Bid awarded for Minos Conaway intersection project
The state awarded a nearly $36 million bid April 24 for the construction of the Route 1-Minos Conaway Road grade separated intersection, which is scheduled to begin in June and be completed during the spring of 2028.
Mumford & Miller Concrete of Middletown won the bid for the project to build service roads parallel to Route 1 and a bridge that will replace hazardous crossovers on Route 1.
A company official could not reached for comment April 28.
The bid came in under the state engineer’s estimate of $38,729,817. Allan Myers MD Inc., the next lower bidder, offered to do the work for $40,197,000. Four bids were received.
The project includes three roundabouts on the service roads, not on Route 1. The east service lane will be 1.3 miles long and the west service lane will be eight-tenths of a mile. Two of the roundabouts will be connected by an extension of New Road that will pass under Route 1.
The Delaware Department of Transportation plans to post the phasing and traffic maintenance plans, including more specifics on the timeline, when the information is available from the contractor, said Charles “C.R.” McLeod, director of community relations for DelDOT. Work is tentatively scheduled to begin in late June.
Other than short-term lane closures for specific activities when needed, Route 1 will have two lanes open in each direction when work is occurring, said McLeod.
There are four road closures/detours associated with the project:
• The intersection of Route 1 and Minos Conaway Road will be closed during Phase 2B of the project so the contractor can construct the new roundabout and a connection to the new service road. Traffic will be detoured to the Route 9 and Minos Conaway Road intersection
• The intersection of New and Nassau roads will be closed during Phase 3 of the project to construct the new roundabout at this location. Traffic will be detoured to the Savannah Road and Old Orchard Road intersection
• The entrance from Route 1 northbound to the southern entrance to Tulip Drive will be closed when work is occurring at the Five Points intersection. Once complete, this phase will allow for a U-turn movement to be made from Route 1 southbound to Route 1 northbound. Local traffic will use the northern entrance near St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church to access Tulip Drive
• The entrance from Route 1 northbound to the northern entrance to Tulip Drive near St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church will be closed during Phase 6 when work is occurring to reconstruct the Route 1 northbound off-ramp onto Nassau Road. Local traffic will use the southern entrance near Five Points to access Tulip Drive.
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.
