp tolls in Delaware were removed in 1976.
But is truck traffic down in general? How does it compare to MD or NJ? And how do traffic volumes compare on the alternative routes?The article (originally from a Delaware source, The Wilmington News Journal) is only focusing on the I-95 toll situation in Delaware and only Delaware. The comparisons are based on when DelDOT raised the tolls (& dropped the EZ-Pass discounts) at the Newark Plaza in 2007.
Not only did MD & NJ not raise their tolls in 2007 (they only raised them within the last 3 years) but they didn't double them within a 3-year period as well like DelDOT did.
Depends on what road you mean when you are talking about MD. If you mean the JFK toll plaza, it didn't quite double. However, the Baltimore bridge/tunnel tolls did double in about a 3-year period (from $2 to $4 each way).
Prior to July 1, 2013, the base toll rate for the Baltimore Bridges/Tunnels was $3 each-way. The increase from $2 to $3 for the Baltimore crossings occurred in 2003; a 10-year period.Not only did MD & NJ not raise their tolls in 2007 (they only raised them within the last 3 years) but they didn't double them within a 3-year period as well like DelDOT did.
Depends on what road you mean when you are talking about MD. If you mean the JFK toll plaza, it didn't quite double. However, the Baltimore bridge/tunnel tolls did double in about a 3-year period (from $2 to $4 each way).
Prior to 2005, the base toll for the Newark Plaza was $2 each-way. It went up to $3 in 2005 and then up to $4 in 2007. Again, the latter increase 86ed all EZ-Pass discounts.
Not only did MD & NJ not raise their tolls in 2007 (they only raised them within the last 3 years) but they didn't double them within a 3-year period as well like DelDOT did. Since the reasoning for the increased shumpiking among trucks in DE is directly related to the exorbitant I-95 tolls in DE; comparing increased shunpiking rates & patterns for MD and/or NJ in this particular case is comparing apples & oranges.
What I'm trying to say though is, is there a corresponding increase in shunpiking? The article mentioned 5 axle trailer revenue is down by 8%. Is that entire 8% shunpiking? Or were there fewer trucks on the road to begin with.While I agree in principle with most of what you just posted; there are several things to note:
What are the traffic counts on the shunpike routes? That would be extremely important to know as well.
That's where the relevance of NJ & MD truck traffic comes in. If truck traffic in NJ & MD was down by 5% in those states, and 8% in Delaware, then it can be reasonably concluded that shunpiking increased by 3%, not 8% as the article is trying to indicate, even if you don't use traffic counts.
Newspapers in general tend to focus on their own states' data. And depending on how they are trying to angle the story, they would include or exclude other data. In this case, it would be prudent to know how much truck traffic is out there in general. Heck - if truck traffic was down 10% in MD & NJ, but only 8% in DE, then it would point out that shunpiking may not have increased at all.
Toll revenues from the Newark plaza on I-95 slipped during the recession and haven't recovered like other comparable highways in the region, said Brian Motyl, assistant director of finance for the Delaware Transportation Department.While it could be argued that the above-quote is more of a catch-all (aka CYA) statement; it's clearly insinuating that the toll revenue collected at the Newark Plaza is not seeing similar revenue trends as other toll plazas.
Revenues for Delaware 1, which is a 51-mile toll road from Dover Air Force Base north to I-95, have not followed the same trend.
Does it not come to a quarter a mile with the 4 bucks? I once read that it is the most expensive toll road in the nation.
Of course that was a few years back, so someone else might of took that title away if it was true when it was posted on Wikipedia.
Officials last week signed new agreements for 13 weeks of "enhanced enforcement" of toll evasion by heavy trucks and commercial vehicles along Del. 4/Christiana Parkway, and Del. 896 – routes restricted to local deliveries only.
The Delaware Department of Transportation hopes that reimplementing the enforcement will slow the decline of commercial toll revenues on I-95, which haven't recovered from the recession as have other tolled highways in the area, officials say.
Technically the $4 toll covers the entire 11-mile Delaware Turnpike, not just the segment between the state line and Exit 1. Same is said for the Susquehanna River Bridge toll for the JFK Memorial Highway in Maryland.
(as IMO they should be in both Maryland and Delaware)
(as IMO they should be in both Maryland and Delaware)
As a local who uses I-95 pretty much everyday, I'd rather not fork over change anytime I want to use the road to head south.
Where is the official end of DE 273?It ends multiplexed with 9 east of 141.
I found eastbound end signage in two places: at the intersection with 141 and 9 and at the intersection with just 9.
Basically, the higher the toll, the more people want to avoid the toll.
The lower the extra distance to bypass the toll, the greater the number of people who will bypass the toll.
The Newark, DE toll crossing is relatively high ($4) and is fairly easy way to avoid, so there will be a lot of shunpiking.
Technically the $4 toll covers the entire 11-mile Delaware Turnpike, not just the segment between the state line and Exit 1. Same is said for the Susquehanna River Bridge toll for the JFK Memorial Highway in Maryland.
I would buy that if the ramp tolls were still there (as IMO they should be in both Maryland and Delaware).
But given that the ramp tolls in Delaware were removed in the mid-1970's and in Maryland in the early 1980's, then there is just one link on each highway that is actually tolled (and Maryland made matters worse by only tolling one direction at that one point).
Where is the official end of DE 273?
I found eastbound end signage in two places: at the intersection with 141 and 9 and at the intersection with just 9.
DelDOT rebuilt the intersection of 273 and 141 recently. New signage reflects this as the new eastern end of DE-273 with DE-9 continuing down Frenchtown Road solo. Interestingly they relocated some older signs rather than all new installs. Photos soon.
(as IMO they should be in both Maryland and Delaware)
As a local who uses I-95 pretty much everyday, I'd rather not fork over change anytime I want to use the road to head south.
So use E-ZPass - or take U.S. 40.
New signage reflects the logical end. Has the official definition followed suit?Where is the official end of DE 273?
I found eastbound end signage in two places: at the intersection with 141 and 9 and at the intersection with just 9.
I posted about this also on October 3 (http://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=372.msg2010861#msg2010861). I based my earlier comments on the new end sign based upon an email from Bob Chessick on August 24th:QuoteDelDOT rebuilt the intersection of 273 and 141 recently. New signage reflects this as the new eastern end of DE-273 with DE-9 continuing down Frenchtown Road solo. Interestingly they relocated some older signs rather than all new installs. Photos soon.
However I also saw the remaining DE 273 shields. Thankfully the second of two narrow width shields for DE 273 (http://shields.aaroads.com/show.php?image=DE19702731) remains opposite the east end.
The overlap was created when DE 9 was routed around New Castle.
When I said south I didn't mean southbound into Maryland, I meant south into Bear or Glasgow. Its far easier to take I-95 from 273 to 896 to get to Glasgow and points south, or I-95 from 273 to 1/7 to get to Bear and points south than it is to take surface arteries.(as IMO they should be in both Maryland and Delaware)
As a local who uses I-95 pretty much everyday, I'd rather not fork over change anytime I want to use the road to head south.
So use E-ZPass - or take U.S. 40.
Isn't Eastbound 40 towards Havre de Grace also tolled across the Susquehanna? Or is this another section you're referring to?
I don't know if DelDOT has official definitions. The closest thing I can find is the traffic counts, which even [http://www.deldot.gov/information/pubs_forms/manuals/traffic_counts/2001/pdf/ts2001_21_41.pdf in 2001] showed 273 ending at 141 (typoed as 41). (Yes, it does show overlaps.) But this could have been the decision of whoever was compiling the traffic counts.
And quite frankly, introducing ramp tolls in Delaware would either exacerbate the already bad traffic on ramps along the Turnpike or force traffic onto surface arteries and worsen the already bad traffic there.
I drove through Stanton today and noticed that the 12-8-8 signals on DE 4 at Stanton Rd are all getting replaced. The switch has been completed eastbound, but for westbound the old signals are still in operation while the new signals are covered. The picture I got wasn't fantastic as the sun was in the way, but one thing that's noticeable is the massive size of the pole supporting the mast.
(http://i.imgur.com/YucRo9Mh.jpg)
Basically, the higher the toll, the more people want to avoid the toll.
The lower the extra distance to bypass the toll, the greater the number of people who will bypass the toll.
The Newark, DE toll crossing is relatively high ($4) and is fairly easy way to avoid, so there will be a lot of shunpiking.Technically the $4 toll covers the entire 11-mile Delaware Turnpike, not just the segment between the state line and Exit 1. Same is said for the Susquehanna River Bridge toll for the JFK Memorial Highway in Maryland.
I would buy that if the ramp tolls were still there (as IMO they should be in both Maryland and Delaware).
But given that the ramp tolls in Delaware were removed in the mid-1970's and in Maryland in the early 1980's, then there is just one link on each highway that is actually tolled (and Maryland made matters worse by only tolling one direction at that one point).
Keep in mind that a lot of the traffic passing through DE on I-95 is not local, but long haul traffic. I drive up north to NJ/NY/New England fairly often for one reason or another. Using the "normal" route...I-95, I-295, NJ Turnpike, Lincoln Tunnel, it costs $66.10 in tolls ($13 Lincoln Tunnel EB, $12.55 NJ Turnpike each way, $4 Delaware Memorial Bridge WB, $4 Delaware Turnpike each way, $8 Tydings Bridge NB, $4 Fort McHenry Tunnel each way). If you pay with E-ZPass, you get a $2 or $4 discount at the Holland Tunnel depending on time of day. Regardless, $66.10, $64.10, or $62.10 is A LOT of money for tolls. Can you really blame people for looking for ways to cut that cost down a bit? Delaware has the unfortunate distinction of being the only one of those that is very easy to bypass.
The $8 at the Tyding Bridge is also fairly simple to avoid, but requires a little upfront planning. You need to get a Maryland E-ZPass account and purchase the "Hatem Bridge Plan" for $20. This allows unlimited use of the parallel Hatem Bridge on US 40 for one year. Hmm...$8 per trip, or $20 per year with a fairly simple detour? Sign me up for the latter, please. Anyone can do it, regardless of where you live, but of course Maryland doesn't exacly want a lot of people to sign up for it, so they don't advertise it much outside of the local area of Harford and Cecil counties. I took the requisite 3 trips to break even within 6 weeks of the plan's renewal date this year, giving me "free" passage until next June.
So doing the Hatem detour one way and the I-95 Neward detour both ways saves $16. Then use I-295 in NJ instead of the Turnpike as far as Exit 4 or 7A and you save another $2.80 to $4.50 each way. Get off the Turnpike at Exit 11 to US 22 to Pulaski Skyway (well, when it is open EB), and you save even more on Turnpike tolls. All combined, it takes maybe 20/25 minutes longer, essentially keeps the same route, and saves $37 in round trip tolls. For someone who doesn't drive the route often, it seems silly to bypass the tolls like that. But for someone who travels that way every few weeks, the savings adds up very quickly.
But now, fuhgettaboutit! I've decided that unless I want to see the highway progress on some of the consturction projects like 295/76 or the ETLs on I-95 north of Baltimore, I'm going to do the "long arc" and avoid all tolls (except for crossing the Hudson and a $1 toll westbound in Easton,PA) by going through York, Lancaster, Reading , and Allentown. Yes it's more miles, but generally very few traffic holdups and would probably take less time than all the necessary shunpiking to keep costs in line. In fact, in today's Washington Post (in an annual post he does this time of year discussing holiday getaways), Dr. Gridlock mentioned the routing through Harrisburg as a way to avoid the crawl along I-95 heading to NY and New England.
a $1 toll westbound in Easton,PAEh, this is one of the easier tolls to bypass in a car. Don't know if the added time is worth it.
Before DE 1 how would people access the beach towns? US 13 perhaps?http://www.aaroads.com/delaware/road_maps.htm
Before DE 1 how would people access the beach towns? US 13 perhaps?http://www.aaroads.com/delaware/road_maps.htm
Does anyone have the story behind this awkward pavement shift on DE 896 south just after US 40? Is it a simple misalignment, or is this leftover from some grand plan for future expansion?
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5966334,-75.7387437,303m/data=!3m1!1e3 (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5966334,-75.7387437,303m/data=!3m1!1e3)
The road shifts the equivelant of two lanes to the left though, so I don't think it's related to Porter Road. Given that map of alternatives, I'm actually wondering if it has something to do with the alternatives leading to I-95. The angle of the shift seems to match up with the alternatives that cross US 40 to the east.
This actually brings up another question, would those alternatives tie into the Pike Creek Expressway should the two have actually been built? There's a trail of ROW leading from I-95 east of DE 72 to about DE 2 / Harmony Road, crossing near the DE 273 / 4 interchange. I'm assuming this has to do with the cancelled Pike Creek project, but I've never seen any alignment maps. Does anyone happen to have any?
