The Junction Breakwater Trail is a State treasure that currently comes to a crazy dead-end just shy of Rehoboth. Props to DelDot for getting this fixed.
Rehoboth Beach — Delaware Department of Transportation says design work on a proposed Rehoboth Beