The interchange of Interstate 95 and Route 896 is being reconstructed. (DelDOT photo)
This post has been updated.
A massive project starts in May to reconfigure the interchange between Interstate 95 and Route 896 just south of Newark. Here’s the latest schedule:
Sunday, May 7: Multi-lane overnight closure on southbound I-95 between Route 72 and the Route 896 interchange, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Monday, May 8 and Tuesday, May 9:
Single overnight right lane closure on southbound I-95 in the vicinity of the Route 896 interchange, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Overnight ramp closure, southbound I-95 to northbound Route 896 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. A detour will be posted.
Single lane overnight closure on northbound Route 896 between Old Baltimore Pike and Welsh Tract Road.
Tuesday, May 9: Overnight lane shift/shoulder closure on the ramps from Route 896 to southbound I-95, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. The ramps will remain open to traffic.
Wednesday, May 10: Overnight single left lane closure on southbound I-95 starting south of the Welcome Center to the Route 896 interchange, from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Thursday, May 11: Daytime single left lane closure on northbound I-95 starting at the Route 89 6 interchange to south of the Welcome Center, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
What the work entails on I-95, plus routes 896 and 72
The work is expected to end in 2025, with updates posted on its own website.
The focus is to decrease accidents by improving traffic flow, according to the Delaware Department of Transportation.
Breanna Kovach of DelDOT opened an informational meeting Wednesday with a discussion of “crash clusters” (areas with a lot of accidents) and “weaving” (areas where drivers are changing lanes). Bottom line: 746 crashes in the area from January 2019 to December 2021.
Before this project began, DelDOT had altered 896 and Route I-95 to dedicate stretches of some lanes for incoming traffic, said Steven Penoza, a vice president of Century Engineering. Those moves have helped, but not enough.
The project will reconfigure existing ramps, widen I-95 northbound and southbound for a mile for new acceleration and deceleration lanes, widen three mainline I-95 bridges for new ramps, construct six new bridges, build 10 retaining walls and rehabilitate existing bridges.
The interchange between Interstate 95 and Route 896 is being reconstructed with two flyover ramps. (DelDOT)
New bridges will handle new flyover ramps that will split traffic and reduce the need to change lanes. The flyover ramps will go from 896 south to I-95 north and I-95 south to 896 south.
The project also will include high-friction surfaces on same ramps, new highways signs, lighting, intelligent traffic management systems and a shared-use path (10 feet wide, for pedestrians and bicyclists) on 896, crossing I-95.
As part of the work, South Chapel Street (also known as Route 72) will go from two lanes each direction to one for a year as it goes under I-95, and officials are expecting a lot of congestion there.
Overnight closures and lane and shoulder closures will occur on I-95, 896 and 72.
And there will be long-term closures of various ramps.
Current issues on Interstate 95 and Route 896. (DelDOT)
The northbound I-95 exit to Route 896 will be closed for most of the work.
This summer, traffic northbound and southbound on I-95 will shift to the median, to give construction crew room to work. Those shifts – while maintaining the same number of lanes – will last a year or more.
The work on 896 will reach from Glasgow High School in the south – widening to three lanes – to Welsh Tract Road in the north.
“This job will be hit hard,” said Mark Buckalew, of DelDOT, saying work might go on around the clock, six or seven days a week. “We want to finish this project as quickly as possible.”
