A DelDOT construction project will give students who live near H.B. duPont Middle School a safe way to walk to and from school.
The $600,000 project includes the installation of side paths along Benge Road and Meetinghouse Road, connecting nearby developments to the school. Construction is expected to begin by spring of 2011 and take four months.
The hot mix side paths will be 8-feet wide, wider than a typical sidewalk, to accommodate bicycles as well as pedestrians, explained Brandon Swartout, a transportation engineer with Whitman, Requardt & Associates.
Nearly a quarter mile of path will be built along Benge Road and nearly a half mile along Meetinghouse Road, replacing an existing path that runs from Walnut Hill Road to the school, Swartout said.
The path will only be installed along the side of the road adjacent to H.B., but painted crosswalks and signs will provide access to developments across the street, he said.
The entrance to H.B. will be widened as part of the project and drainage issues in front of the school will be corrected, he said.
Lane closures should be expected during construction, but crews will not be working during the school’s drop-off or pick-up times, Swartout said.
The project is funded through the federal transportation enhancement program, meaning 80 percent of the funds will be provided by the federal government and 20 percent by the state.
