The Delaware Department of Transportation held a public workshop May 13, to solicit public feedback on a series of improvements planned for the Route 16 corridor in Milton.

DelDOT is planning three major changes along Route 16 as it passes through Milton. The first will be intersection improvements at the corner of Route 16 and Route 5 as part of the new Royal Farms. Those improvements will include a new left-turn lane into Royal Farms from Route 16 and a slight increase to the right of way around the intersection. Those improvements will be paid for by Royal Farms.

The second will be a new traffic signal at the intersection of Route 16 and Mulberry Street Extended. Preliminary construction for this project has been completed, but the light has not been installed. 

The final planned improvement, viewed as more of a longer-term project, is to install a roundabout at the intersection of Route 16 and Route 30. While the project is still in the design phase and has no construction timetable, the proposal is to move the intersection slightly west, and make the portion of Route 30 that serves existing businesses be a dead-end service road. 

These improvements have roots in DelDOT’s Coastal Corridors Study, which was released in June 2024. Since then, DelDOT has been working with the Milton Transportation Advisory Group, which comprises Milton officials and residents, to further refine plans along Route 16. The next phase of DelDOT’s studies to develop long-term traffic plans around Milton is set to kick off in July. 

Andrew Bing of Kramer and Associates said, “Next year, what we’re going to get into is, what does the data tell us about where [Route] 16 is going to be as we move forward, and does it warrant looking at potentially a bypass or some other route around that would separate local traffic from thru traffic? What we need to figure out is, are we going to get to a point in Milton where because of all the development that is happening internally in the area and then the through traffic, that Milton becomes so congested that it doesn’t move anyone?”

Bing said another thing DelDOT is looking at is having more complete streets within Milton where the existing roadway is narrowed to allow for shared-use paths for bicyclists and walkers. The idea is that a narrower roadway will curtail speeding, making streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians to use. 

DelDOT is still accepting public feedback on its plans for the corridor through a survey that can be found at publicinput.com/miltonatp.