KENT COUNTY, Del.- County leaders look to bring more business to the area, but troublesome truck traffic has to be addressed first.
Commercial trucks bring us the things we need. But, sometimes neighbors say they can become and inconvenience in smaller, more rural Delaware communities.
Helen Wiles from the Kent County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) said the new freight route study will address a few different things.
"A lot of it has to do with the truck congestion in downtowns," said Wiles. "Or in smaller towns with smaller roads."
The Kent Economic Partnership (KEP) looks to bring jobs and business to Central Delaware. Officials there believe this study could help make Kent County a more attractive location for major employers.
"The East/West Freight Routes Study Phase 1 is a crucial step towards enhancing Kent County's travel infrastructure and making it a more attractive location for employers in the warehouse, distribution, and logistics industry," said Linda Parkowski, Executive Director of the Kent Economic Partnership. "The Rockport 2.0 study highlighted the importance of access to travel infrastructure, and this Phase 1 study will serve as a beginning to guide the county in addressing those concerns."
Route 13 and Route 1 going North and South are not an issue. However, according to the Executive Director at Kent County MPO, Marilyn J. Smith, the first thing developers are going to ask is "Can we move that freight safely and efficiently east and west?"
The study revolves around several small communities in the county such as Cheswold, Hartly, Clayton, Kenton and others.
Smith said the more times a truck is on a road that is not built for commercial vehicles, "that makes it difficult for those industries to say yeah, this is where we want to be."
Once the study is complete, local municipalities and Delaware's Department of Transportation (DelDOT) would be responsible for implementing any recommendations made.
Phase 1 of the freight study is complete and phase 2 is expected to get underway by the 2024 fiscal year.
The complete study can be found here: https://doverkentmpo.delaware.gov/projects/