Wow. The routing for that ends next to my neighborhood, I wonder how the area would've changed had this have actually been built. I also think the terminus is kind of odd, wouldn't it make sense to try to link this to DE 7 and eventually PA 41 to help establish a more defined route for northward traffic?
Also of note are the apparent grand plans for the Newtown / Reybold Road corridor. I had no clue they extended to 896 and beyond.
Wow. The routing for that ends next to my neighborhood, I wonder how the area would've changed had this have actually been built. I also think the terminus is kind of odd, wouldn't it make sense to try to link this to DE 7 and eventually PA 41 to help establish a more defined route for northward traffic?
Also of note are the apparent grand plans for the Newtown / Reybold Road corridor. I had no clue they extended to 896 and beyond.
I will have to find the disc with the entire map scan on it and upload a copy for you. The Pike Creek Freeway extended northward as an arterial to New Linden Road. Can you imagine trying to build that along the path of Upper Pike Creek Road? What a mammoth undertaking it would have been.
Forgot to mention this earlier, work on the Thompsonville Road interchange on DE 1 started a few days back:
http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=5427 (http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=5427)
I've noticed that every bridge over I-95 in DE from the Maryland state line to the 95/495/295/141 interchange is long enough for an NJTP-style expansion. All loop ramps seem to have a jog where they meet the mainline, as if to line up more with the outer carriageways. Also, the DE 1 interchange's old SB collector-distributor has a three-lane wide bridge, despite the C/D road only being two lanes between the loops.
It's as if it were planned to be 2-4-4-2, like I-270 in MD. Clearly it's no longer planned, as the new DE 1 flyovers completely block where it could go, but does anyone know when it was planned, and if any widening at all is still considered? Also, if there would be any major reconfigurations, have any plans been published?
Also, if it were ever a plan, would MD have done anything besides an eight-lane widening that some of the bridges seem to be designed for?
DelDOT has accelerated plans to rework the Del. 72 interchange along Del. 1 to create a “diverging” traffic pattern along on Wrangle Hill Road overpass. The $7.6 million design will eliminate traffic lights at the top of the off-ramps.
"DelDOT has accelerated plans to rework the Del. 72 interchange along Del. 1 to create a “diverging” traffic pattern along on Wrangle Hill Road overpass. The $7.6 million design will eliminate traffic lights at the top of the off-ramps."
With the exception of the big traffic light signs on the proposed drawing, of course.
Also noted... Rt. 1 is 4 lanes per direction in the video.
It's about time! Delaware is bumping the speed limit on I-95 between the Maryland line and I-495 to 65 MPH.
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/traffic/2015/02/24/delaware-speeds/23953659/ (http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/traffic/2015/02/24/delaware-speeds/23953659/)
It's about time! Delaware is bumping the speed limit on I-95 between the Maryland line and I-495 to 65 MPH.
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/traffic/2015/02/24/delaware-speeds/23953659/ (http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/traffic/2015/02/24/delaware-speeds/23953659/)
As best as I can tell, much of I-95 between Baltimore City and the Delaware/Pennsylvania border (using I-495 to bypass downtown Wilmington) could have and probably should have a speed limit of 70 or even 75 MPH.
Finally!
At least the law is already 65 mph, so it's relatively easy to raise the speed limit to that.
Next thu can work with the DRBA to raise the ultra-low 50 mph in its jurisdiction.
PA will have to raise their speed limit next to 65. It is an unreasonable 55, even if it's traveling through the Philly area.
PA will have to raise their speed limit next to 65. It is an unreasonable 55, even if it's traveling through the Philly area.
DelDOT plans to truncate DE 41 at DE 2 and apparently redo DE 62's directional orientation between DE 2 and Boxwood Road. (I never noticed that the signed directions differed along there, hm.)
http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/de2_41/index.shtml (http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/de2_41/index.shtml)
Opinions?
Personally, I'd rather them delete DE 62 altogether and extend DE 41 down to DE 4. I don't think Boxwood Road needs a route number, and having two separate numbers serving either side of the Newport Gap Pike seems redundant.
Where was it ever signed north/south?
Where was it ever signed north/south?
According to the signing plan they'll be removing or clarifying one or two South DE 62 signs (depending on how you interpret it) from DE 2 east approaching the intersection.
(http://i.imgur.com/s1WM4Fm.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/MDhWGJo.png)
Another signing plan shows some possible changes for Delaware 141 ranging from simple greenouts over DE 41/Lancaster to new guide signs for Exit 6/Delaware 2:
One potential change will remove the lone Delaware reference of Freeway Ends and replace it with the more typical Expressway Ends.
Isn't freeway the more appropriate terminology here though? I tend to think of expressways as being near-freeways, but not quite.
Also, RIP 'Must Exit'
In addition, truck traffic destined for Route 41 in Pennsylvania is traveling further out of its way to continue on DE Route 41 between DE Route 141 and the DE Route 2/41/62 intersection rather than continue north on DE Route 141 to DE Route 48 (Lancaster Pike).
Per: http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/de2_41/index.shtml (http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/de2_41/index.shtml)QuoteIn addition, truck traffic destined for Route 41 in Pennsylvania is traveling further out of its way to continue on DE Route 41 between DE Route 141 and the DE Route 2/41/62 intersection rather than continue north on DE Route 141 to DE Route 48 (Lancaster Pike).
Using Google Maps, using 141 to 48 to 41 takes 1.3 miles longer than using 141 to 2 to 41. Why would DelDOT say that trucks are going out of their way using 2 to 41 when it's clearly the shorter route? (And the route that trucking companies are going to pay their drivers)
In addition, truck traffic destined for Route 41 in Pennsylvania is traveling further out of its way to continue on DE Route 41 between DE Route 141 and the DE Route 2/41/62 intersection rather than continue north on DE Route 141 to DE Route 48 (Lancaster Pike).
State highway engineers are quietly rolling out plans for a scaled-back bypass around northeast Millsboro, spinning the project off from a larger and still bitterly contested proposal to relocate much of U.S. 113 in southernmost Sussex County.
DelDOT officials plan to brief Millsboro's Town Council on the approach Monday, with public workshop likely to follow, according to Geoff Sundstrom, spokeman for the agency. Officials have yet to make maps public, however.
The updated, two-lane approach would link Del. 24 east of Millsboro to U.S. 113 north of the town, crossing tributaries of Millsboro Pond just south of the state-owned, 315-acre Doe Bridge Nature Preserve. The new lanes would provide an alternative for north and west-bound now forced to crawl through Millsboro’s central business district, producing long backups.
Carrie Bennett, whose family owns Frankford-area orchards that would have been lost to the original major highway proposal, said many Frankford, Dagsboro and Selbyville residents will be relieved.
“It was a poorly designed, billion dollar boondoggle of a plan which did nothing to alleviate traffic,” Bennett said. “It just rerouted it and carved up 16 miles of wetlands, farmland and historic minority communities.”
QuoteCarrie Bennett, whose family owns Frankford-area orchards that would have been lost to the original major highway proposal, said many Frankford, Dagsboro and Selbyville residents will be relieved.
“It was a poorly designed, billion dollar boondoggle of a plan which did nothing to alleviate traffic,” Bennett said. “It just rerouted it and carved up 16 miles of wetlands, farmland and historic minority communities.”
Really? A full freeway isn't going to alleviate congestion at all? A full freeway would bypass the traffic lights, low speed limits, and narrow streets of Millsboro. These people are just bitter that they had a highway proposed through their land.
QuoteCarrie Bennett, whose family owns Frankford-area orchards that would have been lost to the original major highway proposal, said many Frankford, Dagsboro and Selbyville residents will be relieved.
“It was a poorly designed, billion dollar boondoggle of a plan which did nothing to alleviate traffic,” Bennett said. “It just rerouted it and carved up 16 miles of wetlands, farmland and historic minority communities.”
Really? A full freeway isn't going to alleviate congestion at all? A full freeway would bypass the traffic lights, low speed limits, and narrow streets of Millsboro. These people are just bitter that they had a highway proposed through their land.
She wants to hold out until a developer offers her a can't-refuse-deal to turn her orchards into an 800-home subdivision...
In LSD (Lower Slower Delaware), the assumption is that all traffic wants to go north/south, and going east/west is irrelevant. So I give DelDOT credit for trying to look a generation into the future on US113, but not for leaving EW routes like DE404, 20, 26, 54 as 2 lane nightmares.
Most of the people in the article are NIMBYs as they are complaining about forced government being DelDOT is going behind their backs to getting the unpopular bypass of Milford built. In this case its a greedy land owner holding out, but if they do not let the state improve the road system now, they will bitch later about not enough roads around to handle upgraded sprawl.
Map of what I understand is being abandoned:
(http://i.imgur.com/bkdbydb.jpg)
Map of what I understand is being abandoned:
(http://i.imgur.com/bkdbydb.jpg)
Could DelDOT motivated to get rid of this segment because of increased oil train traffic to the refinery and the grade crossing at the south end of the segment proposed for abandonment?
Map of what I understand is being abandoned:
(http://i.imgur.com/bkdbydb.jpg)
Could DelDOT motivated to get rid of this segment because of increased oil train traffic to the refinery and the grade crossing at the south end of the segment proposed for abandonment?
I'm glad at least a couple of alternatives deal with the tight weave on the other side involving I-95 NB to DE 273 EB.Not to mention they give DE 273 EB a deserved 2+ lanes of thru traffic.
Taking away the free-flow movement and replacing it with traffic signals just seems like a horrible idea to me.It really is. The only possibly beneficial signal is the proposed WB only one.
Otherwise, I dislike most of these options. That weave concern has always been there, but its mostly an issue during the evening peak hours. You learn to anticipate it and make adjustments to compensate.
65mph now posted along I-95, drove it today from 295 to the MD border.
65mph now posted along I-95, drove it today from 295 to the MD border.
How fast was traffic moving on the whole?
65mph now posted along I-95, drove it today from 295 to the MD border.
How fast was traffic moving on the whole?
On the whole, the speed limit felt good.
70 at least.
Yo guys, I'm making another control city proposal for Delaware.In my opinion our control cities are perfectly reasonable as they are, but I'll just pick out the glaring issues:
I-95 SB: New York up to MP 13.3Traffic headed south is not going to New York because, well, that's the complete opposite direction.
DE 1 NB: Philadelphia and New York up to MP 103What happened to Wilmington?
SB: Atlantic City up to MP 91.9No one using DE 1 SB is going to Atlantic City. AC traffic would've used the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
"Atlantic City" on DE 1 SB is because at exit 94 (I think), DE 1 intersects US 13. US 13 later intersects US 9. Using US 9 EB takes you to the Cape May-Lewes ferry. On the Cape May side, US 9 NB intersects US 30. US 30 EB heads to AC. Basically call it a second chance for lost drivers intended to go there.
Wilmington disappeared in favor of Philadelphia, since Wilmington is pretty close from the I-95 interchange. Philadelphia seemed sensible here.
The "New York" destination at MP 13.3 is that that is the I-295 interchange. I-295 NB will merge on to the NJ Turnpike (briefly) after the Delaware Memorial Bridge. You can continue onto the NJ Turnpike towards New York. That's pretty much your last reminder south of New York City telling you that there is another way to NY and NYC.
65mph now posted along I-95, drove it today from 295 to the MD border.
How fast was traffic moving on the whole?
On the whole, the speed limit felt good.
70 at least.
The cops are out in force as a result though. They all wait at the entrance to I-95 SB at the service area and nab people after the underpass for Salem Church Road. There were three of them with people pulled over within a span of about 100 feet when I went through this morning, and at least four or five more were watching from the service area exit.
SB: Baltimore up to MP 23.4Suggestion: when using southbound references, use the word down instead of up; especially since milesposts decrease as one heads southbound.
SB: Baltimore down to MP 23.4Such makes your posts regarding southbound destination legends much easier to read/follow.
The Overbrook Town Center shopping complex, if approved by Sussex County, would likely take six years to be fully constructed, an attorney for the project's developer said Tuesday. The developer said a key highway interchange for it could cost $15 million, about twice the amount the company will put towards its construction.
Rob Arlett, another councilmember, said he's heard from plenty of constituents with traffic concerns. The developer has consulted with the Department of Transportation and designed a new interchange for Cave Neck Road and Del. 1, including an overpass and traffic flow that would move cars turning west onto Cave Neck Road through the shopping center's side roads.
Louis A. DiBitonto, a Trout Development principal, reiterated the company's previous pledge to spend $8 million on the interchange. But he told Arlett the company would not agree to increase its spending for the overpass to match its true cost, which he said was estimated to be $12 million to $15 million.
