In advance of massive I-95 construction in Wilmington, $4 million for new signs, guardrails

Karl Baker | The News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Repairs to close parts of I-95 through Wilmington for two years Proposed repairs to I-95 through Wilmington will close portions of the corridor from March 2020 to June 2022.

Before the start of what will become Wilmington's two years of traffic-snarling highway construction, the Delaware Department of Transportation will begin a $4.1 million project to replace overhead highway signs through the city.

The Delaware Department of Transportation awarded the contract on Nov. 20 to New Jersey's J. Fletcher Creamer and Son – the only company to bid.

The project also will replace certain guardrails on I-95. End components became the subject of safety complaints on highways throughout the country, according to DelDOT.

The company that produced the guardrail products also "was found by a court in Texas to have made false or fraudulent statements to federal transportation officials," DelDOT's chief engineer Robert McCleary said in 2014 in a letter to road construction contractors.

The highway sign and guardrail project will begin in January and is estimated to be complete within 292 days.

Following its completion, DelDOT in 2021 expects to embark on a massive reconstruction of I-95's bridges, ramps and pavement through Wilmington.

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At times, half the critical Northeast Corridor link will close, forcing both directions of vehicles into a single side.

Because of its sheer size — extending from I-495 to the Brandywine bridge — the project likely will become Delaware's biggest congestion-causing construction ever. Its effects could extend throughout the city and, during the toughest commuting times, up and down the regional corridor.

"We go into this project knowing we're going to have major impacts on traffic," DelDOT bridge engineer Jason Hastings said last year.

DelDOT has estimated the cost of the project at $200 million.

Contact Karl Baker at kbaker@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2329. Follow him on Twitter @kbaker6.

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