I-95 in DE Questions (Dover, Bear: sales, construction, sales tax)

[bluecountry]

I was driving on I-95 in DE this week...it appeared the road is doing much better than it was in the summer.

1) How far along is progress on the 5th lane...is it just about done?
-Should I expect delays in the future..on the weekend...or nothing like in the spring/summer?

2) Why is it the exit in Christinia is so backed up? It seems traffic always picks up, drops off depending on which direction you go as pass by...is this a major suburban route?
-Where are people commuting to?

Thanks.

[katreese]

Originally Posted by bluecountry

2) Why is it the exit in Christinia is so backed up? It seems traffic always picks up, drops off depending on which direction you go as pass by...is this a major suburban route?
-Where are people commuting to?

I would like to know the answer to this too. I drove through there today - on a Saturday afternoon in October - and it was backed up! It mystifies me. Is that the way to Bear - I hear that that is a rapidly expanding area - ?

[SXMGirl]

The exit at Christiana is backed up because of the Christiana Mall. You can also get to Bear from that exit. Most people travel to Bear from I-95 to Route 1.

[katreese]

That makes sense - I'm just surprised that that is such a major shopping draw, I guess. Maybe it's because of the no sales tax!

[ltdontcare]

I heard Ray Charles designed 95 through Delaware and Helen Keller designed Christiana Mall's entrance and exit roads. It could be just a rumor...

[kat196]

We live in Dover and have to use that exit as well. A lot of towns in southern Delaware use that exit -- Bear, Middletown, Odessa, Townsend, Smyrna, Dover, Camden and of course, Rehoboth, Lewes and Dewey. It's really the only good access to Route 1 South. I have tried to use Route 13 but it has too many lights and takes too long. That exit really is ridiculous..........

[SXMGirl]

Sometimes it is easier to go down to the next exit, Route 273 towards Dover. While you have a stoplight before getting onto Route 1 (if I remember correctly), the backup isn't as crazy and you can get in a left lane and pass those getting off at the Mall exit.

[kat196]

What a great idea! Thanks -- I'll try it next time...

[ron del]

The area was poorly designed, no doubt. Apparently they had no concept that this volume of traffic would come through there during rush hour on the week days and at certain peak travel times on the weekends. There are alternate routes to take to get around the back up. The 273 exit one is good, and that strategy works for the other daily jams. Check a map or use google map to by pass this zone. Sometimes you get caught in traffic jams from the large numbers of people who are using the alternate roads. The highway department talks about fixing it, but I don't see it happening any time soon.

[phlydude]

5th lane is open and I have yet to experience a non-accident related delay in my daily commuting through the area.

The exit for Del Rt 1 is a bad design. It is a clover-leaf with a zig-zag merge at the base with a cattle-chute on the left and a tight 2-lane area that serves as the zig-zag. Traffic slows to a crawl as people try to merge onto the feeder lane to Rt 1 as people come up from the old "Metroform" area into the I-95 N on-ramp.

Hopefully, they can get funding to start construction of the fly-over ramps that are needed to feed the mall and Rt 1...looks like they have proactively built man-made dirt burms/ramp supports for future expansion.