Lanes being changed at Route 1 Dover tolls

The Delaware Department of Transportation will be reconfiguring lanes at the two mainline toll plazas on Route 1 located at Dover and Biddles Corner to allow for a more streamlined flow through the E-ZPass express lanes.

The project involves signing and striping changes and no pavement modifications are needed.

Due to the increased usage of high speed E-ZPass over the years and nearly 70 percent of drivers using E-ZPass at the three toll plazas (Newark, Dover, and Biddles Corner), DelDOT will create two continuous highway-speed through lanes approaching and exiting.

The work will be taking place at the Dover Toll Plaza on or about Monday, April 15 (weather permitting) and will occur during night time off-peak hours. The work is expected to last two to three nights.

Motorists can expect lane closures between the hours of 9 p.m. until 5 a.m., and the periodic closure of the E-ZPass express lanes.

Currently, motorists approaching the toll plaza and destined for the E-ZPass express lanes must merge into the leftmost lane of Route 1, which then splits into two lanes nearing the toll plaza. Beyond the plaza, the motorists must then merge back to the right to continue on Route 1.

The traffic pattern shift at the Biddles Corner Toll Plaza will take place in late 2019 or early 2020.

The new lane configuration will allow both through lanes to access the E-ZPass express lanes, eliminating the merges.

Overhead guide signs approaching the toll plazas will be replaced to reflect the changes in lane assignments, and portable changeable message signs will be stationed at the approaches of each plaza to alert and remind motorists of the change in traffic pattern.



