Officials break ground for new Rt. 1 project

Major road construction will soon be underway in Kent County, covering nearly 2 miles of roadway near Bowers Beach Road and Route 1.

It’s called the “Little Heaven Grade Separated Intersection”.

Jim Davis lives on Bowers Beach Road and because of what he’s seen along that roadway in the past 20 years, Davis says he’s on board with the proposed changes.

“Keep that traffic moving so we can in and out of here.” Says Davis. “Not only that but a lot of accidents out there and a lot of people get hurt.”

According to DelDot, the plan is to replace the current intersection and traffic signal with a new overpass. When it’s complete, Route 1 will cross over Bowers Beach Road and allow traffic to continue north and south without stopping.

Craig Blowers, an engineer with DelDot, says the purpose of this project is reduce day-to-day traffic for residents like Davis. It’s also to make the intersection safer.

“Any time you have those same signals on Route 1, especially during the summer beach time traffic, you have those backups and when you have those backups it creates the risk of people slamming on the breaks and running into each other.” Explains Blowers.

The project is expected to cost around 40-millions dollars but Delaware Governor Jack Markell says the investment will pay off with new construction jobs and a long-term benefit for tourism.

“Meaning it’s going to be easier for people to get there. More people are going to want to be there so it’s great all the way around.” Says Governor Markell.

To avoid traffic during construction, DelDot says the plan right now is to close lanes during off-peak hours and off-seasons. This means construction may be limited during the summer.

The project is expected to be complete by the fall of 2018.