Rehoboth prepares for Lake Avenue street project

Rehoboth Beach will embark on a long-delayed project to remake Lake Avenue in September.

Costing $1.2 million, funded 80 percent by federal money, the street improvements will redesign Lake Avenue from Rehoboth Avenue to Third Street, or in landmark terms, from The Cultured Pearl to Bad Hair Day. City Manager Sharon Lynn said the project will build new, Americans With Disabilities Act compliant sidewalks, improved street lights and additional crosswalks.

Lynn said Lake Avenue would be a one-way street during construction, although no road closures are expected. Access to the makeshift city administration trailers will remain the same during construction. The city’s share of the project is $200,000 and work will be overseen by Delaware Department of Transportation.

Mayor Sam Cooper said the project is all about safety improvements on a busy but narrow commercial street where there is a mix of cars and pedestrians. He said the project calls for sidewalks on both sides of the road for the entire length of Lake Avenue.

Cooper said parking would be taken away from the eastbound side of the road that runs adjacent to Hotel Rehoboth. All the parking would be on the westbound side of the street, however, Cooper said no bike lanes would be installed. He said the eastbound section of the road narrows to 46 feet, which does not give a lot of leeway for parking on both sides, pedestrians and cars.

Lynn said five contractors attended a prebid meeting Aug. 2 but it was not a mandatory prebid, so other firms could be interested. The bid is expected to be awarded at the commissioners’ Friday, Aug. 19 meeting.

The project has been in the works since 2011, when then-City Manager Greg Ferrese sought state grant money to redesign the street. In the city’s request, Ferrese said Lake Avenue was poorly lit, has no bike lanes, narrow travel lanes and a lack of handicapped accessible sidewalks and that the improvements would improve safety on a heavily traveled street.

The project has been delayed due in part to personnel changes at DelDOT and in the city manager spot, where Lynn took over for Ferrese in 2013.