The I-95 and Route 896 interchange is looking pretty barren these days after swaths of trees were recently cut down.
The trees, from Iron Hill to surrounding retention ponds, have come down as construction workers make way for an estimated $165 million project that will reconfigure the interchange, adding flyovers and a pedestrian/bicyclist pathway that will connect Old Baltimore Pike to Welsh Tract Road.
It’s the next major project for New Castle County “with the near completion of the I-95 Restore the Corridor Project,” said C.R. McLeod, a Delaware Department of Transportation spokesperson. “From weave areas, to slowing and stopped traffic on 95, especially southbound approaching the interchange, drivers who have navigated through this interchange are aware of the difficulties it presents, especially during peak travel times.”
The goal, McLeod said, is to make the area “safer and easier” for travelers.
Restore the Corridor ending:Good news: I-95 ‘Restore the Corridor’ restoration project on schedule to end next year
How will this help traffic?
The project, which is scheduled to run until late 2025, is expected to reduce congestion on I-95 and Route 896 and improve safety in that area that saw approximately one crash every other day between February 2017 to February 2020.
Route 896 crash:South College Avenue near Newark reopened Thursday afternoon after morning crash closed it
“When this interchange was originally built, the area south of Newark on Route 896 was primarily rural and we’ve seen that change dramatically in the nearly 60 years since this was built,” McLeod said. “We need a modern interchange that can not only better manage the flow of traffic through this area, but also reduces the chances of crashes occurring due to slowing and stopped traffic or vehicles needing to cross lanes to reach their through direction of travel.”
Presently, motorists exiting south I-95 toward Glasgow must weave their vehicles onto south 896 where other drivers are either continuing south on the state road or merging to the right so they can get on the ramp that will take them to north I-95.
Two flyovers will help reduce the congestion created there.
One flyover will take motorists exiting I-95 south over 896, curve above the interstate and then exit them onto south lanes of 896 a bit past where the interchange currently is.
The other flyover will take motorists heading south on 896 from the Newark area over the interstate, curve left over 896 and exit them onto I-95 north.
How will this help pedestrians and bicyclists?
Attached to a portion of this flyover will be a 10-foot-wide pathway for pedestrians and cyclists that will go over the interstate, connecting Welsh Tract Road to Old Baltimore Pike. A concrete barrier will separate the nearly mile-long pathway from the roadway.
Neither of these flyovers is expected to cut into Iron Hill Park itself, but there will be some impact on the slope’s northeastern section where a portion of the bridge heading to north I-95 will rest on a hill shelf. DelDOT also said a portion of the slope will need to be cut where the flyover from south I-95 connects to south 896 also known as South College Avenue.
Both flyovers are expected to eliminate the weaving and merging that occurs on this portion of South College Avenue, where a 2016 DelDOT report found an average of more than 1,200 motorists use the ramps during peak morning and afternoon hours.
What else does this project aim to address?
Other improvements the contractor is slated to do include widening both directions of I-95 for new ramp acceleration and deceleration lanes, adding a second lane to the ramp connecting north 896 to north I-95, and creating a third thru-lane for south 896 that will go from the interchange, through Old Baltimore Pike and end just before the intersection with Glasgow High School.
“The department is committed to making multimodal improvements wherever we can with our projects and this interchange as it has existed has not provided a safe way to move through this area without a car,” McLeod said, pointing to the new pathway for pedestrians and bikers as an example.
How is Delaware paying for it?
Nearly a third — $56.8 million — of the estimated $165 million for the project is coming from the Infrastructure For Rebuilding America grant which is helping build and repair critical pieces of freight and highway transportation roadways.
Because the main construction contract has not been awarded, the estimated cost of the project could change. DelDOT hopes to award the project before the end of the year.
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.
