On Thursday officials celebrated the completion of the Restore The Corridor project.
State officials, Delaware’s members of Congress, Wilmington’s mayor, and members of the contracting community came together to mark the milestone of completing the $200 million I-95 Restore the Corridor project with a ceremony.
The project, which began in February 2021, was completed in November 2022, four months ahead of the original schedule.
For this project, contractors replaced bridge joints with a total length of two miles and concrete bridge barriers totaling three miles in length. Additionally, they repaired bridge decks that added up to an impressive one million square feet.
DelDOT began planning and design for this project in 2014. In addition to rehabilitating the road surface and bridge structures, safety issues were addressed with the new Second Street on-ramp to I-95 southbound to provide a longer merge area and the widening of the I-95 northbound Brandywine River Bridge to provide a dedicated lane for traffic entering from Delaware Avenue. All existing lighting was also replaced with new LED lights to improve visibility, and a high friction surface treatment was applied on I-95 southbound approaching the Brandywine River Bridge which was also a location of frequent crashes.
The I-95 highway was built in 1964 and additional lanes and on/off ramps were established in 1978. The Restore the Corridor project covered five miles of roadway, starting at the I-495/I-95 split and ending north of the I-95 Brandywine River bridge at the Route 202 interchange. This outlined scope included nineteen bridges, encompassing the Wilmington Viaduct spanning over Riverfront area roads and a local streets, as well as refurbishment of a bridge above Amtrak railroad lines, and overhauling of the Brandywine River Bridge.