Route 24 & Bay Farm Road

MILLSBORO, Del.- Some are calling Route 24 driving through chaos lately.

DelDOT is not trying to make it chaos at all as it works through John J. Williams Highway bit by bit.

Right now, three consecutive intersections from Route 5 to Mount Joy Road are being worked on to make them safer. Crosswalks and drainage improvements are just part of the puzzle.

Community Relations Director C.R. McLeod says there have been concerns raised about why the work is being done now.

"Why do we continue these projects during the summer when we usually try to back off and limit the construction, and the simple answer is we can’t afford to wait," McLeod said. "We need to get this work done as quickly as possible to make these intersections function better. Make it safer."

Bike lanes, turn lanes, and sidewalks are more parts being added to the intersections and that is due to the amount of people in the area growing.

Jennifer Merritt of Oak Orchard says there are huge delays for her trying to get something to eat during her lunch break.

"Travel for me is a half an hour just to go to from here down to Harris Teeter or Wawa so what would normally take me a half an hour to get to lunch takes me over an hour at the worst at this point," Merritt said.

Chase Murray of Dagsboro who is a relatively new driver says the traffic is a nightmare especially for a rookie like him on the roads.

"No matter what time of the day it is, in the morning it’s really backed up and trying to leave I’m taking a few minutes just to try and get through the intersection," Murray said. "It definitely makes me nervous just especially with people texting and driving I feel like traffic definitely does make me nervous."

Delays now at three main spots but DelDOT has more plans along the corridor this year.

While the intersections are in different phases of construction, this stretch of the project is expected to be completed by Spring of 2023.