Officials unveil Thompsonville Rd.-Rt. 1 Project

Officials unveiled their plans for a new intersection to be built on a busy highway in Milford.

Within two years, an overpass will be built above the intersection of Route 1 and Thompsonville Road, which will replace of the current stop light and allow cars to freely underneath. Officials say the project is an upgrade on roadway safety. According to DelDot, this road was the site of 122 crashes within ten years.

“Once you get south of Dover Air Force Base, you’re at highway speeds. You’re at 55 miles per hour and then all of a sudden, you run into a traffic light and people have to stop.” Explains Shailen Bhatt. ” So what happens is people aren’t expecting to stop, the first vehicle hits their breaks, and then other vehicles often run in and there’s a rear-end crash.”

Josh Sockriter, a local Milford resident, tells 47 ABC he’s happy with the project and thinks it will be especially convenient during the summertime.

“During the summer when people go back and forth to the beaches, there’s a lot of traffic so I think it’ll be a little bit easier just so people can avoid that traffic.” Says Sockriter.

The contractor for this project will be Millsboro-based company, Mumford and Miller. Governor Jack Markell explains this will also put dozens of Delawareans to work, which is another reason why he stressed the importance of road funds.    

“We need transportation.” Says Governor Markell. “We need funding for transportation and that’s the bottom line and hopefully we’ll be able to work with the General Assembly this year to come up with a package that makes sense.”

The total cost of the project is estimated at 11.5 million dollars.