DelDOT's Cohan: Ready to return to Sussex council

Delaware Department of Transportation Secretary Jennifer Cohan says it's time for a new partnership with Sussex County. She is prepared to return to Sussex County Council to further a discussion about the creation of transportation improvement districts.

She made that announcement during a Nov. 16 talk to the Eastern Shore Democrats and Shore Democrats at the Starboard in Dewey Beach. “We are working on our relationship with Sussex County,” she said. “Historically, its been an us-versus-them mentality; we've got to stop this. We have to work together. A more symbiotic relationship is what we want.”

She said DelDOT officials have proposed transportation improvement districts for council to consider.

Cohan said the districts can help provide a comprehensive look at traffic flow and development in a smaller geographical area where growth is anticipated. The districts can provide better coordination for land use and transportation between the county and DelDOT, she said.

Cohan said DelDOT has an additional $330 million to spend on transportation projects over the next six years with more money for downstate projects than ever before.

Cohan: Work needed at Five Points

Cohan and Delaware Transit Corporation (DART) CEO John Sisson met with members of the two clubs to provide updated information on transportation issues and answer questions.

She addressed traffic on Route 1, one of the hottest topics being discussed in the Cape Region. Cohan said as work continues to remove traffic signals and provide overpasses at major intersections along Route 1, it's obvious that all traffic will funnel to the traffic signal at Five Points. “We have to solve the Five Points problem. It has to be parallel to Route 1 construction projects,” she said.

However, DelDOT officials have not announced any new projects for the Five Points area.

Construction is underway on an overpass at Thompsonville Road near Milford, ground has been broken on an interchange at Little Heaven and DelDOT officials are fine-tuning a design for an overpass at the Route 16 intersection.

The Route 1-Cave Neck Road intersection is the final phase of a corridor preservation program, with construction planned in 2020. Cohan said that project has been in the planning stages for 20 years.

Transit center will be a game changer

Because Sussex County is so large, Sisson said providing bus service is a challenge. “There are a lot of areas without transit that need it or will need it,” he said.

He said input from residents and business owners is imperative to improving the transit system.

Sisson said a major game changer in the eastern Sussex transit system will be construction of a new park-and-ride facility near Five Points; construction is set to start this winter on the Lewes Transit Center and take about two years to complete.

The project will include space for 45 buses and 240 vehicles, passenger shelters, restrooms, a 15,000-square-foot maintenance garage and employee center, driver’s lounge, fueling area and offices. The transit hub will also provide access for a Greyhound bus stop and connections for the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.

Total cost of the project – including $6.5 million to purchase the parcel – is $23.5 million.

“This is key to us expanding in Sussex County,” he said. “We can capture people coming in versus riding all the way to Rehoboth Beach and help to manage congestion a little better.”

In addition, he said, the system's current hub in Georgetown – where buses are parked and worked on – is not efficient for the eastern Sussex bus system. Currently, drivers and other employees from eastern Sussex must travel to Georgetown to start their routes or work on buses.

Flex buses provide alternative

Sisson said DART officials are looking to expand the year-old Flex bus system serving Georgetown, Millsboro and Seaford. Flex service routes operate weekdays, every hour from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in specific areas on a loop.

In addition to providing regular accessible bus service to designated bus stops, flag zones have been established in designated areas along the route where customers can wave down the bus to stop. And, the new Flex routes have the flexibility to accommodate off-route, curbside pick-ups and drop-offs up to one mile off the regular route by reservation.

Sisson said the Flex system offers a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to paratransit service, although that service is still available throughout the state.

Sisson also announced that because of demand, resort bus service will begin in early May, three weeks earlier than in previous years.