MILTON, Del. - After five weeks, DelDOT says the partial closure of Round Pole Bridge Road in Milton will reopen on Wednesday, April 30.
Road work for a new housing subdivision, Twin Masts, was scheduled for March 24 through April 30. Parents that live on Round Pole Bridge Road told CoastTV the five week project is problematic and has altered their daily routines.
Parents say their kids were getting picked up at the end of their driveway. Since part of the road was closed for paving, the bus could not travel down that road because they are not able to turn around. This resulted in a new bus stop at the corner of Round Pole Bridge Road and Cave Neck Road.
This turned into a five to eight minute car ride to the bus stop or a one hour walk to and from the bus stop for the children.
14 people submitted a joint letter to DelDOT Director of Planning Pamela Steinbach, Sussex County Planning and Zoning Director Jamie Whitehouse and Sussex County Administrator Todd Lawson. Included on the email is Governor Matt Meyer, Representative Stell Parker Selby and Cape Henlopen School District Superintendent Robert Fulton.
The closed off gravel road is now a freshly paved road. People living nearby called the closure a nightmare.
"It was an inconvenience that didn't have to happen," said Janet Le Digabel, the woman who created the open letter.
Anthony Esposito, a dad and volunteer firefighter with the Lewes Fire Department, says the reopening of the road is bitter sweet.
"After just about five weeks of having to waste a lot of time, we're back in business and can go about our normal days," said Esposito
Esposito says he couldn't respond to fire calls if he were at home during the five week period. If he did, his five minute trip would turn in to 15 minutes.
"You're a first responder, not a 10th responder," he continued.
DiGabel's letter urged DelDOT and Sussex County Planning and Zoning to open one lane at a time rather than close the road that quickly connects them to route one.
"It was the developer's convenience to close the road or maybe perhaps so DelDOT would not have to hire flaggers or pay flaggers to keep half the road open so the residents could go in and out," Le Digabel shared.
CoastTV spoke with DelDOT's Director of Community Relation, C.R. McLeod, about the reopening.
"There still will be additional paving that's needed, but we're going to we're going to reopen it to local traffic so that that they can begin using the road again," McLeod explained.
Esposito says he hopes by speaking out that people in other communities won't have to "hurt" the way they did.
"DelDOT let them have their own way and now the residents of Round Pole had to pay for it," said Esposito.
Le Digabel says she's working to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone again.
"I will get Russ Huxtable and Jane Gruenebaum and the rest of the County Council and Planning and Zoning in sync with knowing that this should have been avoided," Le Digabel explained.
A sigh of relief as traffic flows once again on Round Pole Bridge Road in Milton, though what people called a problematic closure is far from over.