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Proposal would add interstate exit in Delaware County to deal with population growth

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Proposal would add interstate exit in Delaware County to deal with population growth


Now, according to ODOT, the 36/37 exit near the Tanger Outlets carries more than 36,000 vehicles per day.

DELAWARE COUNTY, Ohio — A solution to the commuter traffic problem at the U.S. Rt 36/SR 37 exit is currently in the works, but still has a way to go before anything could happen.

The Delaware County Regional Planning Commission said Delaware County was the fastest growing county in the state between 2010 and 2021. Now, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation, the 36/37 exit near the Tanger Outlets carries more than 36,000 vehicles per day.

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A proposal by ODOT would add an additional exit south of the existing one to create the “Sunbury Parkway.” It would extend from Wilson Road to the east and U.S. Rt. 36 to the west and connect to I-71.

The current exit has already been expanded twice in recent years, 2013 and again in 2016, but those improvements were short lived. A photo provided by ODOT shows traffic backed up down the exit ramp and on to the interstate during peak commute times.

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“It really gets backed up here prime times of the year. Back-to-school time, Black Friday is horrible up here. Until they finished the bridge project, it was pretty hectic up here,” said Rhonda McCown. “Delaware is kind of a booming area. It’s really grown in the last 15 years. I remember going north of here when there was nothing but a Wendy’s and McDonalds over there, so it’s grown substantially.”

McCown commutes daily from Circleville to her job at Farrow Harley-Davidson, so she’s familiar with the traffic problems that can come up at the current exit from back-ups to traffic crashes. According to ODOT, left-turn crashes at the exit are 17% percent higher than similar roadways in Ohio.

She said she’s been caught up in traffic between Polaris and Sunbury up to an hour before. In the business of selling motorcycles, she said sometimes she and other sales team members will recommend other routes for clients just to avoid the traffic at the exit.

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“We have people come in from all different directions so a lot of people just think the highway right there so you try and do your best to give them alternate routes to make life easier for them,” she said.

The proposed plan by ODOT would go through six acres of wetlands, according to the Ohio EPA, including nine Category 1 (low quality) wetlands, seven Category 2 (moderate water quality) wetlands, and 3,773 feet of streams. ODOT has submitted proposed mitigation plans to the Ohio EPA to address the impacts on the affected area.

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The Ohio EPA hosted a public meeting on the proposed plans Tuesday evening at the Northgate Church in Sunbury. The agency will continue receiving written comments on the application through January 21. Letters can be sent to Ohio EPA-DSW, Attention: Permits Processing Unit, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049.

This isn’t the first time the project has been considered. According to ODOT, in 2015, the City of Sunbury annexed land and working with developers to fund the Sunbury Parkway project. However, local funding of the project stalled when several private entities pulled their funding commitments.

The cost of the expansion project is estimated to be $31.9 million.  

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Delaware

Will it rain this weekend in Delaware? Weekend forecast

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Will it rain this weekend in Delaware? Weekend forecast


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  • Delaware beaches can expect a typical summer weekend with hot, humid conditions and possible storms.
  • Saturday’s forecast includes a high of 83°F in Rehoboth Beach, with a chance of severe storms and strong wind gusts.
  • Sunday offers a better chance of dry weather, with sunny skies and a high of 83°F in Rehoboth Beach.
  • Wilmington and Dover will experience warmer temperatures in the high 80s, with higher chances of rain on Saturday.

A classic summer weekend of weather is in the cards for Delaware’s beaches.

On Friday, a cool, cloudy and windy day will give way to a hot, humid weekend with storm potentials for both Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29.

Friday’s dreariness and rain chances slowly clear out on Saturday morning, and the sun comes out and turns up the heat once again. Heat indexes in Rehoboth Beach could claw their way up to the low 90s before a very slight chance of storms in the early afternoon.

The high temperature for Saturday in Rehoboth will be around 83 with partly sunny skies, but that does not factor the humidity. There will be a typical breeze from the south. The region is due for a cold front, which will swing through on Saturday afternoon and evening for the entire state. National Weather Service meteorologist Nick Guzzo said isolated, severe storms with strong wind gusts cannot be ruled out.

Even though neither one of these days are close to a washout, Sunday is the better bet for a dry day. NWS forecasts for Rehoboth Beach show rain chances clearing up throughout the morning, and showing a 21% chance for rain between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., before becoming unlikely Sunday evening. The high temperature in Rehoboth remains at 83 for Sunday under sunnier skies.

