Malfunction Junction work to begin in March

Construction of a new roundabout and related improvements at Malfunction Junction are slated to begin the first week of March. 

The work will eventually necessitate a six-month closure of the intersection at Plantation Road, Beaver Dam and the short Route 9 connector road, as well as a 30-day closure of Robinsonville Road at Plantation Road. 

Delaware Department of Transportation officials provided an update on the project at the Jan. 30 meeting of the Five Points Working Group. 

The project has been underway for a few months, starting with utility relocation and demolition of the former Bests’ Ace Hardware building along Route 1. Early roadway work will happen off alignment of existing roads, as contractor Mumford and Miller will build a road through the former Ace property to the existing traffic signal at Malfunction Junction. Off-alignment work will also occur in the large green space adjacent to the Henlopen Landing community, where the four-leg, multi-lane roundabout will be built. The future six-month closure of Malfunction Junction will allow for crews to extend the Route 9 connector to the new roundabout.

“It is needed for us to get in and get out of there as fast as possible,” said Bryan Behrens, DelDOT group engineer. “This is the heart of the project.” 

He said DelDOT is working with the contractor to ensure the closure does not occur during the summer.

The entire project is expected to be complete by spring 2025. 

When complete, the 90-degree turn along Plantation Road near Lowe’s will become more gradual as it nears the new roundabout. The extended Route 9 access road will have two dedicated left-turn lanes onto westbound Route 9, with a dedicated merge lane for right turns onto eastbound Route 9 toward Five Points. 

Salt Marsh Boulevard, the access to the Henlopen Landing community, will no longer intersect Beaver Dam Road at Church Street. Instead, it will have its own leg off the roundabout. Salt Marsh Boulevard will be closed during the first phase of construction. The Church Street connection to Beaver Dam Road will also be eliminated.  

Going southbound out of the roundabout, Plantation Road will be dualized past Shady Road, where one of the two lanes will become a dedicated right-turn lane for traffic using Robinsonville Road. 

Route 9 will also see improvements. Vehicles turning from Route 1 westbound will have two dedicated left-turn lanes at the Malfunction Junction light (there is currently one). The goal is to store more vehicles to alleviate backups into the Five Points intersection, which often block southbound Route 1 traffic. 

The new road through the former Ace Hardware property will have a dedicated right-turn lane, a through lane to the roundabout and a hybrid lane for left turns and through traffic. 

“The biggest benefit we’re trying to achieve here is to help move the traffic along Plantation Road,” Behrens said. “It’s not just the two lanes on Plantation Road, but it’s the multi-lane roundabout and that double left that’s going to come off Route 9 and into that connector. It’s really going to help flush out the Five Points intersection. That’s the real big benefit in addition to the obvious safety improvements.”

DelDOT officials were asked why the Route 9 intersection is not being converted to a roundabout.

“The volumes are just too high,” said Shante Hastings, deputy director and chief engineer. “It would probably have to be a three- or four-lane roundabout.”

Two lanes of traffic will be maintained along Plantation Road during a majority of construction, except for temporary lane closures during off-peak hours. Behrens said DelDOT and the contractor are still working on the fine details of the project, so a specific timeline isn’t available yet. 

For more information about the project, go to tinyurl.com/26kmr8zc.