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The anticipated construction schedule and associated lane closures for work on the Route 26 Widening Project during the next two weeks.

Written on: June 30th, 2014 in Route 26

Monday June 30, 2014 through Thursday July 3, 2014

 Begin minor grading activities at Omar Road and Route 26. No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

 Begin excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #333 located at Windmill Drive and Route 26. No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

 Continue reconstruction of the Central Avenue/Route 26 intersection and water main relocation work between Woodland Avenue and Central Avenue. Motorists should anticipate eastbound or westbound lane closures on Route 26 between West Avenue and Woodland Ave with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m. as well as lane closures on Central Avenue at Route 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m.

 Continue work on the installation of the new drainage system between Old Mill Road and Clubhouse Road. Motorists should anticipate the eastbound or westbound lane of Route 26 to be closed between Old Mill Road and Wind Mill Drive with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m.

 Continue excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #332 located east of Route 17 (Roxana Road) during the day. No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

 Continue reconstruction of the Old Mill Road/Route 26 intersection. Motorists should anticipate lane closures at Old Mill Road and Route 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m.

 Monday July 7, 2014 through Friday July 11, 2014

 Continue minor grading activities at Omar Road and Route 26. No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

 Continue excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #333 located at Windmill Drive and Route 26. No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

 Continue reconstruction of the Central Avenue/Route 26 intersection and water main relocation work between Woodland Avenue and Central Avenue.   Motorists should anticipate eastbound or westbound lane closures on Route 26 between West Avenue and Woodland Ave with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m. as well as lane closures on Central Avenue at Route 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m. 

Continue work on the installation of the new drainage system between Old Mill Road and Windmill Drive. Motorists should anticipate the eastbound or westbound lane of Route 26 to be closed between Old Mill Road and Wind Mill Drive with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m. 

Continue excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #332 located east of Route 17 (Roxana Road) during the day. No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

Route 26 Construction Project – Update

Written on: June 24th, 2014 in Route 26

On Thursday, June 26, 2014 and Friday, June 27, 2014, one lane of Powell Farm Road south of Route 26 will be closed for construction activities.  George & Lynch, Inc. of Dover, Delaware will be performing roadway widening activities along Powell Farm Road, south of Route 26.

 Motorists should anticipate the northbound or southbound lane of Powell Farm Road to be closed daily beginning at 9:00 a.m. with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation.  Motorists are reminded that Route 26 will remain open at all times during these construction activities.  All construction activities will be completed by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, June 27, 2014.

Below is an outline of the anticipated construction schedule and associated lane closures for work on the SR 26 Widening Project during the next two weeks.

Written on: June 20th, 2014 in Route 26

Monday June 23, 2014 through Friday June 27, 2014

Continue reconstruction of the Central Avenue/Route 26 intersection.  Motorists should anticipate eastbound or westbound lane closures on Route 26 between West Avenue and Woodland Ave with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m. as well as lane closures on Central Avenue at Route 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m.

Continue reconstruction of the Old Mill Road/Route 26 intersection.  Motorists should anticipate   lane closures at Old Mill Road and Route 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m.

Continue work on the installation of the new drainage system between Cedar Drive and Old School Lane.  Motorists should anticipate the eastbound or westbound lane of Route 26 between Old Mill Road and Old School Lane to be closed with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m.

Continue excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #332 located east of Route 17 (Roxana Road) during the day.  No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

Continue excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #331 located west of Irons Lane.  No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

Begin water main relocation work between Woodland Avenue and Central Avenue.  Motorist should anticipate shoulder closures along Route 26 from Woodland Avenue to Central Avenue between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m. 

Monday June 30, 2014 through Thursday July 3, 2014

Continue water main relocation work between Woodland Avenue and Central Avenue.  Motorist should anticipate shoulder closures along Route 26 from Woodland Avenue to Central Avenue between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m. 

Continue reconstruction of the Old Mill Road/Route 26 intersection. Motorists should anticipate lane closures at Old Mill Road and Route 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m.

Continue work on the installation of the new drainage system between Old Mill Road and Clubhouse Road.  Motorists should anticipate the eastbound or westbound lane of Route 26 to be closed between Old Mill Road and Clubhouse Road with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m.

Continue reconstruction of the Central Avenue/Route 26 intersection.  Motorists should anticipate eastbound or westbound lane closures on Route26 between West Avenue and Woodland Ave with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m. as well as lane closures on Central Avenue at Route 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 7:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m.

