HARBESON, Del.- A portion of Route Five just north of Route Nine in Harbeson will be closed for two months as the Delaware Department of Transportation replaces a bridge structure and begins improvements to the busy intersection.
"Every year we generate a safety list; this project has been on the top of it for many years now," explains DelDOT Area Engineer George Pierce "So we have been working hard to get everything done. It's just this project took a little bit longer to get going because of all the constraints put on us due to the cemetery, wetlands, historic impacts."
DelDOT has detours in place, which are listed in full at the end of this article. But some business owners like Ernie Hyett worries how the months-long work could impact business. After Route Five reopens, a portion of Route Nine will close for three weeks, according to DelDOT.
"It's going to create a hardship not only for employees coming and going, for business and retail next door for our tenant," Hyett tells WRDE. "But also I think also create additional traffic issues with our people trying to get in and our of the parking lot and trying to circumnavigate Route Nine instead of the combination of Five and Nine."
Others like Lullaby Learning Center Sheri Gebbia hope the short term closure will bring long term improvements.
"We are excited that the work is starting," she says. "We are just excited that this might help some of our traffic problems."
DelDOT says the entire project will take nine months and involve lane shifts, but the Route Five closure should be done by March 21st, pending good weather.
DETOURS:
Motorists leaving Milton to travel southbound on Route 5/Harbeson Road will need to utilize Sand Hill Road westbound to Route 30/Gravel Hill Road southbound to eastbound US 9/Lewes-Georgetown Highway.
Traffic leaving Harbeson to travel northbound to Route 5/Harbeson Road will need to utilize US 9/Lewes-Georgetown Highway westbound to Route 30/Gravel Hill Road northbound, to eastbound Sand Hill Road.