The project entailed building a grade separated interchange at the old Churchman’s Road/SR 7 intersection. This work was the first project of a multi-year, multi-project Turnpike Improvement Program that has included the Churchman’s Bridge over I-95; the upcoming I-95 5th Lane Widening project and the future work at the SR1/I-95 Mall interchange.

Project Need:

Congestion at the old intersection had gotten steadily worse over the years due to growth in the area and substantial approved development plans in the area. This included expansions at JP Morgan, Delaware Park and the Christiana Hospital. Additionally, retail and commercial expansion had been approved in the Christina Mall area and utilized many of the roads in this area.

Project Limits:

• SR 7 – Roadway construction went from I-95 to SR4 with (at the old JP Morgan entrance) various areas of widening and construction of the new bridge.
• Churchman's Road – Roadway construction went from SR4 (the Delaware Park entrance to the Churchman Road Bridge over I-95 including multilane widening, new entrances, and work under the new bridge.

Project Costs and Schedules:

• The entire project costs $25M.
• The schedule was established at 3 years. Due to some political influence and some additional acceleration $$ added to the project, we were able to complete it 6 months earlier.

Project Highlights:

• The new grade separated interchange was built directly on top of the existing intersection.
• Work was broken out into quadrants and segmented. Each segment had concurrent work going on.
• All the existing utilities were redesigned into a utility corridor. Each of the utilities was part of a utility support slab to allow for a single location crossing of SR7.
• An elaborate outreach program was instituted as a transportation management plan. Influences from carpooling, new Dart First State shuttles, creative work hours via the TMA Delaware were incorporated into the transportation management plan.
• First Project to incorporate the legislative "Clear the Road" policy. This legislation allowed us to remove vehicle quickly without waiting for the Police to arrive for minor accidents.
• Special coordination with Christiana Hospital was implemented including constructing a separate access road for ambulances. Also, special color-coded outreach maps were made for Emergency Response Providers throughout New Castle County for information and access routes.