Without a developer subsidy, of course, any interchange there would be funded wholly by DelDOT's taxpayer dollars; however, DelDOT does not have any near-term plans to build a Cave Neck Road interchange on its own.
The project seems to be decidedly unpopular in Sussex County. Lawrence Lank, the county's director of planning and zoning, said his office received 1,890 missives in opposition to it, compared to seven letters and emails supporting it. Opponents crowded into the county meeting room for the hearing, some wearing buttons that read "I say no to OTC."
I drove all of 95 in Delaware on Monday evening, except between the MD State Line and Exit 1, DE 896. (No, I wasn't shunpiking...I was at an event near that road). Since it was rush hour and raining heavily, I managed to hit 65 mph for about a mile along that entire stretch.
I drove all of 95 in Delaware on Monday evening, except between the MD State Line and Exit 1, DE 896. (No, I wasn't shunpiking...I was at an event near that road). Since it was rush hour and raining heavily, I managed to hit 65 mph for about a mile along that entire stretch.
Nothing wrong with shunpiking. Hell I managed to shunpike the entire Mid-Atlantic portion of 95 over the weekend coming back from Virginia. Makes for a little more fun drive.
Shunpiking is done to avoid tolls. There are no tolls on 81 & 13 in those areas.
Of course, you can't really shunpike the George Washington Bridge as there is no way south of Albany where you can cross the Husdon River for free unless you go westbound.the Tappan Zee toll is half that of the GW, and for all intents and purposes counts as a shunpike.
In Delaware and Maryland shunpiking these days is a must! The tolls there are too damn ridiculous.
If things have not changed that much over the last two decades, the Bear Mountain Bridge is even cheaper yet.Of course, you can't really shunpike the George Washington Bridge as there is no way south of Albany where you can cross the Husdon River for free unless you go westbound.the Tappan Zee toll is half that of the GW, and for all intents and purposes counts as a shunpike.
The tolls there are too damn ridiculous.
In Delaware and Maryland shunpiking these days is a must! The tolls there are too damn ridiculous.
Exactly. The 95 bridge over the Susquehanna is the worst heading north. $8 is crazy and actually driving up to and over the Conowingo Dam is pretty scenic.
Shunpiking is done to avoid tolls. There are no tolls on 81 & 13 in those areas.
At this point it's just sight-seeing.
Shunpiking is done to avoid tolls. There are no tolls on 81 & 13 in those areas.
At this point it's just sight-seeing.
As ekt said a few posts back, "Makes for a little more fun drive." (Although assuming he used the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, he would've paid the Eastern Shore-bound toll there so it wouldn't have been a pure shunpike.) Maybe it should be called "sixty-sixing" or "66-ing" (think Bobby Troup's favorite road).
ixnay
of course the famous 279-4-896 one
Of course, you can't really shunpike the George Washington Bridge as there is no way south of Albany where you can cross the Husdon River for free unless you go westbound.the Tappan Zee toll is half that of the GW, and for all intents and purposes counts as a shunpike.
So within the past month or so, DelDOT replaced the signals at Kirkwood Highway (DE 2) and Cleveland Avenue in Newark. They didn't just replace them with poles and leave the configuration as it was before the work was done, instead they ended up setting up split-phasing for DE 2 for the sake of adding a second left turn lane on DE 2 EB. There was no room to widen DE 2 due to the proximity of the CSX underpass south of the intersection, and traffic was constantly tied up due to the amount of people attempting to turn left onto Cleveland Avenue WB. Is this the first notable example in Delaware of the through movement being given split-phasing at a simple four way intersection?
(http://i.imgur.com/X4mvgKx.jpg)
These signals look like something out of New York, they had to lower them due to sight limitations from the underpass.
(facing EB)
(http://i.imgur.com/Pn2MRcy.jpg)
So within the past month or so, DelDOT replaced the signals at Kirkwood Highway (DE 2) and Cleveland Avenue in Newark. They didn't just replace them with poles and leave the configuration as it was before the work was done, instead they ended up setting up split-phasing for DE 2 for the sake of adding a second left turn lane on DE 2 EB. There was no room to widen DE 2 due to the proximity of the CSX underpass south of the intersection, and traffic was constantly tied up due to the amount of people attempting to turn left onto Cleveland Avenue WB. Is this the first notable example in Delaware of the through movement being given split-phasing at a simple four way intersection?
(http://i.imgur.com/X4mvgKx.jpg)
These signals look like something out of New York, they had to lower them due to sight limitations from the underpass.
(facing EB)
(http://i.imgur.com/Pn2MRcy.jpg)
How is traffic as a result of the change? Generally, split-phasing in a similar manner leads to heavy backups on the main road.
I did a double-take on the Delaware Memorial Bridge the other night. It seriously looked like the Delaware tower of the NB span was replaced with two unconnected concrete poles!Funny, I drove over that last night too. The amount of scaffolding they're using for this is unbelievable. I should've gotten some pictures.
Actually, the tower is being draped in a cloth-covered scaffolding so it can receive a coat of a special (newfangled?) steel-protecting paint. But at night, and from the other span, it looked like two square concrete columns, since the connecting part at the top was not well lit.
http://www.nj.com/south-jersey-voices/index.ssf/2015/06/the_scoop_help_set_a_record_ha.html (http://www.nj.com/south-jersey-voices/index.ssf/2015/06/the_scoop_help_set_a_record_ha.html)
It'd be nice if there was a more major route that allowed you to jump from to US 301 from US 13 in the Dover area and vice-versa, but there's not really a need for it.
None seen as far as I could find on DelDOT's website. There's no projects that have to do with major bridge crossings (crossing Delaware Bay) being built in Kent County.It'd be nice if there was a more major route that allowed you to jump from to US 301 from US 13 in the Dover area and vice-versa, but there's not really a need for it.
On a more serious note, is a Delaware Bay crossing near Dover ever actually been considered? Is it even possible?
None seen as far as I could find on DelDOT's website. There's no projects that have to do with major bridge crossings (crossing Delaware Bay) being built in Kent County.It'd be nice if there was a more major route that allowed you to jump from to US 301 from US 13 in the Dover area and vice-versa, but there's not really a need for it.
On a more serious note, is a Delaware Bay crossing near Dover ever actually been considered? Is it even possible?
None seen as far as I could find on DelDOT's website. There's no projects that have to do with major bridge crossings (crossing Delaware Bay) being built in Kent County.It'd be nice if there was a more major route that allowed you to jump from to US 301 from US 13 in the Dover area and vice-versa, but there's not really a need for it.
On a more serious note, is a Delaware Bay crossing near Dover ever actually been considered? Is it even possible?
I'm well aware nothing's being considered right now. I asked if it's been considered historically.
$ 8.00 on the I-95 Bridge over the "Suzy Q" River from Md. to Del. ?!! Who the ? What the ? ARE THEY CRAZY ??!!!! HECK !!! From the Delaware Memorial Bridge traveling the ENTIRE N.J. Turnpike up to either EXITS 16E or 18E (110 Miles) is $9.35 . They better get it together in Maryland. That's a pure RIP OFF !!!
$ 8.00 on the I-95 Bridge over the "Suzy Q" River from Md. to Del. ?!! Who the ? What the ? ARE THEY CRAZY ??!!!! HECK !!! From the Delaware Memorial Bridge traveling the ENTIRE N.J. Turnpike up to either EXITS 16E or 18E (110 Miles) is $9.35 . They better get it together in Maryland. That's a pure RIP OFF !!!
Besides what Jeff said, that toll at the Susquehanna also supports ALL of I-95 from Baltimore to the Delaware line. MdTA (the toll agency) maintains that entire stretch of I-95...not SHA.It's also worth noting that the toll along the parallel Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge (US 40) is also $8 (one-way eastbound). I believe the MdTA maintains that bridge as well.
It's also worth noting that the toll along the parallel Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge (US 40) is also $8 (one-way eastbound). I believe the MdTA maintains that bridge as well.
Unless otherwise noted (one of the MD-area AARoaders can confirm/clarify); it's a reasonably logical assumption that if MdTA maintains the bridge, the monies (most if not all) collected from the tolls on that bridge goes to them.Quote from: PHLBOSIt's also worth noting that the toll along the parallel Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge (US 40) is also $8 (one-way eastbound). I believe the MdTA maintains that bridge as well.Not sure about the toll, but yes MdTA maintains the Hatem Bridge too.
Unless otherwise noted (one of the MD-area AARoaders can confirm/clarify); it's a reasonably logical assumption that if MdTA maintains the bridge, the monies (most if not all) collected from the tolls on that bridge goes to them.Quote from: PHLBOSIt's also worth noting that the toll along the parallel Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge (US 40) is also $8 (one-way eastbound). I believe the MdTA maintains that bridge as well.Not sure about the toll, but yes MdTA maintains the Hatem Bridge too.
Delaware’s spending on road projects is expected to rival pre-recession expenditures after a legislative deal allowed transportation officials to move forward on long-planned projects that include an overpass in Frederica, the widening of Del. 1 near the Roth Bridge, and an expanded rail station in Newark.
Delaware funds its capital projects with a mix of state and federal money, but for the next several years the state is expected to spend more of its own money on road construction than it has in years.
The increase in spending, laid out in an estimated $3.4 billion capital transportation plan for 2017 through 2022, will go toward projects that would rid potholes from busy streets, keep aging bridges from crumbling and expanding current routes throughout the state.
Some of those projects include:
• $41.7 million to improve the ramps at the I-95 and SR 141 interchange
• $261 million project to widen Del. 1 from the intersection of SR 273, along the Roth Bridge, to U.S. 13/Tybouts Corner and SR 72
• $29.3 million for the South Frederica overpass that would provide access to the proposed Kent County Sports Complex
• $3.1 million for a connector from Del. 1 to New Road in Lewes to alleviate traffic heading into the beach town
DelDOT to spend more cash than before with new projects (http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2015/08/04/deldot-spend-cash-new-projects/31136201/)$261 million dollars, see! These palookas! Look at them spending all of this money willy nilly, see! Disgraceful!QuoteDelaware’s spending on road projects is expected to rival pre-recession expenditures after a legislative deal allowed transportation officials to move forward on long-planned projects that include an overpass in Frederica, the widening of Del. 1 near the Roth Bridge, and an expanded rail station in Newark.
Delaware funds its capital projects with a mix of state and federal money, but for the next several years the state is expected to spend more of its own money on road construction than it has in years.
The increase in spending, laid out in an estimated $3.4 billion capital transportation plan for 2017 through 2022, will go toward projects that would rid potholes from busy streets, keep aging bridges from crumbling and expanding current routes throughout the state.
Some of those projects include:
• $41.7 million to improve the ramps at the I-95 and SR 141 interchange
• $261 million project to widen Del. 1 from the intersection of SR 273, along the Roth Bridge, to U.S. 13/Tybouts Corner and SR 72
• $29.3 million for the South Frederica overpass that would provide access to the proposed Kent County Sports Complex
• $3.1 million for a connector from Del. 1 to New Road in Lewes to alleviate traffic heading into the beach town
So when the DE 1 widening is all done, it's going to be six lanes from 95 to 13, and eight lanes from 13 to 72? Too bad they can't really widen the Roth Bridge to get full eight lanes from 301 north...
Delaware funds its capital projects with a mix of state and federal money, but for the next several years the state is expected to spend more of its own money on road construction than it has in years.
QuoteDelaware funds its capital projects with a mix of state and federal money, but for the next several years the state is expected to spend more of its own money on road construction than it has in years.
Wonder how much of that "own" money comes from interstate drivers paying the $4 (one-way automobile) Delaware Turnpike toll?
The C&D Canal Bridge was designed so that it can be restriped to accommodate eight overall lanes.
Would prefer money go to better upgrade the cloverleaf interchange between I-95/DE 141/(US 202) versus the band-aid improvements being made (http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/i95/sr141-i95/index.shtml). At the very least something more should be done to eliminate this ramp merge point (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7008835,-75.6024368,446m/data=!3m1!1e3) (the preferred alternative expands the loop ramp to two lanes).
I keep hearing on WDEL during morning rush that the ramp from SB DE 1/7 to SB I-95 is closed. Why? Am I hearing that right? Are they rebuilding the ramp? I'm reluctant to use delawareonline.com because of the limited number of clicks for nonsubscribers, and I don't know where to look on deldot.gov.
ixnay
I'm reluctant to use delawareonline.com because of the limited number of clicks for nonsubscribers, and I don't know where to look on deldot.gov.
How's the widening project on Route 26 west of Bethany Beach coming along? I imagine the recent snowstorms put a crimp in the timetable. How will the project be conducted during the summer?
ixnay
http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=5677 (http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=5677)That's why US 13 is there.
