Ground broken on infrastructure improvement project in Georgetown
GEORGETOWN, Del. – Delaware transportation officials and Congressional leaders are celebrating the start of something new.
Rejuvenating The Roadway
Drivers could see some significant improvements in the area, thanks to a large construction project getting underway.
This comes after about two decades of Sussex County officials working to secure funding and land parcels. “After all this time, the sun, moon, and stars have come together. We have the money that we need for this project,” said Senator Tom Carper. “Part of it was the need to get the county and the state and the federal government to work together. Part of it was to get the Federal Aviation Administration to be a part of this.”
About $54 million dollars in federal, state, and county funding will pay for the project. “We’re going to be upgrading the existing truck bypass. We’re going to be adding a roundabout at the intersections where you’ve got Arrow Safety, Park Avenue, and Bedford – that’s going to be a roundabout that we’re going to be putting in there,” said DelDOT Secretary Nicole Majeski.
Assisting The Airport
The work doesn’t stop there. By widening and improving surrounding roads, Sen. Carper says the runway at nearby Delaware Coastal Airport will have room for extension. “We need a longer runway in order to make the airport truly successful. The road we’re going to make happen here will enable us to build a longer runway,” he said. “Another 600 feet added onto that will enable a lot of aircraft, including larger aircraft, to land here. It’s a wider variety of aircraft. So, this is important.”
Looking Ahead
Drivers won’t see any immediate impact to their daily commutes just yet. Majeski says phase one will be complete some time in 2024. “This first phase is going to be off alignment. So, impacts are not going to be as great. Phase two will be be more on alignment. So, we’ll have more impacts to traffic at that point.”
Looking ahead to those improvements, Majeski is calling the project a win-win-win. “We’re making the area more appealing. We’re making it safer, we’re helping people move easier. Normally we would have some multimodal aspects to the project, and all of those things, I think, have a benefit to economic development,” she said.
And, Sen. Carper says he is looking forward to the potential boost to the local economy, with the completion of the project. “The best way you can help somebody, is to make sure they have a job. A lot of jobs are going to flow. Not just jobs making improvements here on the airport and roads, but also the businesses that will thrive more,” he said.