Continue excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #332 located east of Route 17 (Roxana Road) during the day.  No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

Continue excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #331 located west of Irons Lane.  No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

US Route 301 Archaeology Update

Written on: June 17th, 2014 in Archaeology Updates, US301

The Report on the Analysis of Flotation-recovered and Hand-collected Archeobotanical Remains from the Elkins Sites (7NC-G-174),

New Castle County, Delaware. Phase III Archaeological Data Recovery by Justine McKnight, Archeobotanical Consultant to Hunter Research, Inc. has yielded some very interesting results which contribute significantly to the archaeological record in Delaware.

 INTRODUCTION

Phase III archaeological data recovery at the Elkins Sites (7NC-G-174) in New Castle County, Delaware, was conducted by Hunter Research, Inc. as part of the Delaware Department of Transportation’s U.S. Route 301 Development Project.   The Elkins Site complex comprises the Elkins A site, the Elkins Burial site and the Elkins B site – three discrete but closely tied archaeological components with historic occupations focused during the eighteenth century.  Elkins A describes a domestic site occupied from ca. 1740 to ca. 1780 that overlies a prehistoric occupation.  The Elkins Burial component describes a small cemetery plot containing five individuals preliminarily dated to the late 17^th or early 18th century.  The Elkins B component is a briefly occupied historic site in use from the mid-1720’s through the early 1730’s.  A prehistoric component has also been identified at Elkins B.

Research goals of the data recovery effort include exploration of the relationship between the three site components, definition of cultural occupancy and ethnicity, delineation of landscape and exploration of site economies.  Excavated features yielded carbonized plant macro-remains which relate directly to these research themes.  Importantly, archeobotanical data from the Elkins Sites contribute to the regional archeobotanical dataset. 

 SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS

Some particularly notable features were excavated at the Elkins sites:  The domestic cellar at Elkins B produced the richest deposits of macro-botanical remains (99.6 percent of the total carbon recovered through flotation at Elkins B).  Recovered remains included concentrations of field crops (wheat, wheat/oat, maize, pea, bean), fruits (peach, cherry, grape), weedy growth (sedge), and morning glory (Ipomoea sp.) which may have been employed as a medicinal or ornamental plant.  Wood charcoal (oaks and hickory) recovered from the Elkins B cellar likely represents the remains of fuel wood.  Each of these is a high-calorie wood that would have been locally abundant (Graves 1919).    The Wolf Pit feature identified at Elkins A presents a regionally unique feature type.  Analysis of one flotation sample and five hand-collected carbon samples were scrutinized from this feature.  Archeobotanical remains from the Wolf Pit were limited to wood charcoal.  Pine was the most abundant wood type identified, followed by hickory.  Unidentifiable deciduous species were also recorded.   While not definitive, the recovery of these taxa from the pit may reveal details of trap construction.

Archeobotanical remains from the Elkins sites derive from 16 flotation samples and 34 hand collected samples.  A variety of economically important cultivated and wild plant resources were documented within the assemblage.   A rigorous program of soil flotation (approximately 651 liters) and hand-collected carbon samples produced historically significant plant macro-fossils, including wood charcoal, a range of field crops (including bean, wheat, maize and peas), cultivated fruit pits and seeds, limited evidence of medicinal and ornamental plants, along with vegetal miscellany.  The results from the large domestic cellar excavated at Elkins B were particularly informative, providing strong evidence for a working farmstead where the cultivation of field crops and orchards were important pursuits.

Charred wheat kernels from Elkins B Cellar hole.

US Route 301 Archaeology Update

Written on: June 17th, 2014 in Archaeology Updates, US301

Identification and AMS Radiocarbon Dating of Charcoal and Botanic Samples From the Elkins B Site (7NC-G-174) in New Castle County, Delaware

By Peter Kovacik with assistance from R. A. Varney of Paleo Research Institute, Golden, Colorado for Hunter Research, Inc.

 This report provides carbon 14 dates for five prehistoric pits features from the Elkins B site excavated by Hunter Research, Inc.

 Context 514 dates to the Middle Archaic Period

Context 518 dates to the Woodland I – Middle Woodland Period

Context 520 dates to the end of the Woodland I – Middle Woodland Period

Context 536 dates to the end of the Woodland II Period – Early Contact Period

Context 528 dates from circa AD 1730 to AD 1810

Of note:  Context 528 which dates to circa 1730 to 1810 was located approximately 40 feet west of the Elkins B cellar hole which dates from the mid-1720’s through the early 1730’s falls within the early part of the range but contained no historic artifacts and in fact exhibited all of the characteristics of a prehistoric storage pit.  Preliminary examination of the material culture has suggested the occupants of Elkins B may have included an assimilated Native American.  This site contains very few subsurface features, so perhaps if a Native American was living there a combination of European and traditional Native American traits were employed at this site.  Below is a table with the raw and calibrated data from the five pit features.   

