Facebook Twitter Flickr YouTube RSS Feed
Written on: May 31st, 2012 in Route 54
5.31.12 – The contractor is working on pavement striping of symbols, arrows, etc. this week. If they work on Friday it will be under lane shifts and shoulder closures, so that two lanes of traffic can be maintained at all times.
There was a concern this past weekend about the traffic signals not functioning correctly. The detector loops have not been cut into the pavement yet, so the signals simply cycle at pre-set intervals instead of when tripped. We anticipate that the loops will be cut in the pavement the week of June 4, which should correct the issue. Again, if work is performed on Friday it will be under lane shifts and shoulder closures, so that two lanes of traffic can be maintained at all times.
Our Traffic Section will continue to monitor the signals and traffic volumes (just as they did over the holiday weekend) and make manual adjustments to the signal timing as necessary until the loop detection work is complete.
As we move into June, the contractor will be focusing on landscaping, topsoil, and cleaning up the site. There is about two weeks worth of remaining concrete work to be done. This is mostly residential driveways. Again, if they work on Friday it will be under lane shifts and shoulder closures, so that two lanes of traffic can be maintained at all times.
Written on: May 24th, 2012 in Route 54
Today crews are out on Route 54 installing pavement markings (symbols, arrows, stop bars, etc.). This is expected to take 2 days, which will occur today until around noon, and then will resume next week. Crews are also performing some concrete work on the north side of the project, under a shoulder closure.
Also today the contractor will be sweeping the site, cleaning up debris and removing some of the traffic barrels. Not all barrels will be removed as some will be needed over the next few weeks so the contractor can complete remaining concrete, topsoiling seeding and cleanup work from the shoulder.
It is anticipated that the striping crew and the clean-up crew will be done around noon on May 24, with the concrete crew expected to be completed by early afternoon on May 24. No work will occur on the site between May 25 and May 28. This will leave all lanes available for travel this holiday weekend.
The contractor will be back on Tuesday of next week, and will continue with concrete work (driveway entrances, sidewalks, etc.), and some drainage work near Teaberry Woods. They will also be working on punch list and cleanup of the site.
This work should not require lane closures and should be completed by end of June, weather permitting.
Written on: May 23rd, 2012 in Indian River Inlet Bridge, Route 54
No construction on Delaware’s beach routes this weekend
Landmark Indian River Inlet Bridge is now open on Route 1; Route 54 is completed
For the first time in several years, all major routes to Delaware’s beaches will be free of construction. According to officials from The Department of Transportation (DelDOT), motorists will have a much easier time accessing Delaware’s renowned resort beaches this summer season. There will be no lane closures, or major construction on any of the major beach routes in Sussex County this Memorial Day Weekend.
Major work on the vital east – west connection to Fenwick Island via Route 54 is complete, with all lanes open to traffic.
In addition, earlier this week, all four lanes on the new Indian River Inlet Bridge opened to traffic, ending a multi-year project that involved numerous lane closures, and shifting traffic patterns. The pedestrian walkway is scheduled to open by Friday.
Written on: May 23rd, 2012 in Route 54
DelDOT announces that all mainline lanes of Route 54 are open and it invites visitors to come to the area this holiday weekend. In April, DelDOT began working closely with Route 54 business owners and its contractor Mumford & Miller to reach the goal of substantially completing construction on Route 54. Mainline paving work on Route 54 between SR 20 and the Mallard Lakes development is complete and all lanes are currently open along this corridor to the resort area.
Minimal construction signage and materials will remain on site as the contractor will work to complete minor construction tasks after the holiday weekend.
Written on: May 18th, 2012 in Route 54
5/18/2012 – You may have noticed a delay on Route 54 near Bayville Shopping Center today. The contractor is doing some minor milling at the entrance to Bayville Shopping Center. This milling had to be done today, as we continue to make progress on meeting our deadline of Memorial Day. The contractor needed their milling machine for another project, and wanted to work on Route 54 to get done before they took the machine to the other job. We apologize for the inconvenience. While we are trying to minimize any future impact to motorists or businesses, there are things like this that come up at a moment’s notice that must be addressed.
We have been advised this was a short-duration job, and the work has been completed and the roadway is now open in both directions.
Written on: May 18th, 2012 in Route 54
5/17/2012 – Crews continue to battle the weather as work continues to complete paving of the turn lanes and entrances on the westbound lanes. Paving work began Thursday in the eastbound direction for turn lanes and side streets. On Friday, May 18, paving work is expected to be performed in the entrance to North Bay Marina (westbound SR 54), as well as on the turn lanes and entrances in the eastbound direction. The entrance to the gas station and the shopping center with Mio Fratella’s are scheduled to be paved on Friday as well. Turn lane paving should be able to be accommodated with lane shifts on SR 54, while entrance work will have some impacts as only half of an entrance will be available at a time.
