Road closures planned for Five Points area
Two major and highly visible road projects are taking shape in the Cape Region.
The Delaware Department of Transportation has provided an update on upcoming road closures that are likely to cause disruption in the Five Points area. As part of improvements to Malfunction Junction, the intersection of Route 9, Plantation Road and Beaver Dam Road will be closed for up to six months, and the intersection of Plantation Road and Robinsonville Road will close for 30 days. C.R. McLeod, DelDOT director of community relations, said the Robinsonville Road closure is expected shortly after Labor Day, but no definitive date has been determined yet. The closure of the Route 9, Plantation Road and Beaver Dam Road intersection is expected to occur by the end of the year, and DelDOT is aiming to open a new roundabout there before Memorial Day 2024.
Work is well underway on the new two-lane roundabout – the second in the state after the Rehoboth Avenue roundabout – which is part of a larger project aimed at easing traffic congestion in the Five Points area. Although the roundabout looks far along, DelDOT officials said there are still many months of work to be done before it is opened.
“This will be the 31st roundabout in the state when it opens, and there are a dozen more currently in planning,” McLeod said. “We continue to correct the narrative that New Jersey and other states are removing roundabouts when, in fact, states are building more of them, just as we are, due to their many safety benefits.”
The project also includes a new connector road from southbound Route 1 to Route 9 through the former Bests’ Ace Hardware property, and lane adjustments to Plantation Road.
At the intersection of Route 1 and Route 16, crews are working on a new grade-separated intersection that will eventually take Route 1 over Route 16, similar to what was constructed in Little Heaven south of Dover. Several months ago, northbound traffic shifted toward the Rookery golf course, which installed large nets to protect vehicles from errant golf shots. Southbound traffic has now shifted to what used to be northbound lanes. The $40 million project has a target completion date of fall 2025.
More information about these projects can be found at deldot.gov/projects.
