Charles Polk Road is closed at the corner of John Clark Road due to construction of the tie-in road from Charles Polk Road to the West Dover Connector. It will be closed until July 2017. (Delaware State News/Dave Chambers)
CAMDEN — Roads throughout the town will be getting a makeover for the next few weeks.
A $1.2 million pavement and rehabilitation project, which has already begun, is expected to be completed by the end of October.
The construction site includes Camden-Wyoming Avenue and other locations along Webbs Lane and Kings Highway in Dover.
Required sidewalk work that complies with Americans with Disabilities Act is nearly complete as well.
“The pavement was failing and there were some manhole and drainage inlet tops that required repairs,” said Gregory Layton, community relations officer for the Delaware Department of Transportation.
“The project will improve the ride quality, reducing wear and tear on vehicles. In regards to Camden-Wyoming Avenue, resident complaints generated a review that resulted in that location being added to the project.”
In order to complete the work, intermittent lane and shoulder restrictions will occur nightly from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m., Sunday evening until Friday morning, pending weather.
But there have been some complaints by residents regarding work being done during the night.
“I have two daughters and they started drilling the week school started,” said Susan Mateja, who lives along Camden-Wyoming Avenue in Camden.
“At one point they were out jack-hammering from 12 a.m. to 3 a.m. We had to move them to a quieter place in the house, so everyone could get as much sleep as possible.”
Mr. Layton said they circulated a survey around the community to notify residents they were considering night work.
Ms. Mateja said she never received the survey.
“I spoke to my neighbors and they said the same thing as well,” Ms. Mateja said. “I pick up the mail every day and don’t remember any notifications about the work that was being done.
“My husband said back in the spring he received something from the town about working being done, but it didn’t say when it would start. I’m not sure if the two were the same, or something different.”
Mr. Layton said they received some complaints about the issue.
“The construction team tries to be as conscientious as possible with this work, but ultimately we do have to make some noise to get things done,” he said.
Ms. Mateja said she understands that the work has to be done, but feels it should be done during the day.
“It’s a major process that will help improve our roads,” Ms. Mateja said. “It’s great for our town and needs to be done. But I think it could have been done during the day.”
Mr. Layton said the work is most effectively completed at night.
“When the Camden-Wyoming location started, we were able to complete some work during the day due to the school summer break reducing traffic,” Mr. Layton said.
“But with school back in session the contractor has to switch completely to night work.”
Ms. Mateja said she’s happy that the noise has stopped.
“I think the improvements are great,” Ms. Mateja said. “I just hope maybe next time there will be notifications of some kind to prepare us.
“We’re doing better now, but I just feel bad for any residents that may have to deal with the noise, as they move to the next section.”
Mr. Layton said workers are currently wrapping up concrete work on the Camden-Wyoming Avenue location.
Concrete work is starting on the Webbs Lane location. Milling and paving is set to begin on Camden-Wyoming Avenue soon.
There will be three locations affected by construction.
The first location, which is Camden-Wyoming Avenue from Railroad Avenue to U.S 13, will be divided into three sections:
Section 1 will be from Railroad Avenue to Caesar Rodney Avenue.
Section 2 is from Caesar Rodney Avenue to the West Street/Camden-Wyoming Fire Department and section 3 is from West Street/Camden-Wyoming Fire Department to U.S. 13.
Sidewalk work is nearly done in this area with milling and paving scheduled to begin soon.
The second location is Webbs Lane from U.S. 13 to State Street. Sidewalk and island work began has begun and paving and milling is set to follow.
The third location is northeast Kings Highway from Del. 8 to U.S. 13.
Also, as part of the ongoing West Dover Connector Project, Charles Polk Road at the intersection of John Clark Road in Dover will be closed to reconstruct the new tie-in from Charles Polk Road to West Dover Connector.
The scheduled closure began last Saturday and won’t end until July 2017.
Traffic will be diverted around the closure location by using David Hall Road and Daniel Rodney Drive.
The West Dover Connector will cost about $32 million,” Mr. Layton said. This is a whole new three and a half mile road.
After completion, the West Dover Connector will provide direct connections for multiple residential areas to one another as well as to commercial and medical facilities.
Non-motorized recreational connections will be created between multiple Kent County and City of Dover Parks and Recreation facilities located within the project area.