Crossovers and highway speed a dangerous mix

A new traffic light installed recently at the intersection of Plantation Road and Shady Road near Five Points puts us in mind of other areas that need attention. We know DelDOT officials have a constant list of suggestions just like this, but it’s the rising din of public concern that brings problem areas to the surface so they can be addressed before serious crashes occur.

The Route 1 overpass crossing the railroad tracks at Nassau is in the middle of an intersecting set of roads that has already hosted several serious crashes.  As population and traffic counts grow, the number of crashes and their severity also will grow.

South of the overpass, the crossover that carries traffic back and forth across Route 1 between Nassau and the Whispering Pines and Nassau Commons complexes offers a constant game of timing the speed of the traffic coming down Route 1.

Most motorists are still in dual-highway speed mode.  When patience wears thin, crossing drivers start to take chances, and that’s when the crashes start. Given that drivers at the crossover can go in four different directions, things can get dicey quickly.

North of the overpass, a whole different set of dynamics tests the fates. Within the space of no more than a few hundred yards, northbound motorists doing 60 miles an hour on Route 1 interact with northbound motorists merging in from Nassau Road and southbound motorists crossing the highway at a crossover to make their way into Lewes on New Road.  They also interact with northbound motorists decelerating as they come down the overpass to turn east onto Old Mill Road while merging with northbound traffic from Nassau.

Then north- and southbound Route 1 drivers interact with drivers in three stacked crossovers: the crossover that gives access to Old Mill Road, the crossover that gives access to Minos Conaway Road and the crossover that gives access to the Mill Pond Acres entrance road. It’s just as confusing and dangerous as it sounds.

Driving is the most dangerous thing we do each day.  It requires great care and attention, but even with that, areas like this which mix so many crossovers with a high-speed highway push the odds heavily in favor of crashes.