Developers for Atlantic Fields say we should expect an average of 26,271 new vehicle trips every single day. But what does that actually look like for those of us who live in the area?
If you lined up those 26,271 cars, pickups, SUVs and trucks bumper-to-bumper, you’d get a solid line of vehicles about 75 miles long. That’s the distance from the Atlantic Fields site north on Route 1 all the way to the Roth Bridge in New Castle County. This is a visual reminder of the sheer scale of what would be unleashed on our already-stressed roads.
Now bring that image closer to home: take Route 1 from Five Points to Dewey Beach on a bad July Saturday. Then imagine that same intensity of traffic not on a handful of summer weekends, but day after day. In a typical busy hour, that 26,271 figure means 35 to 40 additional vehicles every minute, on top of the traffic we already have. Every backup at Midway, every delay at the Rehoboth Avenue split, every quick errand that becomes a 30-minute slog becomes the new baseline.
And it won’t just hit Route 1. Take Route 24 from Route 1 to Love Creek and out past Indian Mission Road. The same river of cars will be funneled straight toward the Love Creek Bridge, where four westbound lanes collapse into two, and the eastbound approach remains only two lanes from Millsboro. None of the major upgrades out here are funded for construction, according to DelDOT; these choke points are expected to remain for at least 12 more years, possibly 20.
When the main arteries clog, drivers look for escape routes, such as Mulberry Knoll, Cedar Grove, Robinsonville, Plantation, Beaver Dam, and all the small cut-throughs in between. Once those fill, gridlock spreads everywhere.
A tax-free Costco and cluster of national brand retailers are not neighborhood stores; they are regional magnets, drawing traffic from across Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Shoppers will pour into every road that leads to Atlantic Fields.
If Sussex County Council approves this rezoning, the traffic crisis that follows will not be a surprise. It will be the predictable result of a deliberate decision. And the people who will pay the price are not the developers, but rather every resident of Sussex County who depends on these roads to live, work, shop and stay safe.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
