Get ready for traffic: $279M multiyear project on I-95, Rt. 896 near Newark starts Sunday
It's heeeeere.
The I-95 and Route 896 Interchange Project is scheduled to start this Sunday, May 7, with a series of lane and ramp closures as work crews set up and prepare for what is expected to be about two years of construction for the area south of Newark.
"It's a much-needed project that we need to get started on," Delaware Department of Transportation Secretary Nicole Majeski said Monday.
The project will upgrade the interchange, making it easier to navigate the flow of traffic through this area and help reduce the chances of crashes occurring that are caused by motorists slowing and stopping as they cross lanes in order to get to their destinations. The area saw approximately two crashes every three days between January 2019 to December 2021 — that was 746 crashes, including one fatality.
While many of the closures will be overnight, DelDOT said there will be some extended closures during the construction expected to run through late 2025.
I-95 north exit ramps onto Route 896 will remain closed for the duration of the construction.
Route 896 ramps onto I-95 south will close from summer 2024 to spring 2025.
The portion of Route 72 that travels under I-95 will go down to one lane in each direction from this summer to mid-2024.
There will also be shoulder and lane closures on I-95 and Routes 896 and 72.
"It will be a phased approach," Majeski said. "They'll roll it out and as that happens we will be communicating to the public."
To be better updated on the project's progress, Majeski suggested people visit 95896improvements.com to sign up for email and text alerts during the construction.
Other improvements the project will address
Presently, motorists exiting south I-95 toward Glasgow must weave their vehicles onto Route 896 south where other drivers are either continuing south on the state road or merging to the right so they can get on the ramp that will take them to I-95 north.
Two flyovers will help reduce the congestion created there.
One flyover will take motorists exiting I-95 south over Route 896, curve above the interstate and then exit them onto south lanes of Route 896 a bit past where the interchange currently is.
The other flyover will take motorists heading south on Route 896 from the Newark area over the interstate, curve left over Route 896 and exit them onto I-95 north.
Attached to a portion of this flyover will be a 10-foot-wide pathway for pedestrians and cyclists that will go over the interstate, connecting Welsh Tract Road to Old Baltimore Pike. A concrete barrier will separate the nearly milelong pathway from the roadway.
When the $279 million project is finished, some of what people will notice in the interchange are:
Six new bridges
Widening of I-95 north and south for ramp acceleration and deceleration lanes
Widening of four bridges
Enhanced roadway lighting
Other improvements the contractor, Wagman Heavy Civil of York, Pennsylvania, is slated to do include adding a second lane to the ramp connecting Route 896 north to I-95 north and creating a third through lane for Route 896 south that will go from the interchange, through Old Baltimore Pike and end just before the intersection with Glasgow High School.
Where are the trees?
To prepare for the work, several trees were cut down last fall from Iron Hill and surrounding retention ponds. While most of the dead trees have remained there, DelDOT representative Mark Buckalew said the lumber will be removed as contractors begin work in those sections.
Road work ahead: Ready for a multiyear traffic project in the Newark area? It's already started
After the project's completion, DelDOT representative Breanna Kovach said the agency will try to replace as many trees as it possibly can.
"You won't see that until the very end of the project," Kovach said. "For the trees that we can't reforest within this interchange area, we do actually have an off-site mitigation area as well for both tree reforestation as well as wetland mitigation in the contract."
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware I-95/Route 896 traffic construction project to start Sunday
