Driving through the center of Middletown on Main Street (Route 299) can be congested and slow now, but motorists will soon face another obstacle.
The railroad crossing on West Main Street will be closed for repairs starting at 5 a.m. July 31 with the project estimated to last 11 days until Aug. 10. The crossing will be closed 24 hours a day during construction.
According to the Delaware Department of Transportation, the project includes railroad crossing safety improvements at Main Street between Peterson Road and Wood Street.
The Delmarva Central Railroad Company and subcontractors will replace the existing railroad crossing surface, install new railroad warning signals, modify sidewalks and pave the approaches to the crossing.
Detours will be posted.
Detour for drivers traveling west on Main Street (Route 299) toward Broad Street
The detour for through traffic traveling west on Main Street toward Broad Street will be to turn right (north) on Broad and travel past the Middletown Square shopping center with Planet Fitness and Mid-County Lanes, past Cedar Lane Road to the stoplight, then turn left (south) on Middletown-Warwick Road and back toward the stores along Middletown-Warwick Road and West Main Street like Food Lion or Main Street Liquors west of the railroad tracks.
Traffic heading west on Main Street from the Appoquinimink Library area will be able to cross Broad Street to get to West Main Street businesses, but before the railroad tracks, drivers will have to turn left onto South Scott Street or right onto Wood Street.
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Detour for drivers who want to travel east from Middletown-Warwick Road
For drivers traveling east wanting to go to through downtown Middletown, the suggested detour is to stay north on Middletown-Warwick Road past the intersection of West Main Street/Bunker Hill Road, go past Target and Burger King and turn right (south) on Broad Street to get back to Main Street.
Traffic from Middletown-Warwick Road turning east on Main Street will be able to continue along Main Street past Bruster’s Ice Cream, Manhattan Bagel and the Valero gas station to near the railroad tracks but then will have to turn right onto Haveg Road or left onto Peterson Road.
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How will Main Street closure in Middletown affect businesses?
Dan Menefee is owner of Great Cars used car lot, which has been in the same spot on West Main Street at Wood Street near the railroad tracks since 1989.
“I haven’t lost a lot of sleep over it, but it will affect our business,” Menefee said. “I know when they did the streetscape project, it shut us down for a couple weeks. It was tough.”
He’s hoping technology will make up for any loss of walk-in traffic. The railroad track closing coincides with the launch of a redesigned Great Cars website.
“It’s going to be awesome. We’re going to have 40 to 60 photos of each car, almost like a virtual tour,” Menefee said. “If people can’t get to us in person, they can see our entire inventory online.”
Menefee said his business will survive the temporary disruption. Customers on the east side of the tracks can still travel on Main Street to Great Cars at Wood Street, then take Wood Street to Lake Street to Broad Street, he said. From the west, customers can take the detour on Middletown-Warwick Road to Broad Street.
“We have a lot of local customers who have traded with us over the years who say they won’t go anywhere else,” he said. “We’re a small, family business and we’ve built a good reputation through the years. We treat our customers like family.”
The Middletown website shows the Delaware Department of Transportation notice about the project and the detour route.
“The downtown businesses will be open during this closure and parking on Main Street will be open,” the town's website reported.
The DART bus stop for bus route 302 on Green Street east of Broad Street will be closed during the project. Other nearby stops are on the north and south sides of East Main Street near Catherine Street.
Middletown public information officer Kristen Krenzer referred other questions about the project to the Delaware Department of Transportation, which has posted this phone number for more information: 302-760-2080.
Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate, development and business news. Reach him at [email protected].