Cecil County Executive Alan McCarthy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Jennifer Cohan, secretary of the Delaware Department of Transportation that will provide the county with more than $1.2 million to deal with damage to Cecil County’s roads resulting from the new Route 301 segment in Delaware.
The toll road resulted in heavy trucks evading the tolls on local roads in the county.
The executed memorandum of understanding provides for DelDOT to make a one-time payment of $1,228,018.30 to Cecil County for these repairs. While some drainage work on Wilson Street will occur this Fall/Winter, the paving work will most likely not be initiated until spring 2020.
According to a release, Cecil County has determined that Edgar Price Road will remain closed through the winter. During this closure, access will be permitted for emergency vehicles as well as agricultural equipment. The county will develop a plan for the repair/restoration of Edgar Price Road that will be vetted as part of the fiscal 2021 Capital Improvement Program process.
McCarthy said he will continue to propose more long-term solutions for this matter such as the establishment of an expanded commuter plan that can cut the current toll.
DelDOT spokesman C.R. McLeod said DelDOT has no plans to change the current toll structure. The release from McCarthy’s office said DelDOT “is amenable to taking a closer look at in several years after there is a clearer picture of revenues.
DelDOT also informed Cecil County that equipment will be installed within a year that will have the capability to photograph and cite truck traffic violating restrictions on Strawberry Lane prior to entering Wilson Street in Cecil County.
McCarthy has stated that “I am greatly concerned by the detrimental impact that the opening of U.S. Route 301 has had on the county’s local road network and the effect toll diversion has had on the village of Warwick and the town of Cecilton, the regional community, and our agricultural operations in the vicinity. I pledge to work tirelessly to find a solution that is mutually beneficial to Cecil County, our residents, and to DelDOT. The present situation is untenable and we must all work together in a collaborative manner to ensure that our citizens have their quality of life restored.”