Looks like beach traffic is going to get a whole lot messier on Route 1 in the next few years.
Basic rundown:
Thompsonville Road Grade Separated Intersection project is ongoing.
Little Heaven Grade Separated Intersection project begins in October.
South Frederica Grade Separated Intersection project begins spring 2016.
NE Front St Grade Separated Intersection project begins fall 2017.
http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=5677 (http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=5677)That's why US 13 is there.
Looks like beach traffic is going to get a whole lot messier on Route 1 in the next few years.
Basic rundown:
Thompsonville Road Grade Separated Intersection project is ongoing.
Little Heaven Grade Separated Intersection project begins in October.
South Frederica Grade Separated Intersection project begins spring 2016.
NE Front St Grade Separated Intersection project begins fall 2017.
That's why US 13 is there.No, it really isn't.
You mean 113.US 113 would only help for the NE Front Street interchange project.
That's why US 13 is there.No, it really isn't.You mean 113.US 113 would only help for the NE Front Street interchange project.
or DE 20/54 if you're heading towards OC's north end. And if you're coming across the WPL Mem Br, you're more concerned with the upcoming widening of MD 404, a project which had some surveyor activity this afternoon, and deserves its own thread.That's why US 13 is there.No, it really isn't.You mean 113.US 113 would only help for the NE Front Street interchange project.
Depends on which beach you're going to. If you're going to say Ocean City, you're taking US 113 to MD 90 or US 50 anyway.
or DE 20/54 if you're heading towards OC's north end.That's why US 13 is there.No, it really isn't.You mean 113.US 113 would only help for the NE Front Street interchange project.
Depends on which beach you're going to. If you're going to say Ocean City, you're taking US 113 to MD 90 or US 50 anyway.
Barrels along 26 haven't been much of a problem. Wait until the lane closures resume in a few days...
Will there ever be a bridge between Bowers and South Bowers? Per Google Maps, they're about 14 miles apart by road although they are across the narrow Murderkill from each other.Doubtful. They'd either have to take property or build over a tributary just beyond the end of South Bowers Rd. I imagine that people living there are fine with the situation, since they chose to live there.
ixnay
Perhaps the locals use a boat to travel between Bowers & S Bowers.Will there ever be a bridge between Bowers and South Bowers? Per Google Maps, they're about 14 miles apart by road although they are across the narrow Murderkill from each other.Doubtful. They'd either have to take property or build over a tributary just beyond the end of South Bowers Rd. I imagine that people living there are fine with the situation, since they chose to live there.
ixnay
Perhaps the locals use a boat to travel between Bowers & S Bowers.Will there ever be a bridge between Bowers and South Bowers? Per Google Maps, they're about 14 miles apart by road although they are across the narrow Murderkill from each other.Doubtful. They'd either have to take property or build over a tributary just beyond the end of South Bowers Rd. I imagine that people living there are fine with the situation, since they chose to live there.
ixnay
DelDOT has apparently broken ground on the DE 1 Little Heaven Grade Separated Intersection:
http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=5793 (http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=5793)
I'm looking forward to its completion, the current setup is notorious for causing miles long backups during he summer months.
In the case of MD/DE 54, it's similar to what J N describes: the route shield (MD or DE) corresponds to who has maintenance/jurisdiction over that segment.Does that mean there's DE shields on the MD side of the border and vice versa?
also on the subject of Delmar, Bi-State Blvd on google maps is Alt US 13 but there are no signs on it to indicate that, is that a former Alt route or just an error on google maps?
MD 675 is pretty well signed however. (The Maryland part of Bi-State Blvd)
also on the subject of Delmar, Bi-State Blvd on google maps is Alt US 13 but there are no signs on it to indicate that, is that a former Alt route or just an error on google maps?
MD 675 is pretty well signed however. (The Maryland part of Bi-State Blvd)
That may have been U.S. 13 itself in the very distant past. I do not ever recall seeing it signed as U.S. 13 or U.S. 13 Alternate, but others here know Delaware better than I.
US 301 spur if anything at all. I could see it being signed as "TO 301" and "TO 896" for south / northbound traffic respectively.Won't DelDOT have to sign Alternate U.S. 301 somewhere when they get the "new" (and tolled) U.S. 301 completed?
Do you remember U.S. 301 North and U.S. 301 South in Delaware?
I was wondering if there were any active plans to do anything with the grading and stub for the NB-SB loop ramp in that interchange. Guess this answers that. I take it removing the useless I-295 SB bridge over nothing from the old configuration is part of that project?
Apparently the DRBA is on the verge of starting another I-295 / US 13 / US 40 interchange project. This time they're moving the US 13 N > I-295 S from its current u-turn ramp configuration to a traditional cloverleaf on the other side of the interstate, adding a third lane to I-295 S for a consistent 3 lanes through the interchange, and tweaking a few other minor things.
Has Delaware ever had a SPUR route before?Anyone care to guess what DE will number the spur to the Summit Point Bridge while we are at it?
US 301 spur if anything at all. I could see it being signed as "TO 301" and "TO 896" for south / northbound traffic respectively.
Won't DelDOT have to sign Alternate U.S. 301 somewhere when they get the "new" (and tolled) U.S. 301 completed?
Do you remember U.S. 301 North and U.S. 301 South in Delaware?
According to this - http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/us301/pdfs/Section_4BC_Roll_Maps_9-6-2011_1.pdf - it will be 301 SPUR
Mike
Not that I recall.Has Delaware ever had a SPUR route before?Anyone care to guess what DE will number the spur to the Summit Point Bridge while we are at it?
US 301 spur if anything at all. I could see it being signed as "TO 301" and "TO 896" for south / northbound traffic respectively.
Won't DelDOT have to sign Alternate U.S. 301 somewhere when they get the "new" (and tolled) U.S. 301 completed?
Do you remember U.S. 301 North and U.S. 301 South in Delaware?
According to this - http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/us301/pdfs/Section_4BC_Roll_Maps_9-6-2011_1.pdf - it will be 301 SPUR
Mike
I was wondering if there were any active plans to do anything with the grading and stub for the NB-SB loop ramp in that interchange. Guess this answers that. I take it removing the useless I-295 SB bridge over nothing from the old configuration is part of that project?
Both southbound bridges pass over long abandoned railroads. The northbound spans were removed when they reconstructed I-295 previously, so they should removed. The eastern one however will be the location of a new greenway tunnel.
Has Delaware ever had a SPUR route before?Not that I recall.
Apparently the DRBA is on the verge of starting another I-295 / US 13 / US 40 interchange project. This time they're moving the US 13 N > I-295 S from its current u-turn ramp configuration to a traditional cloverleaf on the other side of the interstate, adding a third lane to I-295 S for a consistent 3 lanes through the interchange, and tweaking a few other minor things.
Delaware Online article (http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2015/12/09/-295-commuters-face-34-months-road-work/77009828/)
PDF of the DRBA's plans (http://www.drba.net/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=sXUcWX4n2yI%3d&tabid=39)
Oh yea, they ended up just signing it as the mainline so I completely forgot about that.Has Delaware ever had a SPUR route before?Not that I recall.
The formal name of the Delaware 141 reroute at Blue Ball is "Route 141 Spur". That is a close as they get with a spur route in the state.
Back to the I-295 project... that DRBA link seems to indicate that the soon to be closed horseshoe ramp from NB 13 to SB 295 is just going to stand and rot for a year before it's dismantled, right?
ixnay
Anyone care to guess what DE will number the spur to the Summit Point Bridge while we are at it?
US 301 spur if anything at all. I could see it being signed as "TO 301" and "TO 896" for south / northbound traffic respectively.
SR 279 was just a renumber of SR 2, and its so poorly signed, they might as well have signed it as TO MD 279 and TO DE 4.
SR 279 was just a renumber of SR 2, and its so poorly signed, they might as well have signed it as TO MD 279 and TO DE 4.
But they've had no problem leaving up DE 2 shields from the state route's pre-1988 routing through Newark...
(unless that's Newark's fault, either way it's still ironic)
Those are still alive and well, I walk past them practically everyday.SR 279 was just a renumber of SR 2, and its so poorly signed, they might as well have signed it as TO MD 279 and TO DE 4.
But they've had no problem leaving up DE 2 shields from the state route's pre-1988 routing through Newark...
(unless that's Newark's fault, either way it's still ironic)
I made an effort on my last trip home to document all the remaining ones in Newark. Let's hope the 2di shields for SR 273 continue to live on.
(http://shields.aaroads.com/img/DE/DE19702732i1.jpg)
I didn't know about this detour until I was on my way home from Bethany Beach tonight...Been annoying for a month now. Was even more so Thursday, because work was supposed to be done by now as you note. Corrugated drainage pipe rusted out, I believe. I'm on a DelDOT mailing list, and it seems they're always doing one of these somewhere, with accompanying closures and detours.
http://bridgeville.delaware.gov/road-closure-portion-of-state-route-404/
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ma+%26+Pa's+Market/@38.7740983,-75.659721,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x89b88b314a06c427:0x229e0e2be7f296c2!5m1!1e1!8s0ALHuxZqsVlPON8AkqKfFIXQvWzWXGyHqEAChF3d3cuZm9vZGxpb24uY29tLxKyAWh0dHA6Ly9jbGlja3NlcnZlLmRhcnRzZWFyY2gubmV0L2xpbmsvY2xpY2s_bGlkPTQzNzAwMDA3MDE1NDEyNDIwJmRzX3Nfa3dnaWQ9NTg3MDAwMDA0OTE1NzYyMTAmZHNfZV9hZGlkPTgzMzQxMjM0MDMzJmRzX2VfbWF0Y2h0eXBlPXNlYXJjaCZkc19lX2RldmljZT1jJmRzX2VfbmV0d29yaz1nJmRzX3VybF92PTIaGEZvb2RMaW9uLmNvbSAtIEZvb2QgTGlvbiIjRWFzeSwgRnJlc2ggJiBBZmZvcmRhYmxlIEdyb2Nlcmllcy4qIlN0YXJ0IFNhdmluZyBUb2RheSB3aXRoIEZvb2QgTGlvbiE
The detour is still up, so obviously acts of God among other things have done havoc with the schedule.
BTW what's a "crossroad pipe"?
ixnay
I didn't know about this detour until I was on my way home from Bethany Beach tonight...Been annoying for a month now. Was even more so Thursday, because work was supposed to be done by now as you note. Corrugated drainage pipe rusted out, I believe. I'm on a DelDOT mailing list, and it seems they're always doing one of these somewhere, with accompanying closures and detours.
http://bridgeville.delaware.gov/road-closure-portion-of-state-route-404/
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ma+%26+Pa's+Market/@38.7740983,-75.659721,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x89b88b314a06c427:0x229e0e2be7f296c2!5m1!1e1!8s0ALHuxZqsVlPON8AkqKfFIXQvWzWXGyHqEAChF3d3cuZm9vZGxpb24uY29tLxKyAWh0dHA6Ly9jbGlja3NlcnZlLmRhcnRzZWFyY2gubmV0L2xpbmsvY2xpY2s_bGlkPTQzNzAwMDA3MDE1NDEyNDIwJmRzX3Nfa3dnaWQ9NTg3MDAwMDA0OTE1NzYyMTAmZHNfZV9hZGlkPTgzMzQxMjM0MDMzJmRzX2VfbWF0Y2h0eXBlPXNlYXJjaCZkc19lX2RldmljZT1jJmRzX2VfbmV0d29yaz1nJmRzX3VybF92PTIaGEZvb2RMaW9uLmNvbSAtIEZvb2QgTGlvbiIjRWFzeSwgRnJlc2ggJiBBZmZvcmRhYmxlIEdyb2Nlcmllcy4qIlN0YXJ0IFNhdmluZyBUb2RheSB3aXRoIEZvb2QgTGlvbiE
The detour is still up, so obviously acts of God among other things have done havoc with the schedule.