RADIOCARBON RESULTS FOR SAMPLES FROM

THE ELKINS B SITE (7NC-G-174) IN NEW CASTLE COUNTY, DELAWARE

 * Reported in radiocarbon years at 1 standard deviation measurement precision (68.2%),

corrected for δ¹³C.

 ** δ¹³C values are measured by AMS during the ¹⁴C measurement.  The AMS-δ¹³C values

are used for the ¹⁴C calculation and should not be used for dietary or

paleoenvironmental interpretations.

Route 26 Scheduled Lane Closures

Written on: June 12th, 2014 in Route 26

Below is an outline of the anticipated construction schedule and associated lane closures for work on the Route 26 Widening Project during the next two weeks.

 Monday June 16, 2014 through Friday June 20, 2014

 Continue reconstruction of the Central Avenue/Route 26 intersection.  Motorists should anticipate eastbound or westbound lane closures on Route 26 between West Avenue and Woodland Avenue with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 07:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. as well as lane closures on Central Avenue at Route 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 07:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

 Continue reconstruction of the Old Mill Road/Route 26 intersection.  Motorists should anticipate   lane closures at Old Mill Road and Route 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 07:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

Continue work on the installation of the new drainage system between Cedar Drive and Old School Lane.  Motorists should anticipate the eastbound or westbound lane of Route 26 between Old Mill Road and Old School Lane to be closed with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 07:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

 Continue excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #332 located east of Route 17 (Roxana Road) during the day.  No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

 Continue excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #331 located west of Irons Lane.  No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

 Monday June 23, 2014 through Friday June 27, 2014

 Continue reconstruction of the Old Mill Road/Route 26 intersection. Motorists should anticipate lane closures at Old Mill Road and Route 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 07:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

 Continue work on the installation of the new drainage system between Grants Avenue and Woodland Avenue.  Motorists should anticipate the eastbound or westbound lane of Route 26 between Old Mill Road and Woodland Avenue to be closed with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 07:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

 Continue excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #332 located east of Route17 (Roxana Road) during the day.  No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

Continue excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #331 located west of Irons Lane.  No lane closures are anticipated for this work.

Route 26 Anticipated Construction Schedule and Associated Lane Closures for Work During the Next Two Weeks.

Written on: June 5th, 2014 in Route 26

 Monday June 9, 2014 through Friday June 13, 2014

 Begin reconstruction of the Central Avenue/SR 26 intersection.  Motorists should anticipate eastbound or westbound lane closures on SR 26 between West Avenue and Woodland Ave with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 07:00PM and 6:00AM as well as lane closures on Central Avenue at SR 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 07:00PM and 6:00AM.

Continue reconstruction of the Old Mill Road/SR 26 intersection.  Motorists should anticipate   lane closures on Old Mill Road at SR 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 07:00PM and 6:00AM.

Continue work on the installation of the new drainage system between Old Mill Road and Old School Lane.  Motorists should anticipate the eastbound or westbound lane of SR 26 between Old Mill Road and Old School Lane to be closed with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 07:00PM and 6:00AM.

Monday June 16, 2014 through Friday June 20, 2014

Continue reconstruction of the Central Avenue/ SR 26 intersection.  Motorists should anticipate eastbound or westbound lane closures on SR 26 between West Avenue and Woodland Ave with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 07:00PM and 6:00AM as well as lane closures on Central Avenue at SR 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 07:00PM and 6:00AM.

Continue reconstruction of the Old Mill Road/SR 26 intersection. Motorists should anticipate lane closures on Old Mill Road at SR 26 with traffic alternating through the intersection utilizing a flagging operation by law enforcement and construction personnel between 07:00PM and 6:00AM.

Continue work on the installation of the new drainage system between Grants Avenue and Woodland Avenue.  Motorists should anticipate the eastbound or westbound lane of SR 26 between Old Mill Road and Woodland Avenue to be closed with traffic alternating through the work zone utilizing a flagging operation between 07:00PM and 6:00AM.

Continue excavation of Storm Water Management Pond #332 located east of SR 17 (Roxana Road).  No lane closures are anticipated for this work.