A large crowd was in attendance at Monday night’s DelDOT public workshop at the Seaford Middle School. The purpose of the meeting was to provide information and get feedback from the public on the potential replacement of the Old Furnace Road bridge and the installation of a traffic light or compact roundabout (circle) at the intersection of Old Furnace Road and Middleford Road outside of Seaford.
The meeting is expected to be the first of many as work on whatever projects DelDOT decides to do wouldn’t begin before 2028. “Nothing is happening anytime soon. We have not made any decisions yet,” said Jason Hastings, DelDOT Chief of Bridges and Structures.
WORKSHOP- Representatives from DelDOT and design engineer Whitman, Requardt and Associates, LLP. talk to Seaford area residents prior to Monday’s public workshop concerning the Old Furnace Road bridge and the intersection of Old Furnace Road and Middleford Road. Photo by Mike McClure
Members of the DelDOT team joined by representatives from design engineer Whitman, Requardt and Associates, LLP. According to Bill Geschrei, project manager for Whitman, Requardt and Associate, the bridge is over 100 years old and initial plans include replacing it as well as possibly making changes at the Old Furnace-Middleford intersection. If both projects are done they would be done at the same time to save the state some money.
Hastings reported that the bridge ranked in the top three percent (48th of 1,800) on DelDOT’s list and is scheduled to be replaced. The intersection is in the top one percent (202nd of 2,100) due to concerns over safety.
With the construction comes a lengthy detour. Hastings said the hope is to shorten construction duration and minimize the impact on property owners in the area.
Tim Porter, bridge engineer with Whitman, Requardt and Associates, said the bridge, built in 1919, is 56 feet long and is narrow. It is inspected every two years with detailed inspections taking place in 2008 and 2022. It has been determined that the bridge has experienced significant deterioration and is “nearing its useful service life.” Also, it can not be widened due to its age.
Emily Dolderer, traffic engineer with Whitman, Requardt and Associates, addressed the intersection. She said there are safety concerns due to no roadside protection and the northbound bike lane is being used as a turn lane. Also the shoulders are narrow and some motorists are not complying with the recently added all-way stop at the intersection.
According to Dolderer, there were 36 crashes at the intersection from 2017-2022 (which includes before the all-way stop was implemented) and 43 crashes at the bridge, including 21 sideswipes due to its narrowness. The project will forecast future traffic, with several proposed developments in the area, in addition to current traffic.
Val Kowalski, highway engineer with Whitman, Requardt and Associates, presented a pair of possible options for the intersection: a signal with free right hand turns or a 100 foot roundabout. If a signal is added there would be a left hand turn lane after crossing the bridge (going toward Seaford) as well as a bike lane. Middleford Road would also have a 200 foot long right turn lane to turn on to Old Furnace Road, to go toward the bridge. Kowalski said this option would reduce delay times for traffic.
The compact roundabout option would include a 100 foot outside diameter with a 20 foot wide circular roadway. The bike lanes would disappear on the roundabout but would be on the roadway. She said this option would make a smaller footprint than the circle and would eliminate delays.
According to Porter, there would be a detour during the eight months of construction with access to houses in the area. The roundabout would require a different detour but no additional time.
Hastings said the goal DelDOT is looking for is to take feedback to determine the scope of the project, finalize bridge alternatives, and limit impact to wetlands and neighboring properties. He then opened up the meeting to public questions and comments.
Public comment- “We never had any traffic delays until 2020 (when the all way stop was put in),” area resident Tom McGean said at the start of the public comment session.
One resident asked why the project will take eight months. Hastings said a lot goes into planning a project, depending on the bridge structure, including environmental issues and utilities.
Another resident asked if the bridge can be saved or if the new bridge is a done deal. Hastings said the bridge is in fair to poor condition, but is not unsafe (other than its width). “We don’t want to wait until there’s an emergency before we start,” he added.
A resident questioned why trucks aren’t rerouted from the bridge. Hastings said a load test was done on it 14 years ago and the bridge can carry loads. As for the traffic issue, he said businesses and farms in the area need service, that it is not a residential road.
Another resident proposed adding a truck route and accused DelDOT of looking for other ways to get traffic (and sand) to the beach. “We don’t want to be somebody else’s short cut,” the resident said, adding that the bridge is in an environmentally sensitive area.
Hastings said all the bridges that are replaced are in environmentally sensitive areas and that there will be an extensive environmental control plan with the project.
In answer to a question of when work will begin, Hastings said it will be 2028 at the earliest. He also said the eight month time period for work is a worst case scenario. “We’ll do everything we can to make it faster,” said Hastings.
Area resident Eric Callaway voiced a concern about losing the Middleford Deli during construction because traffic will be rerouted. “We should support the local people that work in the local store,” he said.
Hastings said that while the state doesn’t provide reimbursement for lost business due to projects, they will try to reduce the impact and put up signage toward open businesses.
Another resident asked if the bridge can be replaced and the intersection returned to the way it was before it became an all-way stop.
Kowalski said a traffic study was done in 2018 and indicated safety concerns at the two way stop as well as concerns over traffic volume. She said it can not be turned back to a two-way stop due to traffic volumes.
A resident suggested restricting tractor trailers if a roundabout is put in and questioned some of the roads proposed for the detour, which he said are unlined and are narrow.
Resident’s perspective- Mark Allen owns two properties near the intersection which he rents out. Both would likely be purchased by the state to make way for the traffic light or roundabout, if DelDOT moves forward with one of those options. Allen also lives down the road from the intersection.
Allen says DelDOT has done no substantial maintenance to the bridge over the last 20 years. He added that the bridge once had a 15 ton load limit, now unlimited traffic and tonnage go over it.
“There’s not a problem with the bridge,” said Allen. “The history of that bridge needs to be preserved. We’ve lost so many landmarks in the area of Seaford and nobody seems to care.”
As for the intersection, he said there was originally one stop sign, then another one was added for traffic coming from Route 13, now there are three. “They refuse to admit it (making it an all-way stop) was a bad move.”
