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DelDOT to rehab Lewes, Rehoboth drawbridges in 2018

Lane closures, detours to be limited to overnight hours
July 21, 2017

The Department of Transportation is planning a $7 million project to upgrade the drawbridges in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. The project will take more than a year to complete, beginning in summer 2018. 

DelDOT officials say each bridge is raised an average of 12 times per year. 

A workshop will be held from 4 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, July 25, at Cape Henlopen High School for residents to learn more about the projects. 

Stephen Richter, project manager with DelDOT’s bridge-design section, said the bridges have been in place for nearly 40 years. Lewes’ bridge is older, having previously spanned the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal on Route 1 leading into the Forgotten Mile before being moved to Lewes in the early 1980s.

Crews work on both bridges simultaneously, Richter said. There are work schedules in place for the summer season – May 1 to Sept. 30 – and the remaining off season. Detours and most lane closures will be limited to overnight hours – 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. – in both cases. Crews will be allowed to close one lane during the day for delivery of materials, but for no longer than one hour, Richter said. 

Significant work is needed to bring the bridges into the 21st century, officials said. The bridges are in fine condition, but electrical and mechanical parts of the bridges are outdated, and no replacement parts are available, in some cases. 

“It’s like a car, as long as you’re willing to put an effort into maintaining it, you can keep it working,” said Jason McCluskey, maintenance engineer with DelDOT’s South District. “But obviously it gets more expensive the older the bridge gets.” 

The bridges are relatively young compared to other bridges in the state, as some have been in operation since the 1920s and 1930s. Most bridges are inspected on a bi-annual basis; however, drawbridges are inspected to a certain degree every time they are operated.

“The lifespan of the electrical components are obviously much less [than the bridges] due to changes in technology and just the environment the bridge is in – high vibration, the weather – so a lot of the upgrades with these bridges are in the electrical control systems,” said Rodney Jarrett, a senior associate with Hardesty & Hanover, an Annapolis-based infrastructure engineering firm that designed both bridges.

Crews will also give each bridge a fresh coat of paint and improve the sidewalks and curbs. 

One issue DelDOT hopes to fix is each bridge’s propensity to get stuck. 

McCluskey said it’s a relatively common occurrence at both bridges, and it is usually as a result of steel swelling when it is excessively hot. The Rehoboth bridge last stuck June 9 – a Friday – and was offline for about a half hour. 

There are various ways to ensure the bridge falls back into place. Sometimes it’s as simple as driving a heavy truck over a small section that’s just barely raised. Other times, it takes more effort. DelDOT has been trimming steel over the last few years to ensure the bridges fall back into place properly. 

“The new bridges are going to have greater tolerances,” said Alastair Probert, DelDOT South District engineer. “Lewes will have more wiggle room as far as if something shifts 1/16th of an inch, it’s not going to cause a problem.” 

DelDOT manages about 1,600 bridges in the state, including eight moveable bridges. Lewes and Rehoboth are two of five moveable bridges in the South District. 

After work is completed on the two drawbridges, Richter said, DelDOT will focus its efforts on the Route 1 bridge over the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal leading to the Forgotten Mile. Work on that bridge is scheduled for fall 2019 into 2020. 

The public is encouraged to attend the meeting to learn more about the project. Interested persons are invited to express their views in writing. Comments will be received during the workshop or can be mailed to DelDOT Community Relations, P.O. Box 778, Dover, DE 19903 or sent via email to dotpr@state.de.us or fax 302-739-2092.

Bridge stats

Rehoboth drawbridge - 169-foot span, 50-feet wide, average daily traffic of 22,000, peak traffic 30,000 cars per day 

Lewes drawbridge - 85-foot span, 29-feet wide, average daily traffic of 10,000

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