Delaware’s Department of Transportation (DelDOT) looks to invest around $330 million in capital improvements in the upcoming fiscal year.
DelDOT says their capital budget this year is on pace with years prior, accounting for about 1.5% annual growth due to revenue from the motor fuel tax, DMV fees and tolls.
Secretary of Transportation Nicole Majeski says several of the state’s roadway improvements will be wrapped up soon, including the State Route 299 widening project in Middletown, which she hopes will conclude in the next few weeks.
She says while the 19% vacancy rate for equipment operators has delayed some construction projects, they continue to make strides in recruitment and retention.
Majeski says her focus is on safety improvements when looking towards the future, including bettering pedestrian and bike accessibility, as well as implementing more motor vehicle safety features throughout the state.
“All the investments that we’re making in safety – I can’t say enough about just the cable median barriers that we’re going to be extending on Route 1, south of Dover. As you’re driving throughout the state, you see the number of times – you’ll be like, ‘oh, somebody ran into that’ – it’s like, those are lives that are being saved because that barrier is there," she says.
Majeski says the extension project has already begun, and she hopes to have construction wrapped up by the end of the year.
DelDOT plans to invest close to $220 million in road systems alone for the upcoming year, with $20 million allocated for the Subdivision Street Paving Program.
While Majeski says the department invested $30 million in the program last year, she’s confident roads categorized as “very poor” will be re-paved within the next year and a half.
“We’re still going to be able to do a significant number of roads, even with $20 million, and we’re only at about 4% that are even in very poor conditions that we’re going to be able to tackle a big chunk of that.”
Majeski also highlighted environmentally-friendly strides within the department, including 10% of the state’s public transit fleet becoming electric.
The Dover Transit Center is in the midst of receiving solar panels to create a micro grid for recharging the new electric buses.
She also says DelDOT has begun looking into hydrogen buses and will continue to monitor the impact of electric vehicles on declining revenue from the motor fuel tax and how to combat that loss in the future.
