LEWES, Del. - A new look for New Road. Between Old Orchard Road and Canary Creek Lane lies a brand new roundabout. The roundabout is the entrance of a new development in Lewes. But more road work continues in the first town.
DelDOT closed part of New Road earlier this month to install the brand new roundabout. The agency also built new curbs, sidewalks, and drains for the new Tower Hill homes, who's developer paid for the roundabout.
Some drivers across the city say this new road work will not help with congestion.
"There is going to be close to 300 new homes, with two cars each, they're going to be using and putting traffic into that spot and it's going to be worse than it ever was before,” said Tracy Mulveny, Lewes resident.
But others say the roundabout is a good thing.
"I think it is a great idea. It's a good way to get the traffic flowing and slowing down, just make sure they are not near an entrance or an exit to another road because then you're going to have people running into the back of people and people cutting in front of people,” said Sue Moore, another Lewes resident.
This comes as DelDOT works on a $1.6 million project on Savannah Road. The agency says it is repaving part of the road, adding new sidewalks, curbs, drainage, and doing water main work.
On Savannah, work is being done from Quaker Road to the Lewes Georgetown trail crossing. Some people told WRDE once school lets out they don't even bother taking Savannah because it gets too backed up.
"However New Road especially has become increasingly challenging even before construction as more and more people were using that to avoid traffic and congestion on Savannah,” said Mulveny.
Moore says traffic is a mess but "We've got to accommodate all the new people coming here. We're building homes for them inviting them here, we need to adjust to that. We are working here at the studio in the town of Lewes, and we want the traffic and we want the people to move here, it keeps our economy up."
Although work on the roundabout is complete, the developer of Tower Hill tells WRDE there is no completion date just yet.