DelDOT unveils Mulberry Knoll Road connector options
In an effort to alleviate traffic congestion in the Plantation Road area and prepare for anticipated growth, Delaware Department of Transportation planners are looking at a project to extend Mulberry Knoll Road as a north-south connector from Route 24 to Route 9.
During an Oct. 26 virtual workshop, three options were presented for a 2-mile road from Cedar Grove Road to Route 9 at the Vineyards intersection, crossing Robinsonville Road and Beaver Dam Road.
All of the options follow a similar route on vacant land between Gosling Creek Purchase to the east and Estates of Bridle Ridge and Morning View subdivisions to the west through farm fields, west of Jimtown and across Goslee Creek to Route 9. Also in the area are the Freeman Farm agricultural preservation district and the Norwood-Jackson agricultural complex.
All of the options bisect a small portion of the Norwood-Jackson property, and one of the three bisects a small section of the preservation district.
The three options are being considered as DelDOT conducts a Planning and Environmental Linkage Study, which is scheduled to be presented to the public in early 2022. It's a federal requirement under the National Environmental Policy Act to consider potential impacts.
“We are in the very preliminary stages. We need environmental approval from the federal government because federal funds would be used on the project,” said Jennifer Cinelli Miller, a DelDOT regional systems planner.
She said public input is a critical part of the process. More than 60 questions were asked by the public during the workshop, including concerns over impacts on the sale of Freeman Farm corn, which has become an area staple during the summer. Officials said if there would be an impact on the Freeman Farm, it would be minimal and not disrupt the farming operation.
Cinelli Miller said the Route 24 to Route 9 roadway is listed as a priority of the Five Points Working Group and included among projects in the Henlopen Transportation Improvement District.
“This area has the highest growth rate, and it will continue to present a traffic challenge to residents,” she said.
Because the proposed road is in the Henlopen TID, as developments are constructed, developers would be required to fund a portion of road improvements. Under the terms of the transportation district, as determined by Sussex County and DelDOT officials, developers provide 23 percent of funding with DelDOT providing the rest.
DelDOT has identified 12 to 17 parcels that would be impacted, depending on the option, with eight parcels in the area planned for development. The options each include about 4 acres of forest and less than 1 acre of wetlands.
If approved, construction in the 2030s
Cinelli Miller said the proposed project has been added to DelDOT's 2023 capital transportation program. If plans move forward, design of the road would occur in 2027 or 2028. She said construction would likely not occur until the early 2030s, depending on funding.
“We hear the complaint all the time that we are getting behind, and that infrastructure is not there when development shows up,” she said. “We are aware of developments that are coming, and we are trying to get ahead of it.”
Signals, roundabouts part of project
Kim Glinkin, with DelDOT consultants Whitman, Requardt & Associates, said the goal of the project is to reduce traffic congestion and improve access to a designated developing area. She said the options are designed to minimize impacts to residences and natural resources.
The two-lane road would have two 11-foot travel lanes, 5-foot shoulders and a 10-foot shared-use path protected by a 10-foot buffer. An additional 30 feet on both sides of the road would be used to construct drainage and stormwater management facilities and ditches.
Although plans are subject to change, Glinkin said the concept includes roundabouts at the Robinsonville Road and Cedar Grove intersections, and traffic signals at the Beaver Dam Road and Route 9 intersections.
When planning for the new road, Glinkin said consideration has been made for two environmental justice areas, including Belltown and Jimtown, which the three options avoid. In addition, she said, the Norwood-Jackson land is eligible to be listed as a federally registered property.
Road designed as local connector
Concerns were expressed that visitors to the beach area would use the road the way they use Plantation Road, as a means to avoid part of Route 1.
DelDOT's Todd Oliver said the road is designed as a local connector for residents in the area to ease congestion along Plantation Road and in the Five Points area.
Several questions were asked about the possibility of widening Plantation Road to four lanes. Under Phase 1 of a planned project on the roadway, three lanes will be installed to the Robinsonville Road intersection, with a roundabout at the Plantation Road-Beaver Dam Road-Route 9 intersection. That phase is set to start in early 2022.
Oliver said a four-lane road would have significant impact on residences, and the cost to acquire rights of way would also be significant. “Instead of that, we are looking at the Mulberry Knoll Road extension,” he said. “We are still working on Phase 2 of the Plantation Road project, but it will not be four lanes if the Mulberry Road extension is provided.”
DelDOT officials said other road improvements would also be required in conjunction with the proposed project. A traffic signal and improvements at the Mulberry Knoll Road-Route 24 intersection has been approved and will be part of Phase 2 of the Route 24 project, which is scheduled to begin in 2022. Phase 1 of the Route 24 widening project with improvements at the Plantation Road and Warrington Road intersections is nearly complete.
Cedar Grove Road would be improved to include 11-foot travel lanes and 5-foot shoulders. In addition, plans are to make the same improvements on nearly every road within the transportation district, including Mulberry Knoll, Robinsonville and Beaver Dam roads.
Several questions were asked about impacts to Goslee Creek. Cinelli Miller said there would be a bridge over the creek, and any impacts would considered by DelDOT's bridge design staff.
DelDOT wants comments
The project website – with a link to the workshop presentation – will be periodically updated with new information as it is available: deldot.gov/projects/Studies/mulberry-knoll.
Questions or comments regarding the project can be sent via mail, email or phone: DelDOT Community Relations, attn: regional systems planning, PO Box 778, Dover, DE 19903; dotpublic@delaware.gov; 800-652-5600 and 302-760-2080.
