Rehoboth’s State Road crosswalks expected next month

It won’t necessarily be cheap, but the State Road intersection of Munson and Grove streets in Rehoboth Beach should soon be a lot safer for pedestrians.

During a commissioner meeting Jan. 20, city commissioners approved a low-bid amount of about $300,000 from A-Del Construction to construct crosswalks at the intersection. A-Del was the only bidder on the project, and its proposal came in about $50,000 over the estimate, said Public Works Director Kevin Williams prior to the favorable vote.

“This will give us a much safer, ADA-compliant way to get across the street,” said Williams.

As proposed, there will be a crosswalk across Munson Street, a crosswalk across State Road and flashing pedestrian beacons similar to ones installed on Rehoboth Avenue a couple of years ago. There will also be bump outs installed on all four corners of the intersection to make the crosswalk shorter.

With the approval, Williams said A-Del will soon get a notice to proceed and the expectation would be for construction to begin in early February. He said it should be completed by the end of the city’s fiscal year, which is March 31.

During a discussion on the project back in September, commissioners expressed a desire to connect State Road to the Rehoboth Avenue circle with a sidewalk that runs the full length of Grove Street. Coming from the circle, the south side of Grove Street has a sidewalk, but it doesn’t run all the way to State Road. At the time, a consensus was reached to move forward with the original project and then possibly add the additional sidewalk work later.

At the recent meeting, Williams said if the budget for the original crosswalk project is looking good and there’s time, the connecting sidewalk could be added onto the project. The design for the sidewalk has been made and it would help the city save costs related to mobilization of equipment, he said.

Resident Patty Brown lives on the corner of Grove Street and State Road, and the proposed sidewalk would run along her property. She wasn’t against the sidewalk, but she did express some concern that the trees on her property could be damaged because of the roots being affected.

Williams said he would bring the issue back to the commissioners if, during the design phase of the sidewalk extension, it appeared the trees would be harmed.