DOVER, Del. - After nearly two and a half years of construction along Kenton Road, DelDOT officials say the long-running road improvement project is finally entering its final stages. But for many drivers and neighbors, relief is being tempered by another nearby construction project that's creating fresh detours and extending the disruption.
The Delaware Department of Transportation recently closed the intersection of Kenton Road and Central Church Road through early September to build a new roundabout and realign the roadway.
While many residents assumed the closure was part of the ongoing Kenton Road widening project, DelDOT says the two projects are separate.
"They're separate projects, but they're running concurrently to hopefully get them both wrapped up with the least impact to the schools as possible," said George Pierce, DelDOT's area engineer.
Kenton Road project entering final phases
The Kenton Road improvement project, which stretches from Route 8 toward College Avenue, has been under construction for over two years.
Pierce said the project is nearing its final construction phase.
"We've got the roundabout finished. We're on the last phase of the project to wrap up the work from College Avenue down to where we left off at the roundabout," Pierce said. "Once we complete this, there's just one more phase of the final touch-up paving work to complete. So almost there."
According to DelDOT, most of the road widening has already been completed.
"We're done all the widening except for the section between College and Walker," Pierce said. "Once that's completed, it's just the final paving and touch-up, and this thing will be open and ready for use for everyone."
Why has construction taken so long?
Many neighbors told WBOC they feel like construction has been ongoing for an unusually long time.
Pierce acknowledged the project has taken longer than expected, largely because crews encountered aging underground utilities that weren't documented before work began.
"We're quite a bit behind," Pierce said. "The problem here is we're in a section of Dover that was built 75 years ago, so we don't have records of a lot of that. Until you actually open the ground up and get in there to do the work, you don't see what you're going to run into."
He said some delays occurred while crews identified unknown underground infrastructure and coordinated permits to relocate utilities.
"Now that we've been going through these sections where there's not as much old infrastructure, it's been moving along right on schedule," Pierce said. "We'll have it wrapped up this fall and be out of everyone's hair."
Neighbors split on the latest closure
For people who live along Kenton Road, another closure means more planning before leaving home.
Iris Wagner, who lives near the construction, said getting out of her neighborhood has become increasingly difficult.
"It's very inconvenient," Wagner said. "Our wish is for them to have something so we're able to get out — have a secondary way to get out of here. Right now, it makes it very difficult for us."
She said the detours affect not only her family, but many people throughout the surrounding neighborhoods.
"The whole neighborhood and everybody that lives down the way, it's very difficult," Wagner said.
Other neighbors say the construction has been more of an inconvenience than a major disruption.
"For me personally and the family, it hasn't been too terrible," said Carmen Dematteo. "But it's a little annoying because you don't really know ahead of time on when and where."
Dematteo said he recently drove toward the closed intersection before realizing he had to turn around.
"Just this morning, I went down Central Church. I thought I could go down, and I couldn't. I had to turn around in somebody's driveway," he said.
Why build another roundabout?
Some neighbors questioned whether a roundabout is necessary, saying stop signs installed at the intersection appeared to work well because most traffic on Central Church Road comes from nearby houses.
DelDOT says roundabouts continue to be one of the safest intersection designs when they're appropriate for the location.
"Any time we have the option to go with a roundabout over a signalized intersection, we try to entertain that," Pierce said. "Safety-wise, you see about a 40% reduction in crashes and a 90% reduction in severe injuries because of the slower speeds."
What's next?
DelDOT expects the Kenton Road widening project to be substantially complete this fall after final paving and finishing work.
Meanwhile, construction on the new Central Church Road roundabout is expected to continue through early September, with detours remaining in place until the intersection reopens.
