Hoping road projects are successful

The long-awaited North Millsboro Bypass is set to open to traffic Tuesday, Sept. 23, after years of construction and anticipation.

The public got a sneak peek Sept. 13, when the Delaware Department of Transportation held a 5K run/walk on the vast, vacant roadway. 

Anyone who’s driven through downtown Millsboro in recent years knows the importance of this bypass. Congestion through the narrow commercial district often adds 10 minutes or more to one’s route. An inconvenience such as this forces some to seek alternative routes, driving people away from the locally owned small businesses in town. 

By building the bypass, the hope is that those traveling to places beyond Millsboro will pass through smoothly, while those who want to eat or shop downtown can do so easily. 

It will be interesting to see the results in a year or two. 

Another DelDOT project that has significantly transformed the landscape is well underway on Route 1 in the Lewes area. The Minos Conaway Road grade-separated intersection project will create a new road under the Nassau Bridge, among many other features. In the last few weeks, crews have been clearing trees on both sides of Route 1 to make way for roads parallel to Route 1. For regular travelers, this loss of trees is a major change, but necessary to improve the safety for drivers. When complete, drivers will no longer have to use the dangerous crossovers between Minos Conaway Road and Five Points. 

In a short-term move to improve safety in the work zone, DelDOT announced this week it will add a speed camera in the coming weeks. While this addition may be jeered by some, it is a smart decision. The speed of many drivers on the stretch of Route 1 between Route 16 and the Nassau Bridge has reached alarming levels. Knowing a speed camera is in place, hopefully drivers will slow down as they enter the work zone, which now has jersey walls, cones and a lot of distraction on both sides of the roadway.