Construction of new Route 1 interchange to begin

DelDOT view of new Route 1 overpass planned for Little Heaven, which will eliminate a traffic signal on the expressway.
DelDOT view of new Route 1 overpass planned for Little Heaven, which will eliminate a traffic signal on the expressway.
Route 1 at Little Heaven (Photo: DelDOT traffic cam)
Route 1 at Little Heaven (Photo: DelDOT traffic cam)

LITTLE HEAVEN, DELAWARE (11/9/2015) Construction is about to begin on a new interchange along the busy Route 1 highway to the beach.

The start of work on the overpass at the Bowers Beach Road and Clapham Road intersections in Little Heaven will be marked with a ceremonial groundbreaking at 11 this morning with Gov. Jack Markell and other officials in attendance.

According to the Delaware Department of Transportation, the project will require constructing service roads parallel to Route 1.

Route 1 will be temporarily shifted onto the service roads while a new Route 1 alignment is constructed between them. This will include a bridge over Bowers Beach Road which will eventually eliminate the two existing signals on Route 1.

When finished, traffic will have access to Route 1 from several ramps connecting with the service roads, which will have three traffic signals.

Construction of the $40 million project, being done by A-Del Construction of Newark, is expected to take about three years.

DelDOT making big changes on Route 1