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Northern and Central Delaware forecasts

Temperatures in Wilmington this weekend will be warmer than the beaches, obviously, with both days forecasted at 88 with heat indexes in the high 90s under partly sunny skies. NWS thinks rain chances are higher in New Castle County, topping out at 60% on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Wilmington. Sunday is likely to remain dry and slightly less humid under sunnier skies.

Dover’s forecast from the NWS shows a more consistent chance at thunderstorms all of Saturday afternoon, reaching 46% at 7 p.m. under similarly partly sunny skies. There is a 24% chance of storms from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday afternoon as well. Both days have a high temperature of 88 degrees, Saturday feeling warmer with a heat index of 97 degrees.



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Delaware budget bills pass legislature, bond bill fails

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Delaware budget bills pass legislature, bond bill fails


From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Legislation directing money toward Delaware’s capital spending projects failed to garner enough support in the state Senate on Thursday, after enough Republicans withheld their approval to sink it. The move sets up a legislative showdown, with the last day of the session Monday.

The state Senate had already approved the $6.5 billion fiscal year 2026 budget and the one-time, $37 million supplemental spending bill before pulling their votes on the over $977 million capital improvement bill, also known as the bond bill. Because it’s an appropriations measure, it requires a three-quarters vote. It failed with 14 yes votes, two no’s and five not voting.

“As we enter the final days of session, there are still outstanding pieces of legislation that require further discussion and negotiation,” Minority Whip Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, said after the vote failed. “We believe the bond bill should be considered only after those discussions have taken place and a path forward has been established.”

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Holding budget bills hostage has been a common way in recent years for the minority party to gain leverage over policy when passing legislation in the waning hours of a session. In 2018, the last day of session didn’t conclude until 8:30 a.m. the next day after House Republicans withheld their votes on the bond bill over their opposition to legislation raising the minimum wage, forcing a standoff that lasted for hours.

Pettyjohn said retaining the bill as the final piece of business ensures conversations happen in good faith. But a Senate Republican spokesperson would not say which bills the lawmakers want to have discussions on.



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Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer urges inclusive nomination process for special elections

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Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer urges inclusive nomination process for special elections


At that time, there were upcoming special elections for the Senate seats  formerly occupied by now Congresswoman Sarah McBride and Lt. Gov. Kyle Evans Gay.

Maron rebuffed Meyer in her own letter, saying state law empowers the committee members of any ballot-qualified party to select the nominee and does not provide for a primary election process.

WHYY News tried to contact current Democratic State Party Chair Evelyn Brady, but was told she was unavailable to comment for this story. The Sussex County Democratic Committee will hold a candidate forum July 3. The committee will then choose a candidate, Committee Chair Jeff Balk said. Attempts to reach Sussex County Republican Committee Chair Daniel Willis were unsuccessful.

Legislation creating a special primary election process was introduced in May by state Rep. Mara Gorman, D-Newark, and has stalled in a House committee. Apparently a hot potato since the controversy has erupted over Parker Selby’s prolonged absence, Gorman declined to talk to WHYY News about her bill. A House spokeswoman initially said Gorman would answer questions about her bill, but then did not respond to subsequent questions, such as when WHYY would get the answers.

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House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown did not respond to a question about whether she supported the bill. Balk declined to comment on it.

State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, D-Newark, told Coast TV earlier this month that House leadership was so worried about the seat changing parties in a special election, that they decided to not address the lawmaker’s absence in Dover. Wilson-Anton said she had no comment on this story.

Parker Selby won her district, made up of Milton and Lewes, by just 245 votes over Republican candidate Nikki Miller. Miller announced her candidacy again Wednesday. District 20 currently has 8,379 Democrats, 7,652 Republicans and 6,943 registered as “other.”

Minor-Brown arranged for Parker Selby to be privately sworn in in late March, after the president of the Delaware Republican Party and the Sussex County Republican Committee raised concerns earlier in the month in a letter to House leadership and all members about Parker Selby’s prolonged absence and its impact on her constituents.

Balk said he believed Democrats can hang onto the seat, even with the short timeframe voters will have to get to know the candidate and their positions.

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“I totally believe that Democrats can control the seat,” he said. “We know how to get the vote out here in Sussex County, and we’ll be able to do it again no matter what time frame we have.”

Balk said he already has eight Democrats interested in the vacancy.

This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.



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