Forgotten Mile repaving set to begin March 4
Story Location:
Forgotten Mile
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
United States
The Forgotten Mile is scheduled for repaving in spring 2019, just in time for the summer season.
According to a Nov. 19 request for proposals from Delaware Department of Transportation, the work is expected to begin Monday, March 4, and has a 90-day completion time. The RFP says the project will consist of pavement milling, asphalt mix and concrete patching, asphalt mix overlay, improvements for accessibility and pavement markings.
The repavement stretches from Washington Street, just east of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal bridge, to Swedes Street in Dewey Beach. The project also includes intersecting streets of King Charles Avenue and St. Louis Street in Dewey.
In an email Dec. 7, Charles McLeod, DelDOT director of community relations, said the last time this section of road was repaved was in 2003. The expected cost has yet to be determined because it is still under advertisement and the contract has not been awarded.
The bid solicitation package notes summer season lane closures are not permitted after Monday, May 6, or before Friday, Sept. 27. From March 4, 90 days would take a contractor into the first week of June.
McLeod said DelDOT intends to avoid working during the peak summer season. He said the contractor is expected to use multiple crews to complete this project.
McLeod said there will be no work after May 6; however, he said, weather delays may affect the project schedule, which may require the contractor to resume the project in the fall.
Documents also show the project is to be coordinating with improvements to the bridge over the canal.
In May, DelDOT hosted a public workshop outlining an $8 million facelift to the bridge that involves replacing concrete decks, approach slabs, joints and bearings; correcting the vertical alignment; realigning the beams; repairing concrete chipping; strengthening concrete piers; sealing concrete abutments and piers; and stabilizing the canal banks. Lighting will be added.
McLeod said the bridge project is in final design now and work is scheduled to begin in September 2019, with long-term lane closures occuring after Sea Witch. He said bridge-related lane closures will end before the end of April 2020.
McLeod said the plan is not to overlap paving and bridge improvements. The paving project should be complete before the bridge project begins, he said.
Shortly after Forgotten Mile repaving is complete, motorists can expect road repairs on the stretch of Route 1 splitting downtown Dewey Beach. McLeod said DelDOT will repave that 1-mile section beginning in the fall of 2019, continuing into spring 2020. Route 1 south of Dewey to the Indian River Inlet was repaved earlier this year.
Proposals for the Forgotten Mile paving project were due to DelDOT by Dec. 18.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