For this weekend, paving work is scheduled for Saturday, May 19. Work is expected to take place in turn lanes and side streets. We plan to avoid business entrances on Saturday. The one possible exception is the entrance to the shopping center with the Mio Fratella restaurant. We have agreed to only work until 11 am in that entrance. If the full entrance cannot be completed by 11 am Friday the 18th, we will finish the other half on Saturday morning before 11 am. Turn lane paving should be able to be accommodated with lane shifts on SR 54, while entrance work will have some impacts as only half of an entrance will be available at a time.
Looking to next week, the contractor should finish any remaining paving of the eastbound turn lanes, entrances and driveways off of Route 54 early in the week.
Concrete sidewalk, curb ramp and driveway work on the westbound lanes is nearing completion. Once the westbound side is completed, the concrete driveway work on the eastbound lanes will begin. Final pavement striping, electrical work, topsoiling, seeding, and clean-up work will continue through Wednesday or Thursday of next week.
Prior to the Memorial Day weekend the contractor will remove as many barrels and construction materials as possible. However, it is noted that not all signs and barrels will be removed, because the contractor will return after Memorial Day to complete some items. We don’t believe this work will require lane closures, but will provide notification if this is not the case.
DelDOT believes that all lanes and shoulders should be completed and in final configuration by May 23, 2012, thus allowing DelDOT to reach the goal of substantial completion by Memorial Day weekend.
Written on: May 15th, 2012 in Indian River Inlet Bridge
On Sunday, May 6, over 2,000 people joined DelDOT Secretary Shailen Bhatt to celebrate the history and the future of the Charles W. Cullen Bridge at the Indian River Inlet. The history of this location is one of several different bridges, an ever-changing environment, and the emergence of Delaware as one of the east coast’s premier resort locations.
In January of this year, Secretary Bhatt hosted Governor Markell, Senator Carper, and others as DelDOT opened the southbound side of the bridge to traffic. Since then, anticipation has been building for the time when we would officially dedicate the bridge and prepare to open it fully to vehicles and pedestrians. In the coming weeks before Memorial Day weekend, DelDOT employees will work with our contractor, George & Lynch Construction, to open the northbound side of the bridge, as well as the pedestrian walkway, which will usher in a new era in multi-modal transportation along the Delaware coast and eastern Sussex County.
For the first time since bridges have spanned the inlet, this crossing will not be subjected to the extreme tidal conditions that have affected, and sometimes destroyed, previous bridges. It is through the ingenuity and work of bridge builders Skanska Civil Southeast and their subcontractors, as well as our members of Team DelDOT, that this new span has risen and will stand for many years to come.
The members of the team that brought this bridge to fruition hailed not only from Delaware, but from around the world. Each of them came with one common goal: to build this bridge. Today I can say that they have achieved their goal. As each of them go on to other projects both within the United States and abroad, they all are leaving their mark right here in Delaware. Those who will cross this bridge each day will owe a great deal to the members of this team. They have given their best for the state of Delaware.
The ceremonies on Sunday were in part about re-dedicating the bridge structure to Charles W. Cullen. You may not readily know who he is, but the work that he did in the past allows for the Indian River Inlet to be the economic and tourism jewel it is today. Mr. Cullen was born in Georgetown in 1865 and practiced law as a member of the Delaware Bar Association. In 1930, he became a member of the State Highway Commission and sat on the Commission until 1940. Between 1938 and 1939, he served as Chairman of the Commission. Throughout his life, he advocated for the inlet to be permanently established at its current location. He also worked to promote the internal development of the Indian River Bay and the economic and recreational benefits it had to offer. It is because of his drive and vision that this area of Delaware has become the destination that it is today. It was because of his dedication to the Indian River and its inlet, the State Highway Commission, and the citizens of Delaware that the second bridge to span the inlet was dedicated in his name in 1940.
When they were building the original Charles W. Cullen Bridge, which was completed in 1940, other than the design, there were some pretty evident differences. The bridge of today had a price tag of $150 million; the 1940 bridge cost $165,900. The pedestrian walkway on the new span is 12-feet-wide, the 1940 bridge had a 4-foot-wide sidewalk. The dimensions of the new bridge have grown as the Delaware coast has grown.
All Delaware residents can now mark the symbolic end of the bridge construction project. Work on the demolition of the old bridge, along with improvements to restore and enhance various State Park and campground amenities, will be moving forward in the near future. Over the next few years, the Indian River Inlet area will be reborn into a new treasure of the Delaware coast.
For more information about the Charles W. Cullen Bridge at the Indian River Inlet, please visit irib.deldot.gov.
Written on: May 11th, 2012 in Route 54
It was a very productive week on the Route 54 construction project this past week, as crews were able to complete the final lift of asphalt, completing the mainline and several turn lanes.
On Sunday, May 6 and Monday May 7, crews paved both the eastbound and westbound lanes of the project including all through and bike lanes. On Tuesday, May 8, crews completely paved the center turn lane. This past week the road was temporarily striped in its final configuration.
