State seeks comments on east-west road improvements
Three options for helping ease traffic congestion in Sussex County discussed Nov. 12 are preliminary, but they give a glimpse at potential solutions the state is considering.
The Coastal Corridors Committee reviewed progress to date on a study of traffic on main east-west corridors, primarily Routes 9, 16 and 24. A public workshop is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 2, at Georgetown Middle School.
As part of the study, the Delaware Department of Transportation considered projects to widen existing roads, create new ones and improve main streets. Three alternatives that combine some of those elements were outlined at the Nov. 12 meeting, and interest of participants was gauged by an instant survey.
DelDOT is seeking opinions from the committee and community as it considers alternatives to resolve growing traffic problems on east-west corridors that connect with Route 1.
“We're just beginning to contemplate projects that will come out of this effort,” said DelDOT Senior Project Planner Leah Kacanda.
There is no funding at this point and possible traffic solution options could be changed based on public comments and further studies, Kacanda said. The state wants to accomplish the greatest improvement of roads while keeping cost in mind, she said.
Goals are to help keep cars off those roads, expand network connectivity and work with Sussex County Council as it updates its comprehensive plan and considers how to enact steps to limit housing growth recommended in September by a working group, Kacanda said.
All three options – labeled blue, red and green – include improving Route 16 in Milton.
The blue option also includes a northern Milton bypass; a Route 9 connector that diverts traffic north of the road and avoids the Harbeson Road intersection with Route 9; and widening Route 24 south to Indian Mission Road. Cost – $114 million.
The red option includes a southern Route 16 connector road to Route 9 that avoids Milton’s main street; and widening Route 24 south to Oak Orchard. Cost – $146 million
The green option includes a shorter Route 16 connector north of Milton; widening Route 9 east of Harbeson Road to Five Points; and widening Route 24 south to Indian Mission Road. Cost – $114 million.
Cost would be spread out over 10 to 15 years.
Asked which option people attending the Nov. 12 meeting guessed would most improve road capacity, 50% said blue, 31% red and 19% green. Asked which would improve community measures, such as Crash Score, Main Street Candidate Score and Flood Score, 60% chose blue, 30% red and 10% green.
Ranking regional connector mitigation concepts, most supported a Route 9 connector that avoids the Harbeson Road intersection, followed by the longer of two suggested Route 16 connector roads and a shorter Route 16 connector.
Scott Collins, a member of the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission, said he worries that creating new road connections could have the unintended consequence of encouraging housing sprawl.
Studies have shown that some road projects planned to ease congestion can create it elsewhere, DelDOT staff noted.
Road improvements will not solve all traffic issues, and they must be accompanied by police enforcement and land-use decisions made by local municipalities, Kacanda said.
“These are decisions that are not made hastily,” she said. “This is a decades-long process, and we are at the beginning of the process.”
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.
