The Interstate 95 and Delaware Highway 896 interchange near Newark is looking barren these days after swaths of trees were recently cut down.
The timber, from Iron Hill to surrounding retention ponds, has been removed as construction workers make way for an estimated $165 million project that will reconfigure the interchange, adding flyovers and a pedestrian/bicyclist pathway that will connect Old Baltimore Pike to Welsh Tract Road.
It is the next major project for New Castle County "with the near completion of the I-95 Restore the Corridor Project," C.R. McLeod, a Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) spokesperson, told the News Journal, based in Wilmington.
"From weave areas, to slowing and stopped traffic on [I-95], especially southbound approaching the interchange, drivers who have navigated through this interchange are aware of the difficulties it presents, especially during peak travel times," he added.
The goal, McLeod said, is to make the area "safer and easier" for travelers.
Questions about the project remain for many area residents, however.
How Will This Help Traffic?
The construction project, which is scheduled to last until late 2025, is designed to reduce congestion on I-95 and Del. 896 and cut the number of accidents at a junction that saw approximately one crash every other day between February 2017 and February 2020, the Wilmington news source reported.
"When this interchange was originally built, the area south of Newark on [Del.] 896 was primarily rural, and we've seen that change dramatically in the nearly 60 years since this was built," McLeod explained. "We need a modern interchange that can not only better manage the flow of traffic through this area, but also reduce the chances of crashes occurring due to slowing and stopped traffic, or vehicles needing to cross lanes to reach their through direction of travel."
Presently, motorists exiting southbound I-95 toward Glasgow must weave their vehicles onto southbound Del. 896 where other drivers are either continuing south on the state road or merging to the right so they can get on the ramp that will take them north on I-95.
DelDOT believes that its plan to build a pair of flyovers will help reduce the congestion created there.
One flyover will take motorists exiting I-95 south over Del 896, curve above the interstate, and then exit them onto southbound lanes of the state route just past where the interchange currently is located.
The second flyover will carry drivers heading south on Del. 896 from the Newark area over the interstate, leading them through a left curve left over Del. 896, before exiting them onto I-95 northbound.
Flyovers and shared path for pedestrians and cyclists are coming to the I-95, Route 896 interchange. (Rendering courtesy of the Delaware Department of Transportation)
How Does It Help Pedestrians, Bicyclists?
Attached to a part of this flyover will be a 10-ft.-wide pathway for pedestrians and cyclists that will go over the interstate, connecting Welsh Tract Road to Old Baltimore Pike. A concrete barrier will separate the nearly mile-long pathway from the freeway.
Neither of these flyovers is expected to cut into Iron Hill Park itself, but there will be some impact on the slope's northeastern section where a portion of the bridge heading to northbound I-95 will rest on a hill shelf.
DelDOT told the News Journal that a part of the hillside will need to be cut where the flyover from southbound I-95 connects to Del. 896 South, also known as South College Avenue.
Both flyovers are designed to eliminate the weaving and merging that occurs along this part of South College Avenue, where a 2016 DelDOT report found an average of more than 1,200 motorists use the ramps during peak morning and afternoon hours.
What Else Does the Project Aim to Address?
Other improvements the contractor is slated to make include widening both directions of I-95 for new ramp acceleration and deceleration lanes, adding a second lane to the ramp connecting Del. 896 North to I-95 North, and create a third thru-lane for Del. 896 southbound that will go from the interchange, through Old Baltimore Pike, to its end just before the intersection with Glasgow High School.
"[DelDOT] is committed to making multimodal improvements wherever we can with our projects and this interchange as it has existed has not provided a safe way to move through this area without a car," McLeod said, pointing to the new pathway for pedestrians and bikers as an example.
A 10-ft. wide shared use path for pedestrians and cyclists will run for about a mile, connecting Welsh Tract Road to Old Baltimore Pike. (Rendering courtesy of the Delaware Department of Transportation)
How is Delaware Paying for It?
The News Journal noted that nearly a third of the estimated $165 million for the project — $56 million — is coming from the federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant, which is helping build and repair critical pieces of freight and highway transportation roadways across the country.
Because the main construction contract has not been awarded, the estimated cost of the project could change. DelDOT's McLeod said his agency hopes to award the project before the end of 2022.
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