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The completion of a new bridge at Indian River Inlet has been delayed for up to two years because the cost of the project has risen and funding has not kept pace, state transportation officials say.
“With our need for more revenues, we had to postpone or stretch out many projects in the state. This is just one of them,” said Darrel Cole, manager of public relations for Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).
When ground was broken on the bridge a year ago, officials estimated the cost at $160 million, with completion expected in 2008. Officials now say the bridge will cost $229 million, with completion possibly delayed until 2010. “We planned a four-year timetable to build the bridge, which is very aggressive and ambitious. We’re still ahead of the game, even with the delay,” Cole said.
But some local legislators say delays could be hazardous, while others question whether money will be saved by extending the construction schedule.
“This is a serious public safety issue,” said Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach. “You and I can look at that bridge and say it looks fine,” he said. “But if the integrity of the structure is compromised because of a storm and they have to close it, there is nothing out there that we know that we could build a portable bridge across that span of water.”
Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, said he doesn’t think putting off the construction will save any money in the long run.
“I don’t see how you save money by delaying a road project when every year the cost of doing that same project goes up,” he said. “By delaying a year, you are stretching those expenses from this year into future years.”
Schwartzkopf said the delays are likely to increase costs in the long run.
“My concern when you move an expense from 2006 into 2007, 8 and 9, the cost won’t go down; it will only go higher. In successive years, it will cost more for the same thing,” he said.
Area business leaders said if the bridge has to be closed before a new one is built, it would have a devastating impact on the area’s economy.
“It would have a very large economic impact,” Carol Everhart, president of Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce.
The Delaware beaches are the state’s No. 1 tourist attraction, attracting 6 million to 7 million visitors a year, she said.
“Any interruption of that connection would be devastating to everyone from local businesses to those who use it for their commute,” Everhart said.
Bunting said if the bridge were out, there would be safety concerns because ambulances from Bethany Beach would not be able to travel quickly to Beebe Medical Center, and Schwartzkopf voiced similar concerns for police response.
“I don’t think we’re in danger of it going down, but by all indications, over the next few years the supports are weakening,” Schwartzkopf said.
For more information, visit the official website of the bridge at www.indianriverinletbridge.com.
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