Five Points Working Group wraps up after eight years
The group that eight years ago compiled a list of 78 projects to untangle the knot of roads in the Five Points area outside Lewes ended its work Nov. 10 with many of the goals met.
“We want to make it clear, we’re not done,” state Delaware Department of Transportation Secretary Shanté A. Hastings said at the final meeting of the Five Points Working Group. “There are still projects in the pipeline, and there are still studies we can do.”
Of the original 78 recommendations, 76 are completed or at least in the planning phase; although, some are years from construction or final solutions.
“We need to continue that conversation so we can collaborate and make these improvements continue,” said Sussex County Administrator Todd Lawson, who was involved from the start of the effort.
Sussex County and DelDOT began working to improve roadways at and around Five Points in 2017, bringing in other elected officials, residents and businesspeople to contribute.
Lawson thanked them for their work over 22 meetings at changing locations in the community over the years, with the final one held in the Cape Henlopen High School library.
“I think we learned a lot through this forum of soliciting public input from those who use the roads and the system on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “There is room for improvement, and we continue to collaborate to see that improvement.”
“I want to thank the county for being our partner in this,” said Hastings, who was an agency engineer when the group formed. “It was a different approach. We didn’t have a specific project in mind; we just had this area. There were a lot of needs, and [we thought] let’s get the community together – a diverse part of the community – and figure out what those recommendations are. We were able to come up with recommendations and made a lot of action on them.”
In the future, the state plans to find new ways to keep the county and public informed of the progress on Five Points goals, and another annual report will be prepared, Hastings said.
DelDOT staff at the Nov. 10 meeting also updated the working group on the progress in completing the projects. Complicating projects is the uncertainty of future federal funding, Hastings said.
The list of completed projects increased from eight in 2019 to 29 last year, while the longer-term projects dropped from 42 to four.
There were eight ongoing projects at the beginning of the year, compared with none in 2019. Another 26 projects were in the planning and design phases this year.
The Five Points area, where several roads including Routes 1 and 9 intersected in confusing and dangerous ways, was the focus of much of the group’s work. However, it extended miles away to look at roads and interconnections to ease congestion.
Some suggestions require policy considerations as part of the next county comprehensive plan update.
Projects remaining from the group’s list include consideration of a grade-separated intersection at Five Points; looking at east-west traffic as a system, including Minos Conaway Road starting at Route 9 and New, Old Orchard and Clay roads.
A priority this year will be studying elimination of unsignalized crossovers on Route 1, said Leah Kacanda, a senior project planner for consultant Whitman, Requardt and Associates.
“This has been one of the longest working groups the department has had, and it’s been super fruitful,” Hastings said.
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.
