DelDOT presents plan for Route 16 overpass

State transportation officials have unveiled plans for an overpass and grade-separated intersection at Route 16 and Route 1 east of Milton.

The project is part of the ongoing 1999 Corridor Capacity Preservation Program to improve traffic flow and eliminate traffic signals on Route 1 from I-95 to Route 9 at Five Points.

Delaware Department of Transportation officials say 98 crashes occurred at the intersection from January 2005 to October 2015 with one fatality, which is considered a high crash rate.

DelDOT engineer George Spadafino said the plan presented at the workshop was overwhelmingly supported as the preferred option by the public and is also one of the least expensive of the six options, affecting the fewest properties.

The plan presented at a Nov. 15 workshop shows a Route 1 overpass over Route 16, with ramps providing access to Route 16 for northbound and southbound traffic. The existing traffic signal would be removed.

Many nearby residents attending the workshop expressed the same concerns voiced during the initial workshop one year ago, when six options were presented to the public. At the top of the list is access to Route 1 from side roads and developments. They say gaps currently provided by the traffic signal at the intersection allow access to Route 1 from side roads.

“They are fixing a serious problem at Route 1 and 16 but causing problems elsewhere,” said Rep. Steve Smyk, R-Milton, during the workshop. “This is only part of the solution; all of Route 1 needs to be fixed.”

He said residents who live along Route 1 between the intersection and Lewes have difficulties accessing the highway, especially during the summer season. “Some people are telling me they are taking away one death trap and moving it to them,” Smyk said. “We have to continue to address more improvements on Route 1 each legislative session.”

Spadafino said final design of the $20 million project should be completed by the winter of 2017 with right-of-way acquisition completed by the fall of 2018. Construction should begin in the summer of 2020.

He said DelDOT officials are committed to the project, although some minor modifications are possible based on comments submitted at the workshop.

Under the Corridor Capacity Preservation Program, DelDOT is changing three other Route 1 intersections. Work is nearing completion in Milford at the Thompsonville Road intersection and work has started on overpasses at Route 1 intersections in Little Heaven and Frederica. Both projects are expected to be completed in 2018. Work is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2017 on an overpass at the N.E. Front Street-Route 1 intersection in Milford. The Cave Neck Road-Route 1 intersection is also scheduled for an overpass.

In the interim, improvements at the Route 16 intersection include traffic signal modifications, turn-lane extensions and improved lighting.

Comments can be mailed to DelDOT Public Relations, PO Box 778, Dover, DE 19903.