Street projects planned in Milford

Two I95 exits will close over the weekend; Barley Mill Road will close Wednesday. Photo by Nico Smit/Unsplash

The City of Milford has several streets projects planned over the next few years, several of which will begin this month, according to City Engineer James Puddicombe. Some of the projects will be performed in partnership with DelDOT while others are city projects that are part of the Capital Improvement Plan.

“We are beginning work on Fisher Avenue as the first of several streets within a larger project which includes water, ADA and other improvements. We are trying to delay some streets which may impact school and bus traffic until after schools let out in the spring to minimize disruption. Our goal is to take some of the older water mains out of service and either replace them or transfer the services over to an existing newer main. These changes should help improve water quality within the city.”

Puddicombe stated that on Northeast Front Street, crews are finishing up repairs on water pipes and resurfacing will begin in the spring. This Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) project will add new bicycle and pedestrian facilities along Northeast Front Street between North Washington Street and Northeast 4^th Street.  The city intends to apply for future TAP projects through DelDOT for additional North Front Street improvements between Rehoboth Boulevard and Route 113. According to Matthew Lichtenstein, P.E., Central District Engineer for DelDOT, the resurfacing of Northeast Front Street is not the final condition of the road and there is still considerable work remaining. He explained that the city still had work to do on water mains below the street which would be followed by testing and disinfection plus the installation of services.

“Once the services are installed, they will then conduct final restoration,” Lichtenstein said. “The goal is to complete this before Christmas. DelDOT is being flexible on MOT timeframes to help ensure this goal can be met. DBF (Davis, Bowen & Friedel), the engineer for the town, is coordinating with the TAP designers to ensure final restoration on the waterline project complies with their expectations for work with the TAP limits.”

The city has completed the removal of 70 lead service lines along Southeast 2^nd Street and will be removing any lead water service found along Northeast Front Street as part of the ongoing construction work. We will also be replacing concrete asbestos water mains as part of the ongoing and future street projects. Most of these repairs will be covered by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. We are trying to maximize that funding as much as we can. We are also looking at other sources to cover the cost of projects that cannot be covered by ARPA funding.”

The Construction Plans for 2020 Utilities and Street Rehabilitation Projects presented to council also describes other projects currently planned for the city. The city plans to abandon a four-inch water main on Barker Street between South Walnut and South Washington Street which will require removing valves when feasible. If valves are in working order, crews will close them and remove the valve boxes. The area will be backfilled and patched per standard specifications. Once the repairs are completed, the road will be repaved. Other water projects including connecting fire hydrants to new water mains, abandoning water mains and adjusting curbs will be completed on King’s Highway, Plum Street, Foster Street, Mill Street and Northwest 5^th Street. These projects are intended to begin this month and will be completed sometime in the summer or fall of 2022.