MILFORD, Del. - It's something DelDOT says they've never done before: completely close one stretch of U.S. 113.
DelDOT says they'll close both the north and southbound lanes of 113 between Kings Highway and Milford-Harrington Highway (SR 14) from May 5th to May 19th to repair a railway crossing on the road. Railroad Engineer Bob Perrine tells WBOC the project design began after they got an urgent letter from the Delmarva Central Railroad describing the crossing.
"Right now, under current conditions they have to stop the train, literally get off, flag it by hand and walk the train through the crossing," he says. "We're in really bad shape."
Perrine says they originally planned to replace the crossing 20 years ago, and that the current crossing overran its life span several years ago.
"The locals here know the roadway condition. They slow down, you can't go very fast. It's very bumpy," Perrine describes. "But its now starting to effect the train, The track is moving up and down as it goes through, so it needs to get fixed and fast."
DelDOT says they will completely remove what's currently there, digging a four foot deep, 60 foot wide hole to excavate the crossing and fix drainage issues. They'll also add new signals,cantilever structures, safety gates and sidewalks compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Milford Mayor Bryan Shupe says the project will cause a major traffic impact, but he hopes by getting information out early, drivers can get ready.
"We're hoping from the signage and all the information that individuals will be able prepare in time," he says. "I would urge people that are to, from and through Milford to go online and look at the maps and plan it out."
DelDOT has a number of detours already planned, which are listed below:
Local Detour:
Southbound utilizing U.S. 113/Frontage Road onto North Walnut Street to North Rehoboth Boulevard/Cedar Creek Road to Wilkins Road to Johnson Road and return to U.S. Route 113.
Northbound utilizing U.S. Route 113 to Johnson Road onto Wilkins Road to Cedar Creek Road/South Rehoboth Boulevard to Northeast Front Street and back to U.S. Route 113.
Eastbound utilizing SR 14/Milford-Harrington Highway to Northwest Front Street to North Rehoboth Boulevard/Cedar Creek Road to Wilkins Road to Johnson Road and back to U.S. Route 113.
Regional utilizing the Truck Detour-- U.S. Route 113 To/From Georgetown
Southbound: SR 1/Bay Road to SR 30 off-ramp to Wilkins Road onto Johnson Road and return to U.S. Route 113.
Northbound: U.S. Route 113 to Johnson Road to Wilkins Road to SR 30 to SR 1/Bay Road north to the Thompsonville interchange and loop onto SR 1 southbound and continue south on U.S. Route 113 to SR 14 westbound. Thru trucks will be prohibited from making a left onto westbound SR-14/Northeast Front Street from SR 1 northbound.
Detour signage will be posted for motorists.
DelDOT anticipates that the project will take two weeks, but it could be delayed due to weather or unforeseen conditions. The two-week project will cost $2 million in federal funds. Perrine says on average, they spend $300-400,000 in a month.
