The construction of a new roundabout and related improvements at Delaware's "Malfunction Junction" is slated to begin the first week of March, officials from the state's Department of Transportation (DelDOT) told a recent meeting of the Five Points Working Group in the town of Lewes on Cape Henlopen.
The work will eventually cause a six-month closure of the intersection at Plantation Road, Beaver Dam Road, and the short U.S. Highway 9 connector road, as well as a 30-day closure of Robinsonville Road at Plantation Road.
The project has been under way for a few months, the Cape Gazette reported Feb. 10, starting with utility relocation and demolition of the former Bests' Ace Hardware building along Delaware Route 1 in Lewes.
March's early roadway work will happen off the alignment of existing roads, as Mumford & Miller Concrete in Middletown is set to build a road through the former Ace Hardware property to the existing traffic signal at Malfunction Junction. Off-alignment work also will occur in the large green space next to the Henlopen Landing community, where a four-leg, multi-lane roundabout will be installed.
The future closure of Malfunction Junction will allow for crews to extend the U.S. 9 connector to the new roundabout.
"It is needed for us to get in and get out of there as fast as possible," Bryan Behrens, a DelDOT group engineer, told the Gazette. "This is the heart of the project."
He said his agency is working with the contractor to ensure the closure does not occur during the summer.
The entire project is expected to be complete by fall 2024.
Several Roads to See Re-Engineering
When it is finished and open, the 90-degree turn along Plantation Road near Lowe's Home Improvement will become more gradual as it nears the new roundabout. The extended U.S. 9 access road will have two dedicated left-turn lanes onto westbound U.S. 9, with a merge lane for right turns onto the eastbound highway toward Five Points.
DelDOT's plans call for Salt Marsh Boulevard, the access to the Henlopen Landing community, to no longer intersect Beaver Dam Road at Church Street; rather, it will have its own leg off the roundabout. During the first phase of construction, Salt Marsh Boulevard will close, and the Church Street connection to Beaver Dam Road will be eliminated.
In addition, 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.
The transportation department noted that U.S. 9 also will be upgraded during the construction effort. Vehicles turning from Del. 1 westbound will have two dedicated left-turn lanes at the Malfunction Junction light, rather than the current single lane. The goal is to store more vehicles at the signals to alleviate backups into the Five Points intersection, which often blocks southbound Del. 1 traffic.
The new road through the old hardware store property will have a dedicated right-turn lane as well, plus 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 explained. "It's not just the two lanes on Plantation Road, but the multi-lane roundabout and that double left that's going to come off [U.S.] 9 and into that connector. It's really going to help flush out the Five Points intersection. That's the big benefit, in addition to the obvious safety improvements."
At the recent meeting in Lewes, DelDOT officials were asked why the U.S. 9 intersection is not being converted to a roundabout.
"The volumes are just too high," said Shante Hastings, DelDOT's 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 most of the construction, except for temporary lane closures during off-peak hours. Behrens said DelDOT and the contractor are still working on the project's details, so a specific timeline is not yet available.
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