Rt. 26 completed construction a sigh of relief for businesses, residents

A major road project with more than two solid years of construction is now complete, but it’s not just a relief for residents and transportation officials. Businesses are celebrating, as well.

The four mile project stretches from Clarksville to east of the Assawoman Canal. Major upgrades include drainage inlets, bridge replacements, and a left center turn lane.

Transportation officials say prior to these improvements, Route 26 had been one of the roads in Sussex County extremely prone to flooding during times of heavy rainfall.

The project includes the installation of roughly 5.5 miles of underground drainage.

The purpose, according to DelDot, was to reduce congestion and improve overall public safety.

David Hamm, a sales associate with Auto Plus & Marine, says he’s hopeful a less congested Route 26 could mean more business for his store; however, he admits the automotive parts supplier on Atlantic Avenue was hit hard during construction.

“You can tell with by sales totals and things like that, and it just wasn’t as busy as it normally would be from previous years when there was no construction,” he explains.

Tom Banez, a project manager with DelDot, says they understand the financial strain businesses like Auto Plus & Marine had to take but they also say the project had to be done.

According to DelDot, an initial needs report for Route 26 was first done in 1999.

“People see construction out here on the road, and they want to find a different place to go get around it so that means they’re not coming to you know, whatever shop they thought they might want to go to,” explains Banez. “Unfortunately, it’s a growing pain that we have to go through when we do these projects.”

That ‘growing pain’ is expected to pay off, according to Banez.

“When people don’t have to sit in traffic for hours and get frustrated, they can get to their destination and they can start to enjoy their vacations and that just keeps the economy pumping, so I think that’s the real added benefit over the long haul,” he explains.

25 million dollars went into construction and design costs, 80 percent of which was federally funded. U.S. Senator Tom says construction of drainage and utilities were not the most expensive items. 

“It was the right of ways so we could expand the road, move the road out, put in bicycle lanes, put in sidewalks on both sides of the road,” says Senator Carper.

As for Hamm, he tells 47ABC the store is looking forward to the immediate benefits of the end of construction.

“I think traffic would be a little bit smoother and hopefully people will be able to find us a little but easier,” he says.

Construction work was awarded to the Delaware-based contractor George and Lynch in October 2013.