Delaware Department of Transportation’s State Route 72-McCoy Road-State Route 71 project improved the lives of people by reducing congestion, improving safety and providing transit service, and multi-modal facilities along this corridor in Bear and New Castle County.  The initiative focused on transit amenities, bicycle accommodations, and sidewalk connections by delivering operational upgrades and enhancing multimodal features that helped connect communities. The project also widened the SR 72 corridor from two to four travel lanes and added a center turn lane to reduce delays, improve traffic flow, and enhance safety for all modes of travel. To encourage traffic calming, the project lowered the posted speed limit from 50 mph to 45 mph, reduced lane widths from 12 to 11 feet, and added sidewalk curbs as well.

The $31.1 million project installed concrete medians on the approaches to the SR 72 and SR 71 signalized intersection, built transit stops to expand access to the state’s DART bus system, and included bike lanes on all intersection approaches. The expansion of SR 72 fostered the development of a frozen food distribution center and national trucking freight facility along the SR 71 corridor. The additional SR 72 capacity and a new signalized access accommodated the traffic generated by the developments. The addition of these facilities has resulted in dozens of permanent employment positions.