Route 1 canal bridge to get $8 million facelift

Salt is bad for concrete, and after nearly 40 years of surviving a salt-laden environment, the Route 1 bridge crossing the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal going to Dewey Beach needs some repairs.

Donnie Arant is the senior project manager for Kiewit, the Maryland-based construction company hired by Delaware Department of Transportation to make $8 million worth of improvements. He said salts sprayed in winter and occurring naturally by virtue of being so close to the ocean seep into small cracks and cause the bridge to deteriorate over time.

"This is common on all bridges," he said.

According to DelDOT, the project involves replacing the bridge's concrete decks, approach slabs, joints and bearings; correcting the vertical alignment; realigning the beams; repairing concrete chipping; strengthening concrete piers; sealing concrete abutments and piers; and stabilizing the canal banks. Lighting will also be added to the bridge.

C.R. McLeod, DelDOT director of community relations, said the structure for both bridges and the superstructure for the southbound bridge were built in 1978, and the northbound superstructure was built in 1985.

Previously, he said, there was a drawbridge, which was moved to Lewes and is still the drawbridge in operation.

Arant said construction on the Route 1 bridge is slated to begin Nov. 1, 2019, and be finished by April 30, 2020. He said the repairs should give the bridge another 35 to 40 years of use.

The public got its first look at proposed repairs May 21 during a 3-hour workshop hosted by DelDOT in the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center.

Bruce Kauffman, a volunteer with Rehoboth Beach International Student Outreach Program, said he was there representing the bike folks. He said he wasn't too happy about the length of the bike detour, but at least there will be an open sidewalk to walk over the bridge throughout construction.

Kauffman said he was most pleased about DelDOT's plan to smooth out the bridge's contour. He said truck debris is always in the bridge's bike lane because the approaches to the bridge have settled over the years, creating what amounts to speed bumps.

"Right now, DelDOT will come through with a street sweeper and it'll be clean – for an hour," Kauffman said.

The bridge is not within Rehoboth's boundaries, but the workshop drew a number of town officials, including Commissioner Stan Mills.

The detour takes people right through town, so it's important to understand what's going on, Mills said.

Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes, said he was glad north/south travel access across the bridge will continue during construction. It's busy year-round now, Lopez said, and it's important to be able to keep traffic moving on Route 1.

Lopez noted the inconvenience of the bike detour through Rehoboth and over the canal bridge connecting Rehoboth Avenue and Rehoboth Avenue Extended, but said there's really no other way to do it.

DelDOT will be taking comments on the project until end of business day, Wednesday, June 20. Comments can be made by emailing dot-public-relations@state.de.us or calling 302-760-2080.

In addition to taking comments, DelDOT has created a 13-question survey, ranging in topics from bike and pedestrian detours to project acceptability. The survey is available under the projects link at www.deldot.gov.