Delaware
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
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.
Date Posted: Saturday, June 20th, 2026
The Delaware State Police Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration Unit (SOAR) is issuing the following public notifications of homeless and wanted sex offenders.
Wanted Sex Offenders
SOAR is currently looking for the following wanted sex offenders after they either failed to register or re-register at their current address. If anyone knows the location of these individuals, please call (302) 739-5882. Information may also be provided by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) 847-3333. The individuals shown represent only a portion of the current wanted sex offenders. Please see the Delaware Sex Offender Registry website for the complete list.
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Homeless Sex Offenders
The following individuals are not wanted for failing to register or re-register at their current address. This is a homeless sex offender public notification. If you have information that the listed individuals are occupying a residence, please call (302) 739-5882. Information may also be provided by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) 847-3333. The individuals shown are those recently reported homeless and represent only a portion of the current homeless sex offenders. Please see the Delaware Sex Offender Registry website for the complete list.
Click on the image to see the complete profile
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What is Delaware’s Kalmar Nyckel ship?
Here’s the history of Delaware’s Kalmar Nyckel ship explained in 36 seconds.
The Delaware history column features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and The Evening Journal. See the archives at delawareonline.com.
100 years ago, The Evening Journal, June 21, 1926
Jealous man kills woman, wounds boy
Oliver K. Higgins, aged 33 years, of Washington Street, in a fit of jealousy late Saturday night, is alleged to have pumped seven bullets from an automatic revolver into Mrs. Edna M. Martin, 40 years old, of Spruce Street, killing her.
Charles Brown, the 15-year-old of Mrs. Gladys Brown, was shot in the jaw and shoulder by Higgins but will recover. Mrs. Brown, also of the Spruce Street address, is the sister of the slain woman. …
Mrs. Martin, who was employed by the Home Baking Company on Market Street, left the store at a late hour Saturday night, accompanied by Paul A. Crawford of Marshallton and went home. They found Mrs. Brown sitting in the dining room with Julius K. Bowman of Newport.
The women and men sat around the table for a short time. At 11:45 o’clock, hearing someone taking out a window screen in the parlor, Mrs. Brown went to the hall to see what caused the noise.
She saw Higgins step in the window with a gun in his hand. She opened the door and ran off the porch.
Higgins failed to see Mrs. Brown and continued to the dining room where Mrs. Martin and the two men were sitting. He leveled the revolver at their heads and said, “Stick your hands up everybody, and I don’t mean maybe.”
Higgins then asked for Mrs. Brown. Learning she had gone out the front door, he ran after her, passing her as she crouched behind a hedge a few feet from the doorway. He returned to the dining room, but the men had fled. He then turned to Mrs. Martin and fired as she ran. …
Leaving the dead woman at the head of the steps, Higgins rushed in the back room in search of Mrs. Brown. Charles Brown, who had been sleeping, awoke because of the noise. …
Hearing the boy going down the stairs, Higgins stepped to the stair rail and shot him twice. …
Mrs. Brown went to the drug store of Otto H. Miller at 22nd and Pine streets to telephone police. …
Officers surrounded the Brown house … and arrested Higgins. …
Higgins met Mrs. Brown several months ago when he was in the employ of the United Cigar Store, and Mrs. Brown was working nearby. He is said to have become jealous over the attention of other men to Mrs. Brown, who is divorced. She asked him to stop annoying her and appealed to police.
After Higgins threatened Mrs. Brown with a gun, she told her employer who called the United Cigar Company and made a complaint to the manager. Shortly after this, Higgins was discharged.
50 years ago, The Morning News, June 23, 1976
Bill would jail parents of delinquent kids
A tough measure that provides for jailing the parents of delinquent children or requiring them to spend weekends with delinquents at juvenile detention centers has been introduced in the Delaware Senate.
The bill is the brainchild of the community-based services staff of the juvenile corrections bureau.
“This gives a way to coax them (the parents),” said John J. Mulvena, juvenile corrections chief. “If not to coax them, to require them. If not require them, jail them.”
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Herman Holloway Sr., D-Wilmington.
Mulvena said it is “directed at parents who are reluctant to participate in the responsible supervision of their children.”
He said due to “stubbornness, ignorance or neglect,” his staff often ends up acting as “mother, father, aunt, uncle or surrogate” for children “while the parents get off scot-free.”
20 years ago, The News Journal, June 26, 2006
Storms wallop Sussex with 6-8 inches of rain
Jack English knew he was in trouble early Sunday morning.
He kept waking up to the sound of his Seaford basement sump pump trying to keep up with the downpour outside….
At first, he found a few inches of water on his basement floor. Then, all of a sudden, his backyard was completely flooded and the rising water blew out his basement window. …
“I was evacuated by the fire department,” he said. …
In six to eight hours, 7 inches fell in Bridgeville, more than 8 inches in Georgetown and nearly 6 inches in Laurel….
The Seaford Fire Company had its first sign of trouble at 7:30 a.m., when a crew responded to a person trapped in a car by rising water. As the morning went on, rescue crews turned to boats.
An estimated 300 people were evacuated from homes at three mobile home parks southeast of Blades.
Meanwhile, in Seaford, concern grew as water levels rose in the Nanticoke River and Williams Pond. As a precaution, 110 residents of Lifecare at Lofland Park rehabilitation center were evacuated to Nanticoke Memorial Hospital. …
At the Seaford Walmart, a team of swift water rescuers from Salisbury, Maryland helped people trapped in the parking lot, with water up to the top of some cars. …
Bridges at Craigs Mill Road and Woodland Road washed out. …
The American Red Cross opened a shelter at Woodbridge High School in Bridgeville. About 30 people were staying there Sunday night.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
DELAWARE COUNTY, Ind. — All lanes closed on I-69 in the southbound direction in Delaware County on Friday morning.
Authorities with the Indiana State Police were dispatched to the 240.5 mile marker on a report of a crash involving a semi at approximately 8:08 a.m.
All lanes are now open.
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