Sussex projects among DelDOT considerations
During an update to Sussex County Council on the Delaware Department of Transportation Capital Transportation Program, DelDOT officials outlined candidates for nine new Sussex County projects and also said that federal COVID-19 relief funding has helped offset a projected $181 million revenue loss related to less gas tax and tolls paid during the pandemic.
During council's June 22 meeting, Josh Thomas, DelDOT planning supervisor, said there are nine submissions totaling an estimated $175 million that will be considered as additions to the CTP for fiscal years 2023-28. He made it clear to council that the projects will be evaluated and ranked, and eventually the Council on Transportation will decide which ones are added to the CTP.
In the Cape Region, a proposed $11.5 million project will be evaluated for a new north-south Mulberry Knoll Road extension from Cedar Grove Road to Route 9 at Old Vine Road near Lewes. Thomas said the project has been recommended by the Five Points Working Group and is included in the Henlopen Transportation Improvement District and the Sussex County comprehensive plan. He said an environmental study is underway to determine a possible alignment for the new road.
Also included is a $4.6 million project to improve Postal Lane from Bethpage Drive to Plantation Road near Lewes with sidewalks and a bicycle lane, and a $3.5 million project for improvements, including a center-turn lane, sidewalks and shoulders, to Shady Road from Plantation Road to Route 1 near Lewes.
Three of the proposed projects are part of a continuing process to improve intersections along the Route 113 corridor in central Sussex. Grade-separated interchanges are proposed at the Shortly Road-Bedford Road, Redden Road-East Redden Road, and Avenue of Honor-East Piney Grove Road intersections with Route 113 in the Georgetown area. Two other grade-separated interchanges along Route 113 are on the construction schedule: Route 18/404 in Georgetown, 2024-26; and Route 16 in Ellendale, 2027-29.
Thomas stressed that none of the projects are projected to start in the near future and would only proceed if selected for the updated CTP, which includes projects through 2028. “This is a long process to determine what these projects might look like,” he said.
The selection process
July 2021: Proposed projects are evaluated through the project prioritization process.
August 2021: Draft fiscal year 2023 CTP released by Council on Transportation.
August-September 2021: CTP public hearings.
October 2021: Public comment period closes
December 2021: Council considers public comments.
February 2022: Council meeting to adopt fiscal years 2023-28 CTP.
October 2022: Federal approval process.
DelDOT funding
The state's transportation trust fund is projected at $975.8 million in fiscal 2022. The top revenue sources include federal funds, $250 million; Division of Motor Vehicles fees, $223.3 million; motor fuel tax, $139.7 million; and tolls, $185.8 million ($126.1 million on I-95 and $59.6 million on Route 1.)
Fifty-nine percent, or $570 million, will be spent on capital projects, $304.8 million on operating expenses and $96 million on debt service.
