Sussex County motorists should expect delays starting this week as work to replace the Broadkill River Bridge on Route 1 in Milton begins.
Delaware’s Department of Transportation hired New Jersey-based R.E. Pierson Construction Company to rebuild the twin spans over the Broadkill River.
“Both were built in 1967," said DelDOT director of community relations C.R. McLeod. "And we’re going to be working through the winter months and into the early spring to completely replace these bridges so that we have a new structure there that we don’t have to worry about for the next 75 to 100 years.”
McLeod says work on the northbound span comes first. The southbound side will follow. The work will limit traffic to one lane in either direction.
McLeod says the project includes replacing the existing concrete deck and barriers. He notes some of that concrete is cracking and the steel beams are rusted out.
He notes that there is some rich history surrounding the bridge and nearby area.
It’s been a primary travel route since the late 1700’s to early 1800’s using a variety of bridges to span the Broadkill before the current bridge was built in the late 1960’s.
The project cost is $16 million, with 80% of that covered by the federal government and is expected to be completed by March 2022.