The failure of local leadership to more strongly advocate for better infrastructure in our area has surfaced in full force over the past two weeks with the number of accidents that have occurred on Route 9 between Five Points and the traffic light at Hopkins Dairy Farm. By my rough count, I believe there have been four over a 10-day stretch on a very busy two-lane road. If you drive Route 9 in either direction, you see the massive increase in volume and the long slog of cars driving east each morning simply to get to work.
Most of our area recognizes development is an issue. However, the state is clearly not doing its part to speed up the process to provide proper improvements to major roadways such as Route 9, nor funding Sussex County with an appropriate share of transportation dollars in relationship to the geographic size of the county (the largest in the state), as well as the trend for growth (the state's fastest growing). It's been said several times by Joe Conaway and others in these opinion pages that the state has rarely supported Sussex County's roads like it should. It's clear we are paying a price for the slow-footed handling of road improvements in our region. And, no, another working group from DelDOT is not the answer.
Candidates for Sussex County Council, state senator and state representative throughout Sussex County this year should be asked by this newspaper and others in the media what they can do to advocate for better funding and support for needed infrastructure improvements. They should also be asked what they can do to better improve cooperation between the county and state to ensure that new development approved at the county level can coincide with road improvements at the state level to major thoroughfares. Local issues like infrastructure and transportation need to be a bigger priority with our local elected officials beyond mere lip service. Our current and past elected officials collectively have not been strong enough advocates to bring more transportation dollars to our area. It's my hope that it will change soon.
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