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Atlantic Street, Cave Neck Road in Milton to close June 6

DelDOT needs two weeks to repair crossroad pipes that could give way at any moment
May 31, 2022

Story Location:
Atlantic Street
Cave Neck Road
Milton, DE 19968
United States

Beginning Monday, June 6, Cave Neck Road and Atlantic Street in downtown Milton will be closed for about two weeks to replace crossroad pipes.

According to a May 27 press release from the Delaware Department of Transportation, the road will be closed between Federal and Front streets. Work will be performed by George & Lynch and will comprise removing and replacing crossroad pipes.

The pipes are located at the bottom of two hills and serve as the waterway for Round Pole Branch, a distributary of the Broadkill River from the north that meanders south almost all the way to Route 9.

DelDOT spokesperson C.R. McLeod said the pipe crossing was on DelDOT’s list of projects to be completed when it would not be disruptive to school traffic. Unfortunately, he said in an email May 27, the heavy rain during the week of March 27 caused a significant amount of erosion and shoulder loss at the inlet side of the pipe crossing.

“Our engineers investigated and determined that it was apparent that the pipes needed to be replaced within the next few weeks or else the road would need to be closed to traffic,” said McLeod. 

McLeod said DelDOT performed an emergency repair while the environmental permits needed for the project were expedited, and now that those permits are in hand, the work has been scheduled as soon as possible because the existing pipes are at risk of failure without warning. 

McLeod said DelDOT recognizes closing the street will be a disruption, especially to the traffic for the town’s two elementary schools.

“DelDOT does try to coordinate roadwork to limit the inconvenience to the driving public; however, working at multiple locations on the same road with different contracts and contractors is not always feasible,” he said.

Detours will be put in place

During the two-week closure, DelDOT will have detours in place:

• Motorists traveling west on Cave Neck Road will be detoured onto Front Street to Federal Street. Motorists will take Federal Street to Cave Neck Road/Atlantic Street

• Motorists traveling north on Federal or Chestnut streets will need to continue straight to Front Street. Motorists will take Front Street to Cave Neck Road

• Motorists traveling east on Mulberry Street will be detoured onto Federal Street to Front Street. Motorists will take Front Street to Cave Neck Road

• Motorists traveling east on Union Street will continue straight onto Front Street to Cave Neck Road.

For the latest traffic conditions, visit deldot.gov, tune in to WTMC 1380AM, or download the DelDOT App.

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