BTW what's a "crossroad pipe"?
ixnay
I just signed up for that list. I don't how long you have been on that list, dave, but when detours are lifted, does DelDOT notify you?About a decade. Generally they don't notify you when a project is wrapped up and a detour lifted, unless they're quite proud of something they've done. On the other hand, announcing that the detour has been extended probably should have been done. I just received notification of the posting of a 12/16/15 Press Release stating that the closure at the intersection of DE 20 with US 113 is scheduled to run until Jan 22, which is nice know, but I wish they'd have done the same for the extended work project on DE 404, which is now a week beyond its projected 4 week closure. (I think the DE20/US113 closure was originally announced as lasting 2 weeks, but they've pulled the original Press Release from the website. Today's received press release (dated a week ago) makes only inferential mention of the original schedule. It's now scheduled for 6 weeks.)
ixnay
I was down in Delmar over thanksgiving, if Route 54 is on the border line between Delaware and Maryland, how do they decide if it has the Delaware shield or the Maryland one. the segment in downtown Delmar has the MD shield, but closer to US 13 it has the DE shield.And at the risk of having 2 posts in a row (on different DE topics), I drove 54 westbound a few days ago, and while I wasn't taking notes as I drove, I did remember seeing 2 MD 54 signs on posts stuck into DE soil, but only 1 such DE 54 (I wasn't closely checking my rear view mirror to see what was posted eastbound in MD soil). Most of this road is clearly in DE (except of course the part west of the state), but the stretch between Delmar and Gumboro Road (named E. Line Rd) is basically on the border. MD seems to have jurisdiction/maintenance over the eastern half of this stretch, mostly because it does veer into MD to avoid the Line Church Cemetery. There's a subtle change in the pavement just about the location of the DE 54 sign, making me think that DE maintains the stretch from there to Delmar.
PDF detailing the improvements and construction phases on I-295
http://www.drba.net/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=sXUcWX4n2yI%3d&tabid=39
It appears that the connection to I-295 south to I-95 south will be widened to 3 lanes.
I drove DE 1 through the now mostly finished auxiliary lane project between US 40 and DE 273 and took a couple pictures of the signs that went up in conjunction with the project. The gantries are (at least from what I've seen, correct me if I'm wrong) new to the state, but the signs themselves leave something to be desired.
I drove DE 1 through the now mostly finished auxiliary lane project between US 40 and DE 273 and took a couple pictures of the signs that went up in conjunction with the project. The gantries are (at least from what I've seen, correct me if I'm wrong) new to the state, but the signs themselves leave something to be desired.
Bob C. shared a pic of one with me a few weeks ago and stated the same thing about them being the first monotubes used in Delaware. I concur with both of you.
As for the design, at least they don't read "MUST EXIT", but they have the usual misuses of Clearview.
I just signed up for that list. I don't how long you have been on that list, dave, but when detours are lifted, does DelDOT notify you?Consider yourself notified. New culvert is MUCH wider than just road width.
ixnay
http://www.delawareonline.com/videos/news/local/2016/01/08/78505014/ (http://www.delawareonline.com/videos/news/local/2016/01/08/78505014/)
Per DelawareOnline, funding has been secured for the new Christina River crossing at the Wilmington Riverfront, to be dubbed 'New Sweden St.' Alongside this news came a flyover + ground level animation of the proposal. DelDOT seems to be pointing to a Summer 2017 start and Fall 2018 completion for the entire project.
Hopefully the new signage isn't as bad as the animation's. :ded:
(http://i.imgur.com/aDGdFhQ.png)
with the talk of Massachusetts moving to mileage based exits and Connecticut moving towards that eventually, are there any plans for Delaware to move to mileage based exits? My wish list would be if they could remove those confusing kilometer exit numbers on Route 1 and replace them with proper mileage based exits. I doubt the USA is moving to the metric system any time soon.
So all of the mileage based signs that remain will stay, and won't be replaced by kilometer based numbering, but new projects will have the kilometer based numbering (that involves building freeways)?with the talk of Massachusetts moving to mileage based exits and Connecticut moving towards that eventually, are there any plans for Delaware to move to mileage based exits? My wish list would be if they could remove those confusing kilometer exit numbers on Route 1 and replace them with proper mileage based exits. I doubt the USA is moving to the metric system any time soon.
I haven't seen any talk about this from DelDOT. All of the new interchanges along DE 1 have been either signed with kilometer based exit numbers, or simply none at all (DE 30). Future exits, such as the US 301 toll road, also have kilometer based numbers. As for the interstates (which are signed with sequential exit numbers), they aren't adding any new interchanges so the inevitable shifting of exit numbers that would occur upon the addition of a new exit isn't spurring the conversation at all.
So all of the mileage based signs that remain will stay, and won't be replaced by kilometer based numbering, but new projects will have the kilometer based numbering (that involves building freeways)?with the talk of Massachusetts moving to mileage based exits and Connecticut moving towards that eventually, are there any plans for Delaware to move to mileage based exits? My wish list would be if they could remove those confusing kilometer exit numbers on Route 1 and replace them with proper mileage based exits. I doubt the USA is moving to the metric system any time soon.
I haven't seen any talk about this from DelDOT. All of the new interchanges along DE 1 have been either signed with kilometer based exit numbers, or simply none at all (DE 30). Future exits, such as the US 301 toll road, also have kilometer based numbers. As for the interstates (which are signed with sequential exit numbers), they aren't adding any new interchanges so the inevitable shifting of exit numbers that would occur upon the addition of a new exit isn't spurring the conversation at all.
Given that distance signs and milemarkers are in miles on DE 1, IMO DE 1 should switch to mile-based exit numbers. It's confusing to have them be km-based when everything else is in miles.
Also, DE 141's exit numbers would appear to not need changing for a mile-based system based on the measuring I did on Google Maps.
Only if you round down. IMO that's a terrible way to do mile-based numbers - they should be rounded to the nearest milepost, even if that's the next milepost instead of the previous one. Airport Rd (and by extension DE 4) would still be off under a strict interpretation, but I'd be fine with them the way they are.IMO it doesn't matter one iota which method you choose, as long as you're consistent.
Given that distance signs and milemarkers are in miles on DE 1, IMO DE 1 should switch to mile-based exit numbers. It's confusing to have them be km-based when everything else is in miles.
Also, DE 141's exit numbers would appear to not need changing for a mile-based system based on the measuring I did on Google Maps.
theyre off slightly. If you go by wikipedia it should be:
Exit 1A-B - US 13/40 Wilmington Dover
Exit 2A - I-295 North Delaware Memorial Bridge
Exit 2B - I-95/495 US 202 Wilmington
Exit 2C - I-95 South Newark Baltimore
Exit 3A - S James Street Airport Road
Exit 3B - DE 4 Newport Stanton
Exit 4 - DE 62 Boxwood Road
Exit 5A-B - DE 2/41 Elsmere Newark
http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=5949 (http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=5949)
And yet another interchange project has begun, the South Frederica interchange on DE 1 started the other day. We now have 4 major interchange projects going on at once on DE 1, woo!
Great to hear! Is the goal to eliminate all of the at grade intersections in that corridor? I go to the DE Beaches and OCMD a lot and I know how DE 1 gets on its bad days.
The overall quality of some of the ramps points to this also, they're a lot narrower and the corners are a lot tighter than ramps you'd see on a corridor that's supposed to be converted to a full freeway. The DE 9 interchange comes to mind, I've used the southbound DE 1 on ramp a couple times and the merge is just uncomfortable between the sharp corner and the lack of a real shoulder.QuoteGreat to hear! Is the goal to eliminate all of the at grade intersections in that corridor? I go to the DE Beaches and OCMD a lot and I know how DE 1 gets on its bad days.
Not really. The goal appears to be to eliminate existing signals and prevent new signals from being needed, but the goal does not appear to be full access control.
QuoteGreat to hear! Is the goal to eliminate all of the at grade intersections in that corridor? I go to the DE Beaches and OCMD a lot and I know how DE 1 gets on its bad days.
Not really. The goal appears to be to eliminate existing signals and prevent new signals from being needed, but the goal does not appear to be full access control.
with the talk of Massachusetts moving to mileage based exits and Connecticut moving towards that eventually, are there any plans for Delaware to move to mileage based exits? My wish list would be if they could remove those confusing kilometer exit numbers on Route 1 and replace them with proper mileage based exits. I doubt the USA is moving to the metric system any time soon.
with the talk of Massachusetts moving to mileage based exits and Connecticut moving towards that eventually, are there any plans for Delaware to move to mileage based exits? My wish list would be if they could remove those confusing kilometer exit numbers on Route 1 and replace them with proper mileage based exits. I doubt the USA is moving to the metric system any time soon.
A better idea - get rid of the U.S. customary units of measurement.
In spite of what right wing radio talk show hosts want people to think, a very large part of the U.S. economy is already metric, including liquor and wine, nearly all motor vehicle parts and all pharmaceuticals.
I don't care what measurement system DE 1 uses, as long as it uses the same one for exit numbers, distance signage, and milemarkers. Either put the distance signage and milemarkers back to km or switch the exit numbers to miles. I can work with miles, I can work with km, but I can't convert between the two willy-nilly; when in Canada, I drop the US units and think in metric (where I'm familiar enough with the metric to do that, which in practice means distance signs and speed limits, but not gas stations, weather reports, or thermostats), but with DE 1, one has to constantly convert the km-based exit numbers back to miles in order for them to be useful. When I traveled that road, I had no reference to neither how close I was to my destination nor how many exits were in between. At least everywhere else, I'd have one or the other.
And I-95 and I-495 should really be switched off of sequential (I'd like to see exit numbers on I-295 as well).
I don't care what measurement system DE 1 uses, as long as it uses the same one for exit numbers, distance signage, and milemarkers. Either put the distance signage and milemarkers back to km or switch the exit numbers to miles. I can work with miles, I can work with km, but I can't convert between the two willy-nilly; when in Canada, I drop the US units and think in metric (where I'm familiar enough with the metric to do that, which in practice means distance signs and speed limits, but not gas stations, weather reports, or thermostats), but with DE 1, one has to constantly convert the km-based exit numbers back to miles in order for them to be useful. When I traveled that road, I had no reference to neither how close I was to my destination nor how many exits were in between. At least everywhere else, I'd have one or the other.
And I-95 and I-495 should really be switched off of sequential (I'd like to see exit numbers on I-295 as well).
I remember when it first opened and there were signs like Toll Plaza 500 m......no one knew where the hell that was. When will you see it? In half an hour? Around the next bend?
It would be interesting to see the exits at the north end go from numbers around 100 to the 160s and back to 100.
I don't care what measurement system DE 1 uses, as long as it uses the same one for exit numbers, distance signage, and milemarkers. Either put the distance signage and milemarkers back to km or switch the exit numbers to miles. I can work with miles, I can work with km, but I can't convert between the two willy-nilly; when in Canada, I drop the US units and think in metric (where I'm familiar enough with the metric to do that, which in practice means distance signs and speed limits, but not gas stations, weather reports, or thermostats), but with DE 1, one has to constantly convert the km-based exit numbers back to miles in order for them to be useful. When I traveled that road, I had no reference to neither how close I was to my destination nor how many exits were in between. At least everywhere else, I'd have one or the other.
And I-95 and I-495 should really be switched off of sequential (I'd like to see exit numbers on I-295 as well).
I remember when it first opened and there were signs like Toll Plaza 500 m......no one knew where the hell that was. When will you see it? In half an hour? Around the next bend?
It would be interesting to see the exits at the north end go from numbers around 100 to the 160s and back to 100.
If DE insists on km exit numbers, they should put the milemarkers on metric as well. For the distance signs, distances should be listed in both US and metric units. So signs list "Main Street 1 mile (1.6 km)" or "Dover 10 miles (16 km)" would probably be the best in this situation.
If you've gotten on the highway, and know you need to get off at exit 166, you should be able to look at any mile/km marker and do the math to figure out how far away you are. You can't do that on DE 1.
You'll find it near the USA/Canada border on both sides. Quebec and Vermont come to mind.I don't care what measurement system DE 1 uses, as long as it uses the same one for exit numbers, distance signage, and milemarkers. Either put the distance signage and milemarkers back to km or switch the exit numbers to miles. I can work with miles, I can work with km, but I can't convert between the two willy-nilly; when in Canada, I drop the US units and think in metric (where I'm familiar enough with the metric to do that, which in practice means distance signs and speed limits, but not gas stations, weather reports, or thermostats), but with DE 1, one has to constantly convert the km-based exit numbers back to miles in order for them to be useful. When I traveled that road, I had no reference to neither how close I was to my destination nor how many exits were in between. At least everywhere else, I'd have one or the other.
And I-95 and I-495 should really be switched off of sequential (I'd like to see exit numbers on I-295 as well).
I remember when it first opened and there were signs like Toll Plaza 500 m......no one knew where the hell that was. When will you see it? In half an hour? Around the next bend?
It would be interesting to see the exits at the north end go from numbers around 100 to the 160s and back to 100.
If DE insists on km exit numbers, they should put the milemarkers on metric as well. For the distance signs, distances should be listed in both US and metric units. So signs list "Main Street 1 mile (1.6 km)" or "Dover 10 miles (16 km)" would probably be the best in this situation.
Wasn't that tried at one point in some state, and found to be much too confusing?
The median, as you can see, is narrow, with very little recovery room. There should be a guardrail in this area to prevent these types of accidents.
