Route 1 work to cause big delays

By Jonathan Starkey
Staff Reporter

In a way, residents of and visitors to the Bethany Beach corridor are lucky. The Route 1 expansion from Route 9 to Route 24 in Lewes and Rehoboth has no direct impact on the area. But, without a doubt, the expansion’s impact will be felt through Rehoboth, to Bethany and beyond — especially if visitors aren’t properly informed.

Starting this week, DelDOT officials will begin to widen the southbound portion of Route 1 from Route 9 to Route 24 and do minor work on the northbound side. The project is slated for completion by Memorial Day 2008. Until then, though, only two lanes of traffic will be open on both sides of Route 1 from Route 9 to Route 24.

“There are going to be issues as this moves along,” DelDOT spokesman Darrel Cole said as he toured the project area in an agency van. “We’ll deal with them. We can’t make it better for travelers, but we can let them know its coming.”

Friday’s press briefing and tour of the area was one of a few public outreach engagements designed to inform the area’s residents and visitors about the upcoming $9.7 million, federally-funded project — and the delays that will follow.

On the southbound side between those two routes, DelDOT will add a shared-use lane for buses, bicycles and turning vehicles, to make the area safer. The agency received federal funds for the project because of the safety concerns, according to DelDOT officials.

When completed, there will be three travel lanes on the southbound side, plus one shared-use lane and a sidewalk that extends from Route 9 to Route 24. The result will resemble the northbound side from Rehoboth Avenue to Route 24. At most points north, the project will extend the lane to the west, encroaching on mostly commercial land, which had to be purchased. DelDOT Engineer Joel Leidy said that one acre of commercial land in Rehoboth cost $1.5 million.

At most points south, the extra lane will be built into the median, saving money but extending the impact into the northbound lanes, where only minor repairs and paving is needed.

“The end result is going to be good,” Leidy said Friday, adding, along with other officials, that three lanes might be opened northbound temporarily throughout the project. “The next two years are going to be painful. Summer 2007 is going to be the worst by far.”

DelDOT officials said Friday that they are going to use the electronic sign in Milford to divert visitors to the southern beaches to Route 113. Although it will likely be more congested than usual because of traffic concerns on Route 1, standstills and heavy delays are expected north of Route 9 and over the Nassau bridge on Route 1 until the project’s completion.

Officials also said that they are relying on businesses to inform especially visitors of the traffic problems. While locals should be aware of heavy congestion by next summer, visitors — some of whom have been coming down to the area for years — might be in for a bit of a surprise if not properly informed.

“I would hope that most people learn an alternate route,” DelDOT Project Manager George Spadafino said. “If they don’t, they’ll be stuck in traffic.”