The Delaware Department of Transportation is proposing to convert the Milton intersection of Shingle Point Road, Harbeson Road and Chestnut Street into an all-way stop.

At Milton Town Council’s Feb. 5 meeting, Peter Haag, chief traffic engineer for DelDOT, said the timetable for implementation would be in the spring or early summer. Haag said DelDOT’s intention is to have the all-way stop up before kids go back to school in the fall. 

Currently, the intersection has stop signs where Shingle Point Road meets Harbeson Road and where Chestnut Street meets Harbeson Road. Under the plan, DelDOT would put two additional stop signs in both directions on Harbeson Road. 

DelDOT representatives presented crash data at the intersection showing there were nine crashes between June 2020 and June 2023. In four, the contributing factor was either a passed stop sign or disregarded traffic signal. DelDOT’s data says the crash reports cite an inability to see vehicles heading southbound in five of the crashes. DelDOT’s data also indicates the approaches to the intersection do not meet required sight distances.

DelDOT’s short-term plan for the intersection is an all-way stop, but long term, the department is pondering installing a roundabout at the intersection, particularly as traffic figures increase with the Four Winds Farm and Granary at Draper Farm developments being built in the future. However, the department also said monitoring of the intersection, which would take place for six months after the all-way stop is implemented, could indicate a roundabout is not needed. 

When the all-way stop is implemented, DelDOT will put up signs letting drivers know a stop is imminent.