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2016/06/09/more-closures-coming-massive-del-141-project/85643364/It's doable in nighttime only, but expensive. You have to construct each piece offline to precise tolerances, stage it somewhere, then bring in all the heavy machinery to break out the old pieces and drop in the new. Typically they at least try to get an entire weekend for it. It can't be done in 1 night, but it can be done over the course of several, in the most extreme cases where weekend closures are infeasible and there's no room for a temporary bypass.
141 Closures at and near I-95.
My favorite question that people ask: Why can't they do the work at night? Hey, if they can remove and replace an entire overpass in 1 night, I'd be very impressed.
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2016/06/09/more-closures-coming-massive-del-141-project/85643364/It's doable in nighttime only, but expensive. You have to construct each piece offline to precise tolerances, stage it somewhere, then bring in all the heavy machinery to break out the old pieces and drop in the new. Typically they at least try to get an entire weekend for it. It can't be done in 1 night, but it can be done over the course of several, in the most extreme cases where weekend closures are infeasible and there's no room for a temporary bypass.
141 Closures at and near I-95.
My favorite question that people ask: Why can't they do the work at night? Hey, if they can remove and replace an entire overpass in 1 night, I'd be very impressed.
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2016/06/09/more-closures-coming-massive-del-141-project/85643364/
141 Closures at and near I-95.
My favorite question that people ask: Why can't they do the work at night? Hey, if they can remove and replace an entire overpass in 1 night, I'd be very impressed.
Looking at some of their other documents, it's rare to see DelDOT design and acknowledge a project where a movement is Level F now, and is projected to still be Level F in the future. But it's one of those things where the rest of the project is an overall benefit, so they'll probably deal with that later. ( http://www.deldot.gov/information/projects/sr141/archivedsite-sr141-i95/index.shtml , see Capacity Analysis for that specific issue)
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2016/06/09/more-closures-coming-massive-del-141-project/85643364/It's doable in nighttime only, but expensive. You have to construct each piece offline to precise tolerances, stage it somewhere, then bring in all the heavy machinery to break out the old pieces and drop in the new. Typically they at least try to get an entire weekend for it. It can't be done in 1 night, but it can be done over the course of several, in the most extreme cases where weekend closures are infeasible and there's no room for a temporary bypass.
141 Closures at and near I-95.
My favorite question that people ask: Why can't they do the work at night? Hey, if they can remove and replace an entire overpass in 1 night, I'd be very impressed.
RIP to the remaining Delaware 2 cutout (http://shields.aaroads.com/show.php?image=DE19660021). It was replaced (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7465429,-75.5748024,3a,76.2y,257.21h,90.41t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s3nlKwZ3UsknA6KRCoI2NRA!2e0!5s20160801T000000!7i13312!8i6656) by this year. I figured it would have been removed since Wilmington is generally uninterested in signing state routes.How old do those shields date back from?
Thankfully, the Delaware 4 cutout (http://shields.aaroads.com/show.php?image=DE19660041) is still holding on.
RIP to the remaining Delaware 2 cutout (http://shields.aaroads.com/show.php?image=DE19660021). It was replaced (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7465429,-75.5748024,3a,76.2y,257.21h,90.41t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s3nlKwZ3UsknA6KRCoI2NRA!2e0!5s20160801T000000!7i13312!8i6656) by this year. I figured it would have been removed since Wilmington is generally uninterested in signing state routes.How old do those shields date back from?
Thankfully, the Delaware 4 cutout (http://shields.aaroads.com/show.php?image=DE19660041) is still holding on.
The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal via USAToday: Delaware eyes truckers evading tolls on I-95 (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/08/toll-evaders/16922061/)
...and Old Baltimore Pike, also known as Delaware 281.
Funnily enough, it doesn't look like anyone picked up on the News Journal trying to will a state route into existence the first time around:Quote...and Old Baltimore Pike, also known as Delaware 281.
The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal via USAToday: Delaware eyes truckers evading tolls on I-95 (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/08/toll-evaders/16922061/)
...from over two years ago.
You posted about it here (http://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=372.msg2012358#msg2012358) when the piece was first written. :sombrero:
Funnily enough, it doesn't look like anyone picked up on the News Journal trying to will a state route into existence the first time around:Quote...and Old Baltimore Pike, also known as Delaware 281.
60 MPH speed limit sighting (first in the state?) on Route 1 around Dover
http://deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=6373
60 MPH speed limit sighting (first in the state?) on Route 1 around Dover
http://deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=6373
60 MPH speed limit sighting (first in the state?) on Route 1 around Dover
http://deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=6373
As far as I know, yes, this will be the only current instance of a 60 MPH speed limit in the state. Glad to see DelDOT realizing that pretty much everyone were comfortable driving at a quicker pace on these roads, especially given as there is really no difference in road quality on either side of the speed limit change.
I like to know why DelDOT used one on DE 1 in Sussex County, DE to replace a Bascule Span Bridge instead of your typical high rise that usually replaces an inlet crossing.
Using Wikipedia, for what that's worth, it sounds like a history of scouring has undone many bridges there. Thru just 80 years, 5 bridges have been built on this site; with the other 4 either collapsing or in danger of collapsing. Almost sounds like a long history of bad engineering.
The current bridge was built, it appears, to withstand changes in the ocean and inlet currents for decades to come. It certainly does seem overbuilt for what it needs to cross though!
Scouring was indeed a big problem with at least the 1965 Indian River bridge-it underwent frequent underwater checks in its last years after one inspection revealed that the narrow channel was about 90' deep and there wasn't really much holding up the bridge. Large boulders were routinely dumped into the channel. (Fun fact: highest point in Sussex Co is only about 75'.) I'm too lazy to see if Wikipedia covers it adequately, but the first attempt at building the newest bridge was halted after it was noticed that all the fill (and the ground it was sitting on, namely wet sand) had sunk several feet. Supposedly the tidal flow would be enough to generate serious electricity, if anybody could figure out how to keep the turbines from washing away.
The pre-1965 Indian River bridge was indeed a bascule bridge that was undermined in the March 1962 nor'easter and closed well into that summer.
Although he was just an R&D tech, my late stepdad would probably say about the current bridge, "That bridge was 200% overdesigned!"
ixnay
Apologies if this has been discussed before, but what's the deal with DE 1's exit numbers? They are like 40 off of the mile markers and would need to start somewhere in the Virginia part of Delmarva to make any sense.
Distance on DE 1 is measured in km. Part of an experiment with the metric conversion craze of the 1990s.FTFY
Apologies if this has been discussed before, but what's the deal with DE 1's exit numbers? They are like 40 off of the mile markers and would need to start somewhere in the Virginia part of Delmarva to make any sense.
Apologies if this has been discussed before, but what's the deal with DE 1's exit numbers? They are like 40 off of the mile markers and would need to start somewhere in the Virginia part of Delmarva to make any sense.
The Dover-Smyrna portion of DE 1 was signed entirely with metric units when it opened in December 1993. The units were not well received and they were swapped out, with the exception of the exit numbers. The original DE 1 freeway in New Castle County did have mile based exit numbers. They were changed to match the metric units.
The newest exit on DE 1 is 5 km or so off the actual distance from the Maryland line, while the exit for DE 30 is unnumbered.
(http://www.aaroads.com/mid-atlantic/delaware001/de-001_nb_exit_079_03.jpg)
(http://www.aaroads.com/mid-atlantic/delaware001/de-001_nb_at_de-030.jpg)
At least the exit tab on the above-example doesn't look like it was copied from Maryland signage.(http://www.aaroads.com/mid-atlantic/delaware001/de-001_nb_exit_079_03.jpg)My god Delaware sucked at Clearview.
I've seen this before on the Delaware Memorial Bridge: Falling ice from the suspension ropes and tubes case them to shut down the outside lanes. Thus, 2 lanes are open in either direction. Unlike some of the past incidents, weekday, winter closures don't tend to jam up traffic all that much, especially since people aren't necessarily slowing down to see construction work or anything.
http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2017/03/falling_ice_prompts_lane_closures_on_delaware_memo.html#incart_river_home
Yes. East River bridges in NYC do...but I don't think they shut down outside lanes to deal with it.I've seen this before on the Delaware Memorial Bridge: Falling ice from the suspension ropes and tubes case them to shut down the outside lanes. Thus, 2 lanes are open in either direction. Unlike some of the past incidents, weekday, winter closures don't tend to jam up traffic all that much, especially since people aren't necessarily slowing down to see construction work or anything.
http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2017/03/falling_ice_prompts_lane_closures_on_delaware_memo.html#incart_river_home
Do other suspension, cable stayed, or cantilever bridges have a problem with this?
ixnay
Remember that this wasn't a snow storm though...in DE, it was all sleet and freezing rain...so this was an unusual event.
The spire on top of the Court House, Delaware's Colonial capitol and first state house, was used as the center of the Twelve-Mile Circle forming the northern boundary of Delaware. The Delaware River within this radius to the low water mark on the opposite shore is part of Delaware. Thus the Delaware Memorial Bridge was built as an intrastate span by Delaware, without financial participation by neighboring New Jersey.[citation needed]
The information one can get via Wikipedia is gold. I was looking up something on New Castle, Delaware, and found this interesting tidbit:Considering DRBA is a bi-state agency...QuoteThe spire on top of the Court House, Delaware's Colonial capitol and first state house, was used as the center of the Twelve-Mile Circle forming the northern boundary of Delaware. The Delaware River within this radius to the low water mark on the opposite shore is part of Delaware. Thus the Delaware Memorial Bridge was built as an intrastate span by Delaware, without financial participation by neighboring New Jersey.[citation needed]
For this to be even remotely true, the bridge would have had to touch down at the exact point where the river touches NJ during lowtide. Obviously, it does not.
Take note that a citation is needed...I won't hold my breath waiting for that citation to be provided.
At least the exit tab on the above-example doesn't look like it was copied from Maryland signage.(http://www.aaroads.com/mid-atlantic/delaware001/de-001_nb_exit_079_03.jpg)My god Delaware sucked at Clearview.
Now that's interesting. But tell me this, does DE 1 plan to get rid of the toll booths once the 301 tollway is finished?I went out to where the old summit bridge was today and took some pictures, i would upload them but i don't know how :confused: . I went on both sides of where the former bridge was, it was very interesting.
If you normally take U.S. 113 to the Quiet Resorts, OCMD, or maybe Berlin and/or Snow Hill, you'll have to deal with this for a fortnight.
http://www.wboc.com/story/35347266/section-of-us-113-closing-tonight-in-milford-for-two-weeks
Notice how the rails have sagged at the crossing.
ixnay
Now that's interesting. But tell me this, does DE 1 plan to get rid of the toll booths once the 301 tollway is finished?I went out to where the old summit bridge was today and took some pictures, i would upload them but i don't know how :confused: . I went on both sides of where the former bridge was, it was very interesting.
If you normally take U.S. 113 to the Quiet Resorts, OCMD, or maybe Berlin and/or Snow Hill, you'll have to deal with this for a fortnight.
http://www.wboc.com/story/35347266/section-of-us-113-closing-tonight-in-milford-for-two-weeks
Notice how the rails have sagged at the crossing.
ixnay
iPhone
As previously noted you must have a free way to cross & I believe that when the 301 flyover ramp is built with DE 1 the light where you can join DE 1 before St georges will be removed. Which means you would have to get off at the 896 exit & take U.S all the way up or they will build a correct interchange for the 3 roadsNow that's interesting. But tell me this, does DE 1 plan to get rid of the toll booths once the 301 tollway is finished?I went out to where the old summit bridge was today and took some pictures, i would upload them but i don't know how :confused: . I went on both sides of where the former bridge was, it was very interesting.
If you normally take U.S. 113 to the Quiet Resorts, OCMD, or maybe Berlin and/or Snow Hill, you'll have to deal with this for a fortnight.
http://www.wboc.com/story/35347266/section-of-us-113-closing-tonight-in-milford-for-two-weeks
Notice how the rails have sagged at the crossing.
ixnay
iPhone
Nope. In the tolling sense, the two highways have nothing to do with each other.
As previously noted you must have a free way to cross & I believe that when the 301 flyover ramp is built with DE 1 the light where you can join DE 1 before St georges will be removed. Which means you would have to get off at the 896 exit & take U.S all the way up or they will build a correct interchange for the 3 roadsNow that's interesting. But tell me this, does DE 1 plan to get rid of the toll booths once the 301 tollway is finished?I went out to where the old summit bridge was today and took some pictures, i would upload them but i don't know how :confused: . I went on both sides of where the former bridge was, it was very interesting.
