When I was in my early 20s, the exits on the Maine Turnpike were renumbered from a system based on numerical order – 1, 2, 3 – to one based on miles from the New Hampshire state line. For example, I grew up in Saco, which had been Exit 5, because, you guessed it, it was the fifth exit. The Saco exit is now Exit 36, because, as I’m sure you guessed again, it is 36 miles from the New Hampshire state line.

I bring this up because I was interested to know the reason why the new exit on Route 1 for Nassau is Exit 40. The sign was installed recently as part of the ongoing road improvements in that area. It didn't seem like it was based on miles to the Maryland state line. From what I can gather, it’s about 25. Then I thought maybe it was 40 miles from the point on Route 1 just south of Dover Air Force Base that warns drivers the expressway is ending. While closer to 40, that distance is still only about 35 miles. I didn’t think it was numerical – there’s a lot of construction going on around here, but not an additional 39 exits' worth between Nassau and Route 54 in Fenwick Island.

Those were the reasons I could think of between that sign and the Cape Gazette office a couple of miles away. Still curious, I reached out to Charles “C.R.” McLeod, the Delaware Department of Transportation’s director of community relations, for an answer. He got back quickly.

“It’s being named Exit 40 because it’s 40 kilometers from the Ocean City, Md. state line,” he said.

I followed up with, why are the Route 1 exit numbers done in kilometers from the state line with Maryland when all the other signage is done in miles – small green mileage signs and larger green signs with distances to future exits and destinations. For example, in New Castle County, there’s a large green sign on southbound Route 1 letting drivers know that fun in the sun at the state’s beaches is only 69 miles away. 

“When Route 1 was being built in the ‘90s, it was originally planned to be signed using the metric system per federal guidelines at the time,” said McLeod. “While that initiative was abandoned, the original exit numbers were retained, and we have continued to use kilometers for the exit numbering that continues to be added for consistency.”

Approach to Nassau Bridge

Overall, construction continues to progress in the Nassau area. The abovementioned sign was installed because the connection to Minos Conaway Road isn't too far off.

Nearly two weeks ago, to allow for the beginning of the final paving, a significant number of the Jersey barriers lining southbound Route 1 that kept the construction zone separate from driving vehicles were removed. Driving through the construction zone one day, I noticed the new asphalt at the base of the Nassau bridge on its north-side approach wasn’t a consistent depth. Using the large orange construction barrels as a measuring stick, I could tell that beginning at the old crossover for Old Mill Road, the asphalt begins to get significantly thicker before tapering back down just before the actual bridge structure. I asked McLeod about this, too.

When the project is complete, northbound and southbound Route 1 on the north side of the Nassau Bridge will be raised in elevation, said McLeod. The height of the road will be increased by 18 inches at its maximum, he said.

“We’re raising the elevation at the base of the bridge to smooth out the bridge approaches, which will improve safety, sight distance, drainage and rider comfort,” said McLeod, who then added, “Your picture is also a good representation of why we can’t open these lane closures nightly because of the significant height difference in the asphalt between the two lanes.”

Joke of the Week

I’m not sure how you could have, but in case you missed it, there was a multiday storm around here last week. There wasn’t one especially bad stretch of weather; it was just really gross outside for four straight days, resulting in a serious amount of beach erosion and flooding. On the bright side, the ocean is a lot warmer this time of year than it is during those March storms, which was nice while standing near the ocean getting photos. As always, send jokes to cflood@capegazette.com.

Q: What do you call a beach that keeps losing its sand?

A: A shore loser.