GEORGETOWN, Del. - More road construction is coming to Sussex County. DelDOT announced a new roundabout to be built in Georgetown at the intersection of Rt. 9 and Sand Hill Road.
The construction of the roundabout-- or traffic circle-- is just a portion of the Georgetown Improvement Project
The 8.8 million dollar project was paid for by a federal grant.
Sarah Powell from DelDOT says the roundabout is the start of the improvements and says this will encourage safer driving.
"Roundabouts in general they help with encouraging drivers to reduce their speeds through intersections it also reduces the need for direct left turns which are a major reason for intersection crashes," said Powell, the project manager.
A portion of Sand Hill Road will be closed as a result of this project.
This closure will impact those driving toward the entrance of the CHEER Center.
"During the detour, only people accessing cheers community center and cheer apartments will be able to access that from US 9," added Powell.
A detour will also be in place for those driving towards Airport Road by Sussex Academy.
"Their (Sussex Academy) detour on airport road that's gonna be in the summer, so we're not impacting their school season," explained Powell.
DelDOT says the detour on route 9 will not be as long as the one on Sandhill Road or on Airport Road.
"The detour on route 9 is required to be done in less than a month. Really almost like two weeks because its such a heavily traveled road,"
Local drivers say these changes can be too confusing.
"I don't like it. Especially for us old folks," said Ruth Hubbs a local Millsboro resident.
However, DelDOT hopes locals will bear with them
For the future of safer driving.
The project is set to begin January 25 up until April 16 if weather permits.
