U.S. 301 approved by Fed. Highway Administration
By Shauna McVey
Staff Reporter
shauna@middletowntranscript.com

            The Federal Highway Administration reached its record of decision for the U.S. 301 Green Route plus Spur project on April 30, allowing the Delaware Department of Transportation to move forward with its plans and clearing the way for several Middletown residents to move forward with their lives.
            Darrel Cole, DelDOT director of public relations, said there is enough money from DelDOT’s Fiscal Year 2008 budget to begin early acquisition of properties and begin the final design process for the project. He said less than two dozen homes will be acquired in the early acquisition process.
            “I believe we’re going to be able to purchase some of the early acquisitions right now,” he said. “It’s important we are able to move on for these folks so they can move on with their lives. They know we’ve been working really hard, and they’re tired of their lives being in limbo.”
            Jim Westhoff, DelDOT community relations officer, said DelDOT’s real estate representatives are meeting with property owners to appraise homes and acquire properties.
            Ken Warner, who lives on Summit Bridge Road just north of Armstrong Corner Road, said he’s happy the ROD was issued so he and his family can finally move.
            His house has been in his wife’s family for more than 50 years, and the increase in traffic along the existing U.S. 301 since the 1990s has become a burden on them.
            Warner said they’ve been waiting for DelDOT to make to a decision since the early 90s, but nothing has come to fruition until now.
            “We’re happy we finally have a decision,” he said. “Living where we live, we’d have to pay somebody to take this house off our hands. All we want right now is an appraisal and we have all the time we want before the construction [of the new U.S. 301] is started.”
            Warner said working with DelDOT has been an encouraging process so far, although some homeowners affected by the project are unhappy that their house is being taken by eminent domain.
            “I want to dispel the rumor mill that this process is out to get the homeowner. That’s not the way it’s coming across,” he said. “Because it is eminent and they are taking your home, they’re aware of that and they know the more they can do to assist you, the better off you are and the less hassle there is for everybody. The nice thing about it is it’s a guaranteed sale with no hassle.”
            Cindy Mirando, who has lived on Armstrong Corner Road for 20 years with her husband Mike, said it’s emotional to think about moving out of her home, but she wants to make the best of it.
            “My husband is a craftsman and he’s done everything down to the woodwork in the house,” she said. “You have such a sense of loss, you want to move on. You walk around every day and think, ‘I’m losing all of this.’ It’s not a good place to be.”           
            Cindy said all three of her children were raised in the house and her youngest is in the ninth grade in the Appoquinimink School District.
            She said at this point, the fight isn’t about keeping the property, it’s about how much they’ll get to move and she won’t be free of worry until the acquisition of her house is finalized.
            “We’d rather look forward to the new,” Cindy said, “but you don’t even know what that new is because you don’t have any idea what they’re going to give you for your house. You definitely don’t want to sign a contract with anybody until you go to the table of agreement [with DelDOT].”
            Cindy said if she looks at the situation objectively and with no emotion, she knows the Green Route and Spur Road will alleviate the danger of the existing U.S. 301. She won’t miss waking up at night from the many accidents that have happened near her house.
            “I definitely want to look forward to something new and make it more of an adventure than a disaster,” she said. “It’s just been a long process. We’re ready to put it behind us and move onto something else.”
            Westhoff said the ROD, which is a formal approval of the project, is the first for DelDOT since the 1980s, when parts of Del. 1 were approved.
            “We haven’t built projects of this scale that required a record of decision since then,” he said. “This is a huge deal. We started working on this project initially 40 years ago.”
            Westhoff said the FHWA has been involved in the project since its inception, and has made sure DelDOT followed all the processes and had enough public input.
            “They’ve been a part of the process every step of the way,” he said.
            DelDOT is waiting for the General Assembly to vote on the Bond Bill, which will fund construction of the U.S. 301 project if approved.
            DelDOT will continue public outreach with affected communities and consultation/working sessions with environmental resource agencies throughout 2008 and 2009.
            An investment grade traffic and toll revenue study will be conducted to get approval for toll bonding.
            The ROD will be available to download online on Friday, May 9, at www.del dot.gov/information/pr ojects.us301.
            It also can be viewed a the Appoquinimink Public Library, Middletown’s Town Hall and DelDOT’s Canal District Headquarters, located at 250 Bear-Christian Road in Bear.