Millsboro has one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in Sussex County- and as the area’s population grows, congestion is getting worse.
The solution is a 2 lane connector road between US 113 and state route 24 north of Millsboro.
Project Manager Mark Whiteside says he expects this bypass to help reduce congestion and increase safety.
“It’s been about 30 years in the making, from the planning stage all the way to design completion,” he said. “We just finished the design for this project, and we’re starting construction. This project is going to be operational to traffic, that includes the Millsboro bypass and the 113 grade separation, by early summer of 2025.”
Because there will be new alignment, a majority of construction will be off-road.
But a long-term detour is expected at the Hollyville Road/ SR 24 intersection. While this detour is active, DNREC will be working to assure there is proper signaling and safety measures in place.
This project is expected to cost $140 million. 20% will come from the state, with the remaining 80% funded through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“One of the best things we can do as a government is provide a nurturing environment for job creation and job preservation. A big part of that is roads, highways, bridges, and transit. So we can get people where they need when they need to go, and so we can get goods and products where they need to go. We also need to do it safely, and we’ve been having huge safety challenges in this part of Sussex County,” saidSenator Tom Carper, who expects traffic accidents and injuries to decrease once the project is complete.
Officials also anticipate the bypass helping the agriculture and tourism industries - alleviating the beach traffic Millsboro experiences while making it easier to transport ag products from Sussex County.
