North Millsboro Bypass to open this week

The new North Millsboro Bypass is scheduled to open to traffic later this week, the culmination of decades of planning and 906 days since ground was broken on the project.

Gov. Matt Meyer was among the state, county and local officials who cut the ribbon on the 2.8-mile connector Sept. 22.

Meyer got behind the wheel of a Delaware Department of Transportation SUV and, with DelDOT Secretary Shanté Hastings in the passenger’s seat, took a spin up the highway from Hollyville Road to Route 113.

The bypass was expected to open to the public after the event, but contractors were still adding finishing touches.

“We had rain last week, so we weren’t able to finish all of the striping and bridge painting,” Hastings said. “We didn’t want to open it and then have to close lanes.”

Hastings said the first public vehicles will be able to hit the road the night of Thursday, Sept. 25, into the morning of Friday, Sept. 26.

The federal government paid 80% of the $140 million project cost, and DelDOT funded the balance from its capital budget.

The goal of the bypass is to reduce traffic congestion through downtown Millsboro, which has grown worse with development in the last 20 years.

Meyer and Hastings said many downtown Millsboro business owners supported the bypass, because traffic has reached a choke point.

They said the bypass, along with the widening of Route 113 between Millsboro and Dagsboro will be game-changers.

“Seventeen thousand vehicles a day pass through Millsboro now on Route 24,” Meyer said. “It’s going to make a heck of difference to drivers, bikers and walkers in this area.”

Meyer and Hastings took advantage of the built-in bike lanes, pedaling into the event at the Hollyville Road interchange.

“This is very much a local-type road,” Hastings said. “It looks freeway-like, but really, we expect people to drive at moderate speeds, and allow for bikes and peds to walk along it.”