US Route 301 Project Development Introduction US Route 301 is a main north south route connecting the eastern states. In Delaware, the road connects Glasgow, Delaware at US Route 40 to the Maryland state line near Warwick, Maryland and Middletown, DE. Currently the route is mostly a two lane highway. Recently, a proposal to rebuild the road into a four lane tolled highway has been in the news. What is the Problem with 301? The biggest focus of the project are truck traffic, safety, and congestion. The road has seen very many accidents. From 2000 to 2006 alone, 1193 accidents occurred. Of these accidents, 36% of them had injuries or death. Trucks account for nearly 30% of the traffic on this busy connector. Population in the local area is growing and new houses are being built. There is concern that the roads are not capable of supporting the expanding volume of traffic. Projections for the future are for continued expansion and development. Who Is Impacted? Anyone who travels along US Route 301, whether they are local residents, or just passing through, is heavily impacted. More than half of the traffic going north on US Route 301 are headed to destinations further north than where the road ends. Many of them are leaving Delaware.But local residents must use this road to reach schools, work and shopping. Traffic snarls and truck traffic make everyday errands time consuming. The high number of personal injury accidents is a major concern. The hope is that more lanes and a new route path will reduce traffic congestion on the road making road travel safer for everyone. Property owners in the way of the new road construction will be impacted. Buildings in the way of the roadbed will be moved or demolished- whether they are houses or businesses, or even historic buidlings. Access to the road will likely be limited, affecting business owners in the pocketbook. Wetlands, farms, or other agriculture may also be destroyed by the project. History of the Problem Plans for upgrading Route 301 had been discussed for several years now. One plan was to build a four lane highway from the New Jersey Turnpike to Washington D.C. Another idea to was to build a road parallel to Route 301. Limited budgets prevented any plans in Delaware to be completed. Farmers also did not like the idea of rebuilding the road. However with traffic increasing, and populations growing, the project was reopened. In 2005, several meetings and workshops were held with the public. Interest in the project was high. At any one meeting, up to 1000 people may have attended (no one was quite sure!). The point of these meetings was to get public opinion on the project, and members of the public were happy to share their thoughts.