Public safety project underway in Dewey Beach
Work is underway to install a post-and-rope barrier system in the center island of Route 1 through Dewey Beach from Saulsbury Street to Read Avenue to deter mid-block pedestrian crossing and encourage use of crosswalks.
The town partnered with the Delaware Department of Transportation on the project. A memorandum written by DelDOT contractor WRA outlining the project states that stretch of Coastal Highway was selected as a pilot location based on pedestrian activity and historical pedestrian crash data.
In the future, the post-and-rope system could be installed along the remainder of Coastal Highway in the Town of Dewey Beach, the memo states.
Work will take place through April, and includes removing portions of the existing concrete median and installing 6-by-6-inch timber posts, which will have three courses of rope bolted through them. In the spring, low-level trees, shrubs and mulch will be planted.
The Town of Dewey Beach funded about $30,000 of the total $480,000 project, Town Manager Bill Zolper said, with DelDOT accounting for $400,000 and the remaining $50,000 secured in Community Transportation Fund monies by Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth, for additional street lighting from St. Louis Street to Bayard Avenue on Coastal Highway.