As for today, May 10, crews are not paving as yesterday’s rain has left pavement wet. However, tomorrow, Friday, May 11, and early next week crews will be paving the westbound and eastbound turn lanes and side street tie-ins. This work will require some minimal lane closures on the side streets but two lanes of traffic will be maintained on Route 54 mainline.
Looking towards this weekend of May 12-13, DelDOT and business owners agreed that there will be no paving or other work this weekend. There will be no lane closures throughout the weekend.
Looking to next week, the contractor will continue to work on paving the eastbound turn lanes, entrances and driveways off of Route 54. This will require minimal lane closures on the side streets but two lanes of traffic will be maintained on Route 54 mainline.
If weather permits by Wednesday, May 16, the contractor will be installing the permanent lane striping.. Other striping work includes bike symbols, turn arrows, etc. and will take approximately three days to complete. Through late next week the contractor will continue finishing up concrete, sidewalk and curb work, as well as job site cleanup. As many signs and barrels and construction materials as possible will be removed. However, it is noted that not all signs and barrels will be removed, because the contractor will return after Memorial Day to complete punch list items. We don’t believe this work will require lane closures, but will provide notification if this is not the case.
DelDOT believes that all lanes and shoulders should be completed and in final configuration by May 23, 2012, thus allowing DelDOT to reach the goal of substantial completion by Memorial Day weekend.
For more information, please visit the project page.
Written on: May 4th, 2012 in Route 54
DelDOT wishes to note that there was an unexpected lane closure to allow for the installation of a pipe at the east end of the job. That lane closure should be pulled up by 2pm at the latest. DelDOT appreciates hearing from business owners about this issue, and will handle it accordingly with the contractor.
Today the contractor is working on some concrete work, as the weather is iffy with thunderstorms for today and tomorrow (so we didn’t want to start a full paving operation because if we do and it rains the whole batch of asphalt must be discarded). There will be no work occurring Saturday, May 5, and no lane closures are planned for Saturday, May 5.
Because of a favorable weather forecast, the contractor does plan to pave Sunday, May 6 as well as next week. There will be an early morning lane closure on Sunday to get the operation started. Otherwise there should be minimal lane closures on Sunday during the paving operation, as paving will occur in the area that is currently closed to traffic. Although the Sunday lane closure may cause some inconvenience, we need to work on as many available days possible to ensure that we can be near completion by Memorial Day weekend. We apologize for the late notice of this change, but activities and schedules are changing frequently because of the less than ideal weather we experienced this past week.
Some of you have expressed a lack of oversight with the contractor. There are inspectors on site at all times during the contractor’s operations. These individuals continually monitor the work to insure it is being done safely and in accordance with all applicable regulations. The inspectors maintain constant communication with the contractor’s foreman and relay updates to DelDOT on a daily basis.
DelDOT apologizes for the inconvenience to motorists, businesses and visitors to Route 54. We continue to work towards our goal of having the road completely open by Memorial Day weekend.
Written on: May 3rd, 2012 in Route 54
May 3, 2012 – Progress continued on the Route 54 construction project this past week, as crews were able to complete the second lift of asphalt.
We wanted to start the final lift of pavement this week as well, but intermittent showers made the operation tentative. We typically will not start paving the surface course if there is not an assurance of a full day’s paving, because we do not want to have to stop the operation. Every time we stop for the day a joint is required in the pavement which can become a maintenance issue, so we try to schedule the paving such that we minimize the number of joints in the final surface. We held off on the paving this week, but other work such as sidewalks, form work for driveways, topsoil, and site clearing continued to occur as weather permitted.
In looking ahead to the week of May 7, the ten-day forecast does contain scattered showers, but we are hopeful the contractor can move forward with placement of the final pavement layer. It is expected that with 4 to 5 full days of paving we should be at a point where all of the travel lanes are completed.
Crews will begin on the northside, and switch traffic as necessary as they move to pave the southside of the road. We believe we should be able to get a good week’s worth of work in the next seven to ten days, weather permitting. During the paving operation noted above we should be able to maintain two lanes of traffic the majority of the time.
Once the third lift of paving is complete on the main travel lanes, crews will work on paving turn lanes, development entrances and private driveway entrances off of Route 54.
During our weekly conference call two issues were noted:
We continue to make progress in an effort to reach our goal of substantially completing the project by Memorial Day weekend.
For more information, please visit the project page.
Delaware's Governor
State Agencies
Elected Officials
General Assembly
Delaware Courts
State Employees
Cities & Towns
Delaware State Code
State Regulations
Business First Steps
Phone Directory
Locations Directory
Public Meetings
Voting & Elections
Transparency
Delaware Marketplace
Tax Center
Personal Income Tax
Privacy Policy
Weather & Travel
Contact Us
Corporations
Franchise Tax
Gross Receipts Tax
Withholding Tax
Delaware Topics
Help Center
Mobile Apps
E-mail / Text Alerts
Social Media
Built by the Government Information Center
©MMXVIII Delaware.gov