If you normally take U.S. 113 to the Quiet Resorts, OCMD, or maybe Berlin and/or Snow Hill, you'll have to deal with this for a fortnight.
http://www.wboc.com/story/35347266/section-of-us-113-closing-tonight-in-milford-for-two-weeks
Notice how the rails have sagged at the crossing.
ixnay
iPhone
Nope. In the tolling sense, the two highways have nothing to do with each other.
iPhone
Do you think its a good idea to push more traffic on the old Us 13 Bridge it is already is terrible condition the best crossing is the C & D canel bridgeAs previously noted you must have a free way to cross & I believe that when the 301 flyover ramp is built with DE 1 the light where you can join DE 1 before St georges will be removed. Which means you would have to get off at the 896 exit & take U.S all the way up or they will build a correct interchange for the 3 roadsNow that's interesting. But tell me this, does DE 1 plan to get rid of the toll booths once the 301 tollway is finished?I went out to where the old summit bridge was today and took some pictures, i would upload them but i don't know how :confused: . I went on both sides of where the former bridge was, it was very interesting.
If you normally take U.S. 113 to the Quiet Resorts, OCMD, or maybe Berlin and/or Snow Hill, you'll have to deal with this for a fortnight.
http://www.wboc.com/story/35347266/section-of-us-113-closing-tonight-in-milford-for-two-weeks
Notice how the rails have sagged at the crossing.
ixnay
iPhone
Nope. In the tolling sense, the two highways have nothing to do with each other.
iPhone
So there's still a free way to cross, right?
Also, the old US 13 St. Georges bridge will still be open, so that's another free way to cross.
Interestingly enough (and I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned), a large portion of the Clearview signage at the new DE 1 / 30 interchange has already been replaced with Highway Gothic as of two weekends ago. If memory serves, I believe they added Milford to the destinations instead of just using Lincoln. I didn't get any pictures as I was driving at the time.At least the exit tab on the above-example doesn't look like it was copied from Maryland signage.(http://www.aaroads.com/mid-atlantic/delaware001/de-001_nb_exit_079_03.jpg)My god Delaware sucked at Clearview.
Has Delaware followed Iowa and abandoned Clearview? I've seen some signs that look brand new (DE 1 at US 13 I think?) that looked like all Highway Gothic.
Speaking of DE 1... are they rebuilding the ramp from SB DE 1 to NB U.S. 13 in Tybouts Corner? Google Maps shows it as closed.
ixnay
WHAT: The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT)'s contractor Eastern Highway Specialists Inc. will be removing the existing concrete median barrier and replacing with dual faced guardrail on SR 1.
Speaking of DE 1... are they rebuilding the ramp from SB DE 1 to NB U.S. 13 in Tybouts Corner? Google Maps shows it as closed.
ixnay
Bob told me of this in early April and figured it out:
The ramp is closed until May 26: http://www.deldot.gov/public.ejs?command=PublicTrafficIncidentDisplay&id=89509
http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=6486QuoteWHAT: The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT)'s contractor Eastern Highway Specialists Inc. will be removing the existing concrete median barrier and replacing with dual faced guardrail on SR 1.
Speaking of DE 1... are they rebuilding the ramp from SB DE 1 to NB U.S. 13 in Tybouts Corner? Google Maps shows it as closed.
ixnay
Bob told me of this in early April and figured it out:
The ramp is closed until May 26: http://www.deldot.gov/public.ejs?command=PublicTrafficIncidentDisplay&id=89509
http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=6486QuoteWHAT: The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT)'s contractor Eastern Highway Specialists Inc. will be removing the existing concrete median barrier and replacing with dual faced guardrail on SR 1.
Did we ever figure out the purpose of this? Especially on that high speed ramp, it seems awfully backwards to remove what appeared to be a perfectly fine jersey barrier and replace it with guardrail.
Speaking of DE 1... are they rebuilding the ramp from SB DE 1 to NB U.S. 13 in Tybouts Corner? Google Maps shows it as closed.When do they plan to rebuild it? I've seen the plans on deldots website. but no mention of a date, its a good plan too.
ixnay
Speaking of DE 1... are they rebuilding the ramp from SB DE 1 to NB U.S. 13 in Tybouts Corner? Google Maps shows it as closed.When do they plan to rebuild it? I've seen the plans on deldots website. but no mention of a date, its a good plan too.
ixnay
Speaking of DE 1... are they rebuilding the ramp from SB DE 1 to NB U.S. 13 in Tybouts Corner? Google Maps shows it as closed.When do they plan to rebuild it? I've seen the plans on deldots website. but no mention of a date, its a good plan too.
ixnay
Do you have a link or have any information on the actual plans?
Speaking of DE 1... are they rebuilding the ramp from SB DE 1 to NB U.S. 13 in Tybouts Corner? Google Maps shows it as closed.
ixnay
Bob told me of this in early April and figured it out:
The ramp is closed until May 26: http://www.deldot.gov/public.ejs?command=PublicTrafficIncidentDisplay&id=89509
http://www.deldot.gov/home/newsroom/release.shtml?id=6486QuoteWHAT: The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT)'s contractor Eastern Highway Specialists Inc. will be removing the existing concrete median barrier and replacing with dual faced guardrail on SR 1.
Did we ever figure out the purpose of this? Especially on that high speed ramp, it seems awfully backwards to remove what appeared to be a perfectly fine jersey barrier and replace it with guardrail.
Did anyone else notice that Delaware owns a majority of the Delaware memorial bridge, The Water that Delaware claims extends all the way to jerseys side of the bridge right on the coast.
Does that mean that Delaware owns more of the bridge and rights or does DRBA Make it 50-50.
Did anyone else notice that Delaware owns a majority of the Delaware memorial bridge, The Water that Delaware claims extends all the way to jerseys side of the bridge right on the coast.
Does that mean that Delaware owns more of the bridge and rights or does DRBA Make it 50-50.
Delaware doesn't own any of the bridge. Neither does NJ. The majority of the bridge is within the State of Delaware. And that is fairly well known, as all of the Delaware River is considered Delaware State. Look closely on some maps, and you'll see there's a few small sections on the NJ side of the river that are actually part of Delaware as well. This is due to river sediments that have built up over the years and formed land on the Jersey side of the Delaware.
There are two small signs on the 295 South side of the bridge noting the Delaware State Line. There are no such signs on the Jersey bound span.
The bridge is maintained by a bi-state authority, the DRBA. There's no 50/50 split. They fund themselves via the tolls. The DRBA maintains much more than the bridge...they maintain the roadway from approximately US 130 (NJ) to 95/495 (DE).
Posted this in the Signs with 3 Control Cities thread and thought such was worth reposting here:
This pull-through BGS w/3 listings for I-495 South is now no-more.
(http://www.aaroads.com/mid-atlantic/delaware495/i-495_sb_exit_006_02.jpg)
The 70s-vintage gantry (possibly original) and the 10(?) year-old BGS' were completely replaced with a pipe-style gantry. The new pull-through BGS now longer lists Del Mem Br.
All the new BGS' feature oversized Clearview fonts for the control cities (which overshadow the route shields & make for larger sign panels); but, unlike the Clearview BGS further south along I-95, the exit tabs are thankfully not the MD-style elongated ones (though the tab legends are in Clearview, a long-time FHWA no-no).
Either the designs for these new BGS panels were approved prior to the Feds yanking the interim approval for Clearview or DelDOT or the contractors simply didn't care. I didn't see any other new sign installations on Naaman's Road (DE 92).
Not sure if this was an accident-related replacement or part of an overall sign replacement project. I say that because the previous signs (which were still there 2 weeks ago) were still in decent shape.
It appears as though the new DE 141 SB bridge over I-95 NB is due to go into service next week:
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2017/06/02/numerous-highway-closures-scheduled-next-week/364952001/ (http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2017/06/02/numerous-highway-closures-scheduled-next-week/364952001/)
Did anyone else notice that Delaware owns a majority of the Delaware memorial bridge, The Water that Delaware claims extends all the way to jerseys side of the bridge right on the coast.
Does that mean that Delaware owns more of the bridge and rights or does DRBA Make it 50-50.
Delaware doesn't own any of the bridge. Neither does NJ. The majority of the bridge is within the State of Delaware. And that is fairly well known, as all of the Delaware River is considered Delaware State. Look closely on some maps, and you'll see there's a few small sections on the NJ side of the river that are actually part of Delaware as well. This is due to river sediments that have built up over the years and formed land on the Jersey side of the Delaware.
There are two small signs on the 295 South side of the bridge noting the Delaware State Line. There are no such signs on the Jersey bound span.
The bridge is maintained by a bi-state authority, the DRBA. There's no 50/50 split. They fund themselves via the tolls. The DRBA maintains much more than the bridge...they maintain the roadway from approximately US 130 (NJ) to 95/495 (DE).
Newly installed signs on SR 2 EB approaching Delaware Park Dr, erected as a part of a project to lengthen the SR 2 EB turn lane to Milltown Road NB. Someone should probably check on the guy who manufactured the middle sign and make sure he's alright.The second sign uses the proper size down arrow for an overhead guide sign! What's wrong with that? :-D
(https://image.prntscr.com/image/asAu3RvuS2exFWQJGg8FKw.png)
Newly installed signs on SR 2 EB approaching Delaware Park Dr, erected as a part of a project to lengthen the SR 2 EB turn lane to Milltown Road NB. Someone should probably check on the guy who manufactured the middle sign and make sure he's alright.
(https://image.prntscr.com/image/asAu3RvuS2exFWQJGg8FKw.png)
EDIT: Fixed picture.
Posted this in the Signs with 3 Control Cities thread and thought such was worth reposting here:
This pull-through BGS w/3 listings for I-495 South is now no-more.
(http://www.aaroads.com/mid-atlantic/delaware495/i-495_sb_exit_006_02.jpg)
The 70s-vintage gantry (possibly original) and the 10(?) year-old BGS' were completely replaced with a pipe-style gantry. The new pull-through BGS now longer lists Del Mem Br.
All the new BGS' feature oversized Clearview fonts for the control cities (which overshadow the route shields & make for larger sign panels); but, unlike the Clearview BGS further south along I-95, the exit tabs are thankfully not the MD-style elongated ones (though the tab legends are in Clearview, a long-time FHWA no-no).
Either the designs for these new BGS panels were approved prior to the Feds yanking the interim approval for Clearview or DelDOT or the contractors simply didn't care. I didn't see any other new sign installations on Naaman's Road (DE 92).
Not sure if this was an accident-related replacement or part of an overall sign replacement project. I say that because the previous signs (which were still there 2 weeks ago) were still in decent shape.
Funny you commented on this, I had noticed it when I was driving a couple weeks ago, & was gonna post something about it. What made them choose bubble gantry? Is that the new thing now? & on other delaware related things, new High mast lights kn 495/95.
iPhone
Again, to be clear; the City/Port of patch was placed over the original Port of patch during a reconstruction of I-95 that took place in the late 90s/early 2000s. That patch was supposed to be removed when the project was completed. The original distinction was just Wilmington for I-95 South and Port of Wilmington for I-495 South.
So a follow-up question: If Wilmington traffic was supposed to take I-495 during this project, was a different greenout patch placed over “Wilmington” on the I-95 side? And if so, what did it say (if anything)?
Nobody trash-talks Clearview!Posted this in the Signs with 3 Control Cities thread and thought such was worth reposting here:
This pull-through BGS w/3 listings for I-495 South is now no-more.
(http://www.aaroads.com/mid-atlantic/delaware495/i-495_sb_exit_006_02.jpg)
The 70s-vintage gantry (possibly original) and the 10(?) year-old BGS' were completely replaced with a pipe-style gantry. The new pull-through BGS now longer lists Del Mem Br.
All the new BGS' feature oversized Clearview fonts for the control cities (which overshadow the route shields & make for larger sign panels); but, unlike the Clearview BGS further south along I-95, the exit tabs are thankfully not the MD-style elongated ones (though the tab legends are in Clearview, a long-time FHWA no-no).
Either the designs for these new BGS panels were approved prior to the Feds yanking the interim approval for Clearview or DelDOT or the contractors simply didn't care. I didn't see any other new sign installations on Naaman's Road (DE 92).
Not sure if this was an accident-related replacement or part of an overall sign replacement project. I say that because the previous signs (which were still there 2 weeks ago) were still in decent shape.
Funny you commented on this, I had noticed it when I was driving a couple weeks ago, & was gonna post something about it. What made them choose bubble gantry? Is that the new thing now? & on other delaware related things, new High mast lights kn 495/95.
iPhone
Got a photo just a couple weeks ago of a tube gantry at Exit 2 on 495 NB. Indeed there is OVERSIZED Clearview on the new sign. Sigh.
