Lewes Transit Center construction begins at Five Points
After nearly four years of planning, officials broke ground on the $16.5 million Lewes Transit Center along Route 1 near Five Points.
At a ceremony March 9, Gov. Jack Markell said, “It's hard to keep with the growth here, but this will be part of the solution.”
“From a quality of life and economic development aspect this is huge,” the governor said.
The center is designed to provide a connection for transportation services including DART bus routes, paratransit service, Greyhound and the Cape May-Lewes Ferry shuttle service.
DelDOT Secretary Jennifer Cohan said it will also improve DART efficiency by providing a bus parking area and maintenance facility in eastern Sussex County. Most buses from routes in the resort area are parked and maintained in Georgetown.
Because bids on the project came in higher than anticipated, construction will be spread out over three phases and three years. Phase 1 – the park and ride – will provide 250 vehicle parking spaces with security cameras, bicycle racks and a repair station, electric car charging stations, temporary bus shelters and restrooms. This phase will also include demolition of the Wright Chrysler building and pedestrian and roadway improvements to Shady Road, behind the center. Construction on Phase 1 will take place from March to January 2017.
In Phase 2, a three-bay maintenance facility, bus and DelDOT fueling station and DART dispatch center will be built. Construction will begin in March 2017 and conclude in February 2018.
Phase 3 will features passenger amenities: public meeting space, restrooms, passenger benches, an information kiosk and tourist information, vending machines, bicycle repair equipment and storage space. Construction is expected to occur in the summer of 2019.
Partial funding of $5 million comes from a Federal Transit Administration grant.
Markell thanked Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes and House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, for their leadership and advocacy for the project.
With his arm around Schwartzkopf, Lopez said issues such as transportation are not partisan matters. He had a long appreciation list, including accolades for transportation and disabilities advocate Lloyd Schmitz of Lewes.
“This is where it's supposed to be and not in the middle of traffic but where it can make an impact on traffic problems along Route 1,” Schwartzkopf said.
Detailed plans for the transit center first surfaced in June 2012, but state officials purchased the 6.5 acre-property more than a year earlier for just under $6.5 million, or $994,000 per acre.
Purchase of the land, the site of a former Wright Chrysler dealership adjacent to Lowe’s, faced public criticism at the time; state officials insisted taxpayers did not pay top dollar for the parcel.
In addition, DART has added Route 215 between Rehoboth Beach and Millsboro to accommodate shift workers at Mountaire on Route 24.
