The state has received $3.8 million from developers since the Henlopen Transportation Improvement District was created in October 2020 and plans to tap it for a Mulberry Knoll Road extension project next year.

During a Sussex County Council meeting June 23, Jamie Whitehouse, director of the county Planning & Zoning Department, noted there is $14 million in committed funds for road improvements in the TID.

Only a portion has been paid, as developers contribute when they obtain building permits, Whitehouse said.

So far, $3.8 million has been received by the state, said C.R. McLeod, director of community relations for the Delaware Department of Transportation. 

It will help fund a 1,800-foot-long portion of the Mulberry Knoll Road extension that will run through the planned Northstar development to Route 9, McLeod said.

The cost is expected to exceed the $5.4 million contribution the Northstar developer will make to the TID, once it is completed, McLeod said.

The developer estimates the project will be built out in 2032.

The state will use funds available to the district to cover costs beyond the Northstar contribution, he said.

The total 2.2-mile-long extension of Mulberry Knoll Road is a priority for the county, as it would create another road parallel to Route 1 and Plantation Road in the congested east side of the county.

Mulberry Knoll, which currently ends at Cedar Grove Road, would connect Route 24 to Route 9. 

The project was identified among 78 goals created in 2019 by the Five Points Working Group, County Administrator Todd Lawson said July 8.

“That was the No. 1 priority for the county on that list,” Lawson said. “It continues today.”

A planned section of Mulberry Knoll Road in Northstar between Route 9 and Beaver Dam Road will be about a quarter-mile long. It will cross Beaver Dam Road at a roundabout that will be constructed at the intersection and extend another 500 feet east through a portion of the Northstar project on that side of the road.

The county planning & zoning staff has been working with Northstar to finalize site-plan details for a 92-unit affordable housing project on 8 acres along Route 9. It will be the first part of the project to begin, but the timeline is not yet available.

Site plans for the 758 single-family homes on 420 adjacent acres between Route 9 and Beaver Dam Road and 96,118 square feet of commercial space on 12.7 acres along Route 9 must also be finalized for the Northstar project.

A schedule is not available for the rest of the Mulberry Knoll Road extension, between the Northstar development and Cedar Grove Road.

The total Mulberry Knoll Road project was estimated to cost more than $40 million in 2022.

In addition to contributions from developers to the TID, state and federal funds could be used, said DelDOT Secretary Shanté A. Hastings at a Sept. 16 Sussex County Council meeting.

The Henlopen Transportation Improvement District is the county’s first TID, covering 24 square miles south of Route 9 and west of Route 1. It was created in October 2020.

Unless developments fall within specific exemptions, those in the district are assessed a fee to help fund infrastructure projects.

The largest commitments from developers to the TID are: $1,422,242 million from Chase Oaks; $1,349,500 from Vineyards Phases 4B, 5 and 6; $376,668 from Rehoboth Family Storage; $275,179 from Rehoboth Health Campus Future Phase; and $273,152 from Rehoboth Health Campus Phase 1.

The figures were included in an annual update on the county comprehensive plan submitted to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Planning, which Whitehouse presented at the June 23 council meeting.