DelDOT officials discuss roads, development

PLUS, TIS, TID, TOA, MOU, PTA. What does it all mean?

They are all Delaware Department of Transportation acronyms used in the planning and development coordination process.

The public and members of the Sussex Preservation Coalition were educated on how the process works during a March 12 meeting at Lewes library.

Seven DelDOT officials provided an in-depth look at planning studies; the capital transportation program; transportation improvement districts, including the Henlopen TID in the Cape Region; the Office of State Planning Coordination Preliminary Land Use Service process; how traffic information is analyzed; entrance and construction plans; and an overview of the development coordination process.

Taking part in the presentation were: Pam Steinebach, director of planning; Leah Kacanda, senior project planner; Steve Bayer, planning supervisor; Todd Sammons, assistant director of development coordination process; Sireen Muhtaseb, traffic-impact study group manager; Wendy Polasko, subdivision engineer; and Sarah Coakley, principal planner, statewide and regional systems planning.

$1.4 billion in Sussex

Steinebach said DelDOT has plans to spend $1.4 billion in Sussex County on road improvements between 2025 and 2030.

Some of the big-ticket items include two more grade-separated interchanges at the Cave Neck Road-Route 1 and Minos Conaway Road-Route 1 intersections. Other grade-separated interchanges are also planned along the Route 113 corridor, including the Route 9-404 intersection in Georgetown.

Major projects underway include the Route 16-Route 1 grade-separated interchange, the north Georgetown bypass and Park Avenue-Bedford Street-Arrow Safety upgrades in Georgetown. 

Also underway is the Plantation Road project, which includes lane improvements and a roundabout.

Cool Spring updated TIS

Although no site-specific projects were discussed, during a question-and-answer period, Sammons responded to a question about the status of the Cool Spring Crossing mixed-use proposal. He said DelDOT had required a supplemental traffic-impact study by the developer to obtain more information. The original study was approved by DelDOT in 2023.

He said the study should be made available to the public one to two months after DelDOT comments are reviewed by the developer and the study is accepted by Sussex County officials.

Public hearings on the four applications for the project cannot be scheduled until after the study is completed and approved.

He also said the proposed Northstar development is included in the Henlopen Transportation Improvement District. Sammons said the developer is not required to conduct a traffic-impact study but will be required to provide funding to the district based on the number of residential units and square footage of commercial development.

The same information required in a study has already been completed by DelDOT staff in the transportation improvement district.

Fees are $5,555 per single-family unit, $5,833 per unit for multifamily projects with one or two floors and $3,221 per multifamily unit for projects with three or more floors.

Commercial fees are based on the number of daily trips a project will generate; they range from $3.25 per square foot to $5.52 per square foot.

Cool Spring Crossing

The Cool Spring Crossing proposal covers a 637-acre parcel with frontage along Route 9 as well Log Cabin Road, Hudson Road and Cool Spring Road between Lewes and Harbeson. Included in the plans are 727 single-family homes, 911 townhomes, 300 condominiums, 451,000 square feet of commercial space and 275 acres of open space.

The proposed Freeman Companies project would be built over 10 to 15 years.

The developer has filed an amendment to the county’s future land-use map to change the property from low-density (two units per acre) to Coastal Area where mixed-use developments are permitted. Other applications include a conditional use for multifamily housing and a rezoning from AR-1 to medium-density residential.

Northstar community

Northstar, located on 433 acres between Route 9 and Beaver Dam Road across from the Vineyards near Lewes, would include 758 single-family home lots, 94 multifamily affordable units and 96,000 square feet of commercial space along Route 9.

Applications include a rezoning to C-3, heavy-commercial district, for nearly 13 acres, a rezoning to medium-density residential for 8 acres and a conditional use for multifamily units.

About the CTP

Steinebach said in order for projects to get completed, they must be included in the six-year capital transportation program.

She said there are short-, mid- and long-range projects. She said projects that end up in the CTP are larger projects covering multiple years with a lot of impact. The CTP is reviewed and possibly updated every two years. All work has to be approved by the Council on Transportation before the CTP is presented to the governor to be included in the budget.

Among the six new Sussex County road improvement projects in the capital transportation program are four in the Cape Region:

Hudson Road between Route 9 and Route 1, $1 million; Route 9 between Old Vine Road and Dairy Farm Road, $1 million; Redden Road corridor from Route 13 to Route 113, $2 million; and Route 24 between Love Creek Bridge and Indian Mission Road, $3 million.

Sussex has land-use authority

When asked if the level of service at the Five Points intersection was failing, attendees were told the Old Orchard Road realignment project with a new intersection at Savannah Road in Lewes and the Minos Conaway Road-Route 1 grade-separated interchange project are being done to relieve pressure on the Five Points intersection. The traffic impact will be analyzed as projects are completed.

Sammons was asked how long traffic-impact studies are valid. He said there is a shelf life for the studies based on several factors, including seasonal traffic counts. “The developer might have to update their traffic-impact study,” he said.

Sammons was also asked what authority DelDOT has to approve or not approve a development plan based on substantial traffic impact.

“Land use is done at the county level. We are a support agency and provide information to them for land-use decisions,” he said.

Upcoming: DelDOT studies, traffic-impact study process, transportation improvement districts and the Preliminary Land Use Service process.