State eyes ped/bike bridges over Route 1
The state has identified locations for potential bicycle and pedestrian bridges spanning Route 1, one near Lewes and another near Rehoboth Beach, but any project would require grant funding.
During a Nov. 11 presentation at the final Five Points Working Group meeting, Leah Kacanda, a consult for Whitman, Requardt and Associates, updated the status of projects, including a Route 1 crossings recommendation.
There are few signalized crossings for pedestrians on Route 1, which is six lanes wide in some areas. Studies have proposed pedestrian bridges over Route 1 in near the Lewes Transit Center at Marsh and Shady roads, and the Rehoboth Transit Center near Rehoboth Avenue Extended.
“Something like that would traditionally be a grant application,” said Kacanda, who is a consultant for several state transportation projects. “But right now, we have a lot of uncertainty around what the grant landscape's going to look like for the next few years.”
The estimated cost per bridge would be $8 million to $10 million, as opposed to less than $1 million for at-grade pedestrian improvements, according to figures released in 2023.
Information has been provided to the Delaware Department of Transportation to support a future grant application, Kacanda said.
Among the challenges of bridge projects is obtaining rights of way in the already heavily developed areas. A bridge would require ramps at least 794 feet long.
Scott Collins, a Sussex Planning & Zoning Commission member who sits on the Five Points Working Group, asked if a separate pedestrian and bicycle bridge could be included in a potential plan for a motor vehicle bridge at Five Points.
Bryan Behrens, a DelDOT group engineer, said the state has been including pedestrian and bicycle use in its road improvement plans in recent years.
DelDOT Secretary Shanté Hastings said a project has started to add median barriers on Route 1 to help direct pedestrians and cyclists to designated road crossings and improve safety. Work began on the north end of the state and is moving southward, she said.
The rapid growth along Route 1 between Five Points and Rehoboth Beach in recent years has been accompanied by more safety concerns for pedestrians and bicyclists.
The state’s SR 1 Low-Stress Bikeway Study completed in May recommends improvements for bicycle safety, including the bridges, public transit, roadways, road crossing and trails.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
