Delaware’s Department of Transportation wants to hear from Sussex County residents about its revised plans to improve congestion on U.S. 113.
DelDOT has been studying Route 113 North and South since the early 2000s, hoping to create a limited access corridor from Milford to Maryland.
Project Manager Bryan Behrens said there was strong opposition to a 2013 plan for a four-lane limited access bypass in Millsboro, Dagsboro and Frankford. So, DelDOT came back in 2015 with a two-lane bypass connector road.
“And then coupled that with an added third lane in each direction on 113 through Millsboro,” Behrens said.
In response to feedback from the 2015 workshop, DelDOT has moved the planned alignment 370 feet to the north, away from a nearby community, Behrens said. Wetland impacts over 30 acres were reduced down to less than one acre, and farmland impacts over 65 acres were reduced down to five acres.
They also added an overpass to the plan. The general concept of a two-lane bypass connector road remains the same.
Now, DelDOT is waiting for public input.
“And then we can move forward to make a final environmental impact statement,” Behrens said. “We would then ask for a record decision from the federal government.”
The anticipated cost of the project is $120 million. Behrens said the construction process could take five to seven years.
DelDOT will hold a public hearing on the plan on Tuesday night from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Millsboro Town Hall, 322 Wilson Hwy. A workshop will be held from 4-6 p.m., followed by a public hearing from 6-8 p.m.
