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The current Indian River Inlet Bridge on SR 1 provides a critical link on the Eastern seaboard between Bethany Beach and Dewey Beach, Sussex County, Delaware. The project site is located in the middle of the Delaware Seashore State Park. Due to severe scouring conditions experienced in the inlet adjacent to the bridge foundations, the bridge is scheduled for replacement with a new structure that will have a main span of approximately 1,000 feet. This longer main span will allow the bridge to cross the inlet without any piers in the water and provides for the future potential widening of the inlet. The bridge currently carries 16,000 to 18,000 vehicles daily.

The new bridge will be located slightly west of the current bridge, near the prior bridge alignment. It will be designed to minimize traffic disruption during construction. The new bridge will have two 12' lanes for travel in each direction, along with 10 ‘ wide shoulders on each side and a protected sidewalk. The minimum vertical clearance for navigational purposes under the bridge will be 45'.

The project has been divided into four (4) phases: (1) Roadway approaches and wetland mitigation, (2) the bridge replacement, (3) the existing bridge demolition, and (4) Park enhancements.

The original concept for the project was to have one design team design all four phases of the project. FIGG Bridge Engineers, from Tallahassee, Florida and a design team of several sub-consultants were hired to complete the designs. They completed the design of the first two phases with the Roadway contract going out first in summer 2005. The bridge replacement project was advertised during the same timeframe and extended until the fall of 2006. Although seven (7) teams were prequalified to bid, only one remained at bid time with their projected bid well exceeding the budget for the project. The department chose to cancel the bidding for the bridge project.

Subsequently, the Department determined that the traveling public would be better served by acquiring the bridge project using the design-build procurement method. Design-build procurement allows for the design of the bridge to progress concurrently with the construction, saving overall time.

The design for bridge demolition and the park enhancement projects are substantially complete and will be advertised near the conclusion of the bridge construction.