The Delaware Department of Transportation looks to address a ballooning population near the Delaware beaches.
The area of interest is Kings Highway from Dartmouth Drive to the split with Freeman Highway.
That stretch of road connects Route 1 to the City of Lewes, and coastal destinations like Cape Henlopen State Park.
There are also two housing development sites along the route - Mitchell’s Corner and Village Center.
DelDOT’s CR McLeod says the two lane road that exists now does not support the current traffic volume, let alone what is expected once more residents move to the area.
“So what we’ve done is develop a plan that we think will better meet the needs of this area as that growth is happening and also make sure it's safe for all modes of transportation,” he explained.
To meet growing traffic needs, the proposed plan is to stretch the highway from one lane in each direction to two.
And for safety and other mobility concerns, they’ll also be adding shared use paths along both sides of the highway, and a total of five roundabouts.
Four of the roundabouts would replace existing traffic signals, one would be part of a new intersection at the entrance of the future Mitchell’s Corner development.
But McLeod says residents shouldn’t expect to see changes anytime soon.
“If everything moves along without any major interruption, we still probably wouldn’t see construction begin until 2028 at the earliest,” he said.
DelDOT hosted a public workshop this week to gather feedback on their proposed design.
They’ll start working on the final design after the public comment period ends on March 25th.
