Broadkill’s 50-year-old bridge getting $18 million facelift

After more than 50 years of reliable service, the Route 1 bridge crossing the Broadkill River outside of Milton is getting a major facelift.

Jason Hastings, Delaware Department of Transportation bridge section chief, said the concrete deck, railing, steel beams and bearings the beams sit on are all going to be replaced. Under the bridge, he said in an email April 15, there will be minor concrete repairs to the abutments and piers.

Hastings said both directions of the bridge were constructed in 1967. He said the estimated cost of the project is $18 million.

When complete, Hastings said the roadway will be a little wider, allowing more room for wider shoulders in both directions. He said concrete slopes leading up from the water have begun to erode and will be replaced with riprap.

Hastings said the new riprap will not have any effect on river navigation because it rests on the stream bed to protect the soil from being eroded and does not protrude into the travel lane.

Hastings said during construction the crane will sit on a barge placed in the Broadkill during superstructure elements.

He said there may be short durations when the construction barge restricts the navigational clearance, but the contractor, with plenty of notice, will be required to coordinate with the U.S. Coast Guard when restrictions occur.

Hastings said because of a delay coordinating environmental impact and obtaining the permits, the timetable for completion has changed from a public workshop held in November. He said the new timetable has construction of one direction in the spring of 2021, substructure work under the bridges during summer of 2021 and then complete the other direction in the fall.

This is the second Cape Region bridge to receive a significant upgrade recently. The Route 1 bridge crossing the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal outside of Rehoboth Beach is nearing the end of an $8 million project that among other things involves replacing the bridge's concrete decks, approach slabs, joints and bearings; correcting the vertical alignment; and realigning the beams.

Unlike the Rehoboth project, Hastings said the Broadkill River project involves removing the old deck and the beams, and then dropping in 30 new sections, each with 2 steel beams in a precast concrete deck.

Assuming routine and preventive maintenance, Hastings said the expected lifespan of the new bridge is 75 to 100 years.

Hastings said this bridge project won’t be done before the reconfiguration of the Route 1 and Route 16 intersection is set to begin. However, he said, the first phase of that project is off-alignment work, so there will be no overlapping traffic impacts from the two projects.