Happy Friday,
It was a busy week for the website and newsletter as the fiscal year ends in Delaware and the General Assembly wades through a stack of bills.
Much of the news we post, including the fixation of some legislators on social justice issues with unintended consequences, does not come with an immediate impact.
Traffic does.
Last weekend – a time when we sometimes expand our business coverage – an alert was posted on the closing of a portion of Route 72 around the Fox Run Shopping Center near Route 40 in Bear. It’s part of a lengthy and aggravating two-year-long construction project.
Later in the week, we followed up with news of the upcoming closing of Harmony Road, which comes at the same time as bridge work has closed adjacent Red Mill Road in the Newark area. The result will be heavy traffic and delays in getting to work in a Christiana-Stanton employment hub that includes the hospital, banks, and other job sites.
The result was a near-record number of visits on the website and a host of Facebook shares and grumpy comments. We saw the typical rants on alleged corruption and vague threats to leave the state. Reality check – expect to pay more elsewhere. Gas taxes are a bargain in the state.
It is clear that DelDOT needs to somehow expand its outreach efforts in an era of hit and miss media coverage when it comes to smaller projects. Many people are unpleasantly surprised, even when detour signs emerge.
(DelDOT does have the usual array of social media tools and apps, although it can hard to wade through the sheer number of updates).
This summer, we are facing the balancing act of a state stretching out road projects to minimize gridlock while conserving dollars in dealing with a half-century-old interstate and feeder roads designed for farm or light traffic.
Many of us would prefer two-shift fast-track projects. Sadly, it would be hard to find workers and bids would blow past available budgets.
For now, all we can do is allow a little extra time and check our tempers before getting into our vehicles.
Enjoy your weekend.
If this newsletter was passed along, liked what you read, sign up here to get your own daily Email and get our observations on the business scene. Have news or an opinion? Type away or attach your story. Unlike some newsletters, messages to this address do not go to an unmonitored In Box. – Doug and Sharon Rainey