(https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/18581762_10108222922848628_761324525481497796_n.jpg?oh=e5248125493f603181ade7b844b72fe9&oe=59A789C8)
The estimate of the age of the existing signage is pretty accurate judging from Street View inspection here and there on 495. The Exit 2 sign I posted appeared sometime in late 2007 or early 2008 based on the street view; the ones at Naamans Road that are now gone are probably from the same project and street view inspection shows the same rough age. Older signs at the same locations are classic DelDOT issue (rounded corners, sheet signs, exit tabs not totally fused to main sign, lighting included) while the signs that are just now being removed are extruded, no lighting, square corners--not classic DelDOT. The new signs really stink compared to the previous ones. The Clearview is WAY TOO LARGE. 9 or 10 years is too young to be getting rid of the existing signs....
I'm guessing this is on the Delaware side of the bridge? I know US Route 13 doesn't enter New Jersey.This is the Delaware thread, great educated guess
I'm guessing this is on the Delaware side of the bridge? I know US Route 13 doesn't enter New Jersey.It doesn't, although Morrisville, Pennsylvania, where it reaches its northern terminus, is close.
I'm guessing this is on the Delaware side of the bridge? I know US Route 13 doesn't enter New Jersey.It doesn't, although Morrisville, Pennsylvania, where it reaches its northern terminus, is close.
U.S. 202 Rededicated as the Gold Star Highway in Honor of Families of Soldiers
The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) announced today the rededication of U.S. 202 from the Delaware/ Pennsylvania line south to the I 95 interchange as the Gold Star Highway. Transportation Secretary Jennifer Cohan along with Governor John Carney made the announcement to an assembled audience within the sculpture garden of the Blue Ball Barn. Formalizing the event, the Governor proclaimed Monday, September 25, 2017 as "Delaware Gold Star Mothers' and Families' Day".
CNN has described the Gold Star designation as a venerated status that no one wants. For nearly 100 years, inclusion has been earned for losing an immediate family member serving during war/conflict. A Gold Star Lapel Button is issued to immediate family members of those who have lost their lives in the defense of democracy during WWI and II, and any subsequent armed hostilities in which the United States became engaged. It is also issued for Act of Terrorism deaths. Formal recognition of these families was launched in 1947 by an Act of Congress. The Next of Kin Lapel Button was authorized retroactive to March 29, 1973, for those who lost their lives while serving on active duty in other than a combat theatre or act of terrorism.
This is the first I've heard about this, I wonder how hard the new name is going to be pushed over the current "Concord Pike" name on signage.
US 202 between I-95 and the PA state line was rededicated as "Gold Star Highway" today:
http://www.deldot.gov/About/news/index.shtml?dc=release&id=6780 (http://www.deldot.gov/About/news/index.shtml?dc=release&id=6780)QuoteU.S. 202 Rededicated as the Gold Star Highway in Honor of Families of SoldiersQuoteThe Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) announced today the rededication of U.S. 202 from the Delaware/ Pennsylvania line south to the I 95 interchange as the Gold Star Highway. Transportation Secretary Jennifer Cohan along with Governor John Carney made the announcement to an assembled audience within the sculpture garden of the Blue Ball Barn. Formalizing the event, the Governor proclaimed Monday, September 25, 2017 as "Delaware Gold Star Mothers' and Families' Day".
CNN has described the Gold Star designation as a venerated status that no one wants. For nearly 100 years, inclusion has been earned for losing an immediate family member serving during war/conflict. A Gold Star Lapel Button is issued to immediate family members of those who have lost their lives in the defense of democracy during WWI and II, and any subsequent armed hostilities in which the United States became engaged. It is also issued for Act of Terrorism deaths. Formal recognition of these families was launched in 1947 by an Act of Congress. The Next of Kin Lapel Button was authorized retroactive to March 29, 1973, for those who lost their lives while serving on active duty in other than a combat theatre or act of terrorism.
This is the first I've heard about this, I wonder how hard the new name is going to be pushed over the current "Concord Pike" name on signage.
I'm guessing this is on the Delaware side of the bridge? I know US Route 13 doesn't enter New Jersey.It doesn't, although Morrisville, Pennsylvania, where it reaches its northern terminus, is close.
And as it goes through Chester, Trainer, and Marcus Hook, you'd never know 13 is the same highway that's a dual road between Minquadale, DE and the CBBT.
ixnay
Thank you for your assistance. Someone will be in contact with you shortly for your award.I'm guessing this is on the Delaware side of the bridge? I know US Route 13 doesn't enter New Jersey.It doesn't, although Morrisville, Pennsylvania, where it reaches its northern terminus, is close.
And as it goes through Chester, Trainer, and Marcus Hook, you'd never know 13 is the same highway that's a dual road between Minquadale, DE and the CBBT.
ixnay
And it's southern terminus is at I-95 near Fayetteville, NC. Did anyone know that?
Living in Wilmington for several years, I've noticed how on Interstate 95 at the 9th Street overpass, the pillar on the southbound side is completely different than the ones on the northbound side and in the median. Why do you think that is?Probably magic.
ETA: What the heck, actually? https://goo.gl/maps/QSQhNhBKkVo (https://goo.gl/maps/QSQhNhBKkVo)
ETA2: And it happens with all the pillars at 10th Street, but nowhere else.
ETA: What the heck, actually? https://goo.gl/maps/QSQhNhBKkVo (https://goo.gl/maps/QSQhNhBKkVo)
ETA2: And it happens with all the pillars at 10th Street, but nowhere else.
You are right about how the pillars at the 9th and 10th Street overpasses (minus the one on the southbound end of the 9th street overpass) are very unique. With the 95 connection ramps in Bucks County, PA opening next August, it's possible that very soon, some through traffic will see those unique pillars as well.
No doubt, you likely had this one (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9085532,-75.1492098,3a,75y,297h,88.89t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBBA6yn_XigH-j3aFaAQKdQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) in mind when you typed the above.ETA: What the heck, actually? https://goo.gl/maps/QSQhNhBKkVo (https://goo.gl/maps/QSQhNhBKkVo)
ETA2: And it happens with all the pillars at 10th Street, but nowhere else.
You are right about how the pillars at the 9th and 10th Street overpasses (minus the one on the southbound end of the 9th street overpass) are very unique. With the 95 connection ramps in Bucks County, PA opening next August, it's possible that very soon, some through traffic will see those unique pillars as well.
It looks like just some reinforcement to the existing bridge support.
I've seen something like this elsewhere, but not to this extent.
Most thru traffic though will never look at the bridge supports though.
No doubt, you likely had this one (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9085532,-75.1492098,3a,75y,297h,88.89t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBBA6yn_XigH-j3aFaAQKdQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) in mind when you typed the above.ETA: What the heck, actually? https://goo.gl/maps/QSQhNhBKkVo (https://goo.gl/maps/QSQhNhBKkVo)
ETA2: And it happens with all the pillars at 10th Street, but nowhere else.
You are right about how the pillars at the 9th and 10th Street overpasses (minus the one on the southbound end of the 9th street overpass) are very unique. With the 95 connection ramps in Bucks County, PA opening next August, it's possible that very soon, some through traffic will see those unique pillars as well.
It looks like just some reinforcement to the existing bridge support.
I've seen something like this elsewhere, but not to this extent.
Most thru traffic though will never look at the bridge supports though.
This is common in other states on aging bridges. It's a cheaper way to reinforce a bridge.Cheaper than what? Extra columns? Also the bridges don't even look that old, though maybe because they're nice and polished white.
This is common in other states on aging bridges. It's a cheaper way to reinforce a bridge.Cheaper than what? Extra columns? Also the bridges don't even look that old, though maybe because they're nice and polished white.
This is common in other states on aging bridges. It's a cheaper way to reinforce a bridge.Cheaper than what? Extra columns? Also the bridges don't even look that old, though maybe because they're nice and polished white.
Ninety-five through Wilmington city was built in the mid-'60's.
ixnay
FENWICK ISLAND - The Fenwick Town Council has decided to delay until next month consideration of a replacement for Councilman J. Livingston Edwards, who died two weeks ago. Possible replacements will be discussed at the February council meeting. Edwards' term expires in August. The council has also decided to ask the State Highway Division to rename the portion of Delaware 14 that goes through Fenwick the '"Fisher-Edwards Memorial Highway" for Edmond Fisher, one of the town founders and a former councilman, and Edwards. The two men died within a few months of each other and had been active in town affairs for many years.
Hey, it's the next best thing to making a freeway on the Atlantic Coast.
Hey, it's the next best thing to making a freeway on the Atlantic Coast.
:thumbsup:
ixnay
I hope alt 3 is selected just because there's nothing like it anywhere else. But really, what's the problem here? Is it the SB weave between cloverloops? If so 2 is probably the best option, to avoid too much encouragement of shunpiking by making 896 SB any more free-flowing.
I suppose the new 301 connection to DE 1 would take the 301-bound traffic out of this interchange, but I'm sure they took that into account and that it still needs improvements otherwise.Well, if not going to 301, and not diverting to 40 (trucks especially) to shun the pike, what else is the reason to take 896 here? They may as well reinstate the Exit 1 ramp tolls.
There's a lot of locals that take this exit, both towards Newark and Bear. Actually, the 95 South to 896 South may be the heavier of the two during afternoon rush hours. And because of traffic that insists on cutting in at the last moment, there's a lot of accidents in this area. I've seen traffic backing up a few miles approaching this exit, and because of the 'staying left until late' effect, it can slow the whole highway between the Delaware Service Plaza and Exit 1.
Of course, there's the shun-piking that goes on here too, but during the rush hour that's fairly minor compared to all the Delaware tags that are seen using these ramps.
Personally, #2 should do the job. #1 is good but a little overkill. #3 is designed by the intern who absolutely must redesign even the simplest intersection between every driveway and side street into an interchange with a DDI.
301 traffic really isn't a congestion-causing issue here, because the delays come from the locals in the area during rush hour.
If one's in a passenger vehicle, yes; but if one's in a commercial truck, that route does has a signed 'Thru-Truck' traffic prohibition.There's a lot of locals that take this exit, both towards Newark and Bear. Actually, the 95 South to 896 South may be the heavier of the two during afternoon rush hours. And because of traffic that insists on cutting in at the last moment, there's a lot of accidents in this area. I've seen traffic backing up a few miles approaching this exit, and because of the 'staying left until late' effect, it can slow the whole highway between the Delaware Service Plaza and Exit 1.I always thought the most direct shun-piking used 896 NB to DE 4 and DE 279, at least until they rehab DE 279 and take it down to one lane in each direction during construction.
Of course, there's the shun-piking that goes on here too, but during the rush hour that's fairly minor compared to all the Delaware tags that are seen using these ramps.
Personally, #2 should do the job. #1 is good but a little overkill. #3 is designed by the intern who absolutely must redesign even the simplest intersection between every driveway and side street into an interchange with a DDI.
301 traffic really isn't a congestion-causing issue here, because the delays come from the locals in the area during rush hour.
The Delaware Department of Transportation is studying several options for redesigning the Interstate 95 and Del. 896 interchange in Newark.
The busy interchange has seen 400 crashes in the last four years, project manager Breanna Kovach said.
“We have an immediate safety need, and in the future, volumes are going to increase,” Kovach said. “We need to fix it.”
The project is estimated to cost between $124 million and $141 million. Each of the proposals would improve the interchange, but the more expensive option offers the most improvement, Kovach said.
DelDOT is accepting public comments for the next month and will announce its preferred design in the spring.
Construction could begin as early as the summer of 2022 and will take nearly three years to complete, Kovach said.
For more information, visit https://deldot.gov/information/projects/i95/i95_sr896/index.shtml.
More on the I-95/SR 896 interchange redesign Alex posted about up thread.
DelDOT unveils ideas for improving I-95/Del. 896 interchange (http://www.cecildaily.com/news/state_news/article_c8a2a2e9-560d-5ccb-aac1-478514c119e9.html)
^ With AET, you don't even need ramp tolls...just put a mainline overhead up somewhere east of DE 896 and lower the tolls at the state line accordingly.There are two ways to do it and capture all of the traffic you want to capture. Given that you're talking AET, the existing booths would have to be significantly reworked anyway. So you can either build two new mainline gantries, or one new mainline gantry and two ramp gantries. From experience, the easiest solution by far is to get all of the toll points as close together as possible, meaning locate the mainline AET just beyond the 896 interchange so that it can possibly share infrastructure with the ramp tolls.
^ With AET, you don't even need ramp tolls...just put a mainline overhead up somewhere east of DE 896 and lower the tolls at the state line accordingly.
Delaware makes sure that they are inconveniencing their residents the least, which is why I-95 only has one toll at the state border, and why DE 1's tolls a