Lewes-area road closure upsets neighbors
When employees at McQueen Classics arrived for work following Thanksgiving weekend, they were surprised to find Nassau Commons Boulevard was closed in front of their classic car sales and repair shop near Route 9.
A vineyard and dozens of offices and shops rely on access from Nassau Commons Boulevard, a private road, and they were all left scrambling by the closure.
“It was an absolute disaster,” said Chris Neithardt, director of sales for McQueen Classics. “Now we’re looking at four months with this crazy BS that they didn’t tell anyone about.”
Neithardt said since the closing, drivers have been speeding through the parking lot trying to figure out a shortcut around the construction. There is none.
“Somebody’s going to get hurt,” he said.
A construction crew began clearing trees and business signs along the road Dec. 2.
The road work is among the infrastructure improvements needed before work can proceed on the next phase of The Vineyards residential and commercial development, located west of the road.
Nassau Commons Boulevard is being widened, and a traffic signal will be installed at the road’s intersection with Route 9. Plans call for the developer to turn the road and signal over to the Delaware Department of Transportation when work is done to meet state standards, said C.R. McLeod, director of community relations for DelDOT.
Contractor A-Del Construction hand-delivered a letter to neighbors outlining the scope of the project Dec. 2, after some had complained that morning, Neithardt said. The letter, dated Nov. 18, concluded: “Thank you in advance for your cooperation.”
Tom Moore Jr., project manager for A-Del Construction, said Dec. 5 it was the developer’s responsibility to notify the neighbors.
“The owner was providing notice to everybody,” Moore said.
He said he drafted the letter and gave it to Fernmoor Homes Project Manager Joshua Sabetta.
“It was given to them to distribute, and I was told that they did,” Moore said.
The letter was the same one distributed Dec. 5, to neighbors after complaints came pouring in.
Steve Kessler, Fernmoor Homes general counsel, apologized Dec. 5, saying the company intended to inform neighbors.
“We instructed people in the field to go around,” Kessler said. “It looks like the ball has dropped, and we are not happy. That is not how we do business.”
Businesses were told Dec. 2 they had to quickly move their cars from the row of parking spaces near the road as work to remove the trees was going to begin, Neithardt said.
Lewes Fire Chief Gregory Bennett said Dec. 5 that he could find no email or letter notifying the fire department of the closure. He was first informed by another member of the department who saw the road blocked soon after the warning signs were posted by the contractor.
Closure of the road – a common route to and from Lewes Fire Station No. 2 on Janice Road near the north end of Nassau Commons Boulevard – means a slower response time to some locations, Bennett said.
“We’re pretty resilient and we’re able to adapt quickly," he said.
Peggy Raley, owner of Nassau Valley Vineyards off Nassau Commons Boulevard, was surprised when construction equipment arrived outside the vineyard the day before Thanksgiving and excavation began.
“Any of us who have businesses in here are having trouble with the road,” Raley said Dec. 4. “You’re closing down a road to businesses before Christmas with no notification.”
She does not fault A-Del Construction for the lack of notification prior to the start of work.
“Those guys are in the middle,” Raley said. “They were contracted to do a job. That’s not their responsibility.”
She was, however, upset with Fernmoor Homes and DelDOT for not communicating with neighbors.
“You can be decent and have a conversation with people,” she said.
McLeod said the state is not involved in the Nassau Commons Boulevard project. He had not yet heard of the neighbors’ concerns about the work, but noted there was no requirement that the state or public be notified of the start of work on the private road.
“It’s a completely developer-funded project,” McLeod said. “We approved it, but it's up to them.”
Nassau Commons Boulevard, which was once a dirt road, is now a narrow, paved private road connecting Route 9 with Janice Road. It is a common shortcut between Routes 1 and 9. To the east of the road is a row of shops and offices. Nassau Valley Vineyards is on the opposite side, behind Redner’s Fresh Market.
Construction on the road is expected to continue for three months, but the schedule could be affected by the weather, according to A-Del’s letter.
The work begun this week on Nassau Commons Boulevard includes installation of storm drains and a total reconstruction of the road, according to the A-Del letter.
The road will be closed from Route 9 to about 500 feet north of Vineyard Lane. The rest of the road is open only to access businesses on Nassau Commons Boulevard. Delivery trucks for Redner’s will have to access the north end of Vineyard Lane through the side parking lot to reach the loading docks while the road is closed.
Once the road work and signal are complete, construction of condominiums and apartments in Phases 5 and 6, the last of the project, will begin, Kessler said. That will bring the total number of residential units in the project to 924. The last phases, which will take several years to complete, include 376 units. Some planned single-family and carriage houses from earlier phases are also not yet built, said Kessler, who did not immediately know the number of those units.
Site work has begun for continued construction of residential units, and the road work and traffic signal should be completed before traffic increases as the weather improves. Despite the frustration many feel this week, when completed, the infrastructure work should greatly improve safety in the area, Kessler said.
“We can’t apologize enough,” he said.
