After six-month closure, DelDOT opens roundabout
Although some work needs to be done, roadwork has been completed and the roundabout near Five Points was officially open to traffic May 16. The last phase of the project was to open traffic on the new exit road through the former Bests’ Ace property from southbound Route 1 to the roundabout and Route 9. That’s what workers from contractor Mumford and Miller were concentrating on May 16, as the barricades and barrels were removed in sequence.
Charles McLeod, Delaware Department of Transportation director of community relations, said remaining work includes a pedestrian pathway on the southeast side of the Route 9 connector road to go around the roundabout to Plantation Road. Because of that, not all pedestrian crosswalks are operable. Other work to be completed includes removal of a large dirt pile and construction of a retention pond. McLeod said work continues to complete Phase 1 of the Plantation Road project, which is one of the legs on the roundabout. The Beaver Dam and Salt Marsh Boulevard legs are complete.
The extended Route 9 access road will have two dedicated left-turn lanes onto westbound Route 9, with a dedicated merge lane for right turns onto eastbound Route 9 toward Five Points.
After being closed for several months, the roundabout partially opened April 19, allowing traffic to flow from Beaver Dam Road to Plantation Road, and vice versa. Access to the Henlopen Landing community from the roundabout was also opened April 19.
The roundabout is part of Phase 1 of major road improvements along Plantation Road to the Robinsonville Road intersection.The entire project is expected to be complete by spring 2025.
Salt Marsh Boulevard, the access to the Henlopen Landing community, will no longer intersect Beaver Dam Road at Church Street. Instead, it has its own leg off the roundabout. The Church Street connection to Beaver Dam Road was eliminated.
Going southbound out of the roundabout, Plantation Road will be dualized past Shady Road, where one of the two lanes will become a dedicated right-turn lane for traffic using Robinsonville Road.
Route 9 will also see improvements. Vehicles traveling westbound from Route 1 will have two dedicated turn lanes into the roundabout off Route 9. The goal is to store more vehicles to alleviate backups into the Five Points intersection, which often block southbound Route 1 traffic, according to DelDOT officials.
