DelDOT is hoping to spend more than 40 percent of its capital budget on patching holes, repaving streets and shoring up bridges in fiscal year 2018.
If approved, $10 million will go strictly toward replacing bridge decks on I-95 – something that’s been a priority for years.
“They were actually constructed in the 1960s and we got to the point where we were patching patches. So we know they are at the end of their useful life and we want to get them replaced as quick and as efficiently as we can,” said Jennifer Cohan, Delaware's transportation secretary.
She says crews are now using precast decks that can easily slide into place, reducing construction time.
Another $80 to $90 million would continue the agency’s paving work, which has been a priority for state lawmakers for the past couple of years.
Cohan says that level of spending leaves no leftover paving work by the end of the year.
“At [$80 to $90 million a year] we’re keeping up with what we need to keep up with and actually keeping a backlog from happening. We can sustain another $80 to $90 million for the next few years for paving and rehab,” she said.
During her budget presentation to state officials Monday, Cohan also wanted to keep about $22 million state lawmakers can use to help fund community or municipal infrastructure work.
In all, DelDOT’s proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2018 totals just over $345 million.
Work on the U.S. 301 mainline project remains on-time and on-budget and is expected to open in December 2018.