While I support DelDOT's efforts to improve the transportation system, I am opposed to constructing an interchange at the intersection of Del.1 and Del.16. My main concern is safety. Residents, including me, must cross Del.1 to get to jobs, visit friends and shop. This crossing is especially hazardous during late spring, summer and early fall when beach-bound motorists increase the volume of traffic. During this period, traffic often presents a virtual wall to anyone wishing to cross the highway.
Farmers moving agricultural equipment have a particularly difficult task.
Our saving grace is the traffic light at the Del. 16 intersection, as it provides brief breaks in the flow. DelDOT's 1999 traffic study showed that vehicles traveling on Del.1 wait an average of 31 seconds at the Del. 16 intersection during off-peak months, and 72 seconds during the rest of the year. The benefits of the proposed interchange seem questionable since it would merely deliver travelers to the Lewes-Rehoboth area a minute earlier, while aggravating the congestion that already exists there. Also, the Del.1 and Del.16 interchange would need to use land in the Farmland Preservation Program. The state spent thousands of dollars to purchase the permanent development rights to this land to preserve it as open space.