Middletown Corridor Coalition's Andye Daley Writes:

Interview at 5:30 PM by

WHYY Delaware

Tonight in regards to

the Rt 301 Bypass Subject.

~*~

Please look for the story

at 5:30 on WHYY.

http://www.whyy.org/tv12/deltonight.html

Letter to Senator Blevins
from a member of Middletown Corridor Coalition:

Hello Patricia
I am writing you over the 301 project. Please do not approve the money for this project. The Fed funding that is approved for this project is only$21 Million. DELDOT says they are building a $704 Million road. If you add up the money on their sheets they need $741 Million.
Carolann Wicks admitted to the Bond Bill committee that this project will be in excess of $1BILLION. The cost to upgrade the existing road from the Summit Bridge to Peterson road is estimated at $61-$83 Million dollars per DELDOT. This is only8% or less of the of the project that is proposed.
The road is being upgraded from Peterson road to the Delaware State line already to accommodate the Westtown expansion project and Westtown is not even there. I have met with the Lt. Governor and it is also his belief the road that is there should be upgraded and DELDOT should work on the Route 1 ramps to 95 at the Christiana Mall.
If the road that is there is upgraded it would be better for everyone. The State would save a lot of money and the residentsof Middletown would also have a safe to travel on, not just the people going around Middletown. The FEDS have said that they would pay for upgrading the existing road also.
There is no harm in upgrading the road that is there. it should be done first to see if the new road is needed. There are many other areas of the State that could use road work. The tolls will not pay for this road. DELDOT has used many different figures for car counts and yearly increases and there is still no way the tolls can pay for the road.
DELDOT has brought in a spokes person who said the pay back of the bonds would be set up based on the projected revenues.The first 10 years there will be no revenue because the road will need to be completed in order to collect tolls. The next 5 to 10 years the interest will not even be getting paid back so the principal of the bonds will be going up as State is making large payments.
Thank You for your time
Sincerly, John McTaggart

WNJ coverage today:

Feds approve new U.S. 301Middletown toll road can now proceed
By SUMMER HARLOW • The News Journal • May 7, 2008

The state's plan to build a $704 million U.S. 301 bypass near Middletown cleared another hurdle when the Federal Highway Administration signed off on the project last week. The federal "record of decision" allows the Delaware Department of Transportation to move forward with land acquisitions, final design and construction, which is supposed to begin in 2011.

In the works since the 1960s, the new U.S. 301 is slated to be a limited-access toll highway heading north from the Maryland state line, west of Middletown, to Del. 1 north of the Biddles Corner toll plaza. Plans also include a controversial toll "spur" running north to a new interchange at Del. 15/Del. 896 south of the Summit Bridge.
"This is great news for the people of New Castle County," DelDOT Secretary Carolann Wicks said. "A new U.S. 301 will alleviate congestion and solve safety problems for a growing part of our state."
Created in opposition to DelDOT's plan, the Middletown Corridor Coalition argues the tolls won't generate nearly enough revenue to pay back the bonds the state is planning to sell to pay for the new road.
At last week's transportation hearing before the state's Bond Bill committee, coalition chairwoman Andye Daley testified that the state's plans were "fiscally unsound." She argued that instead of a spur road, DelDOT should upgrade about a mile of Del. 896 to four lanes.
Wicks said she understood Daley's concerns, but that improving Del. 896 would not address safety issues. "That wasn't proven to be the best solution," Wicks said, adding that federal approval meant DelDOT's plans for a toll road are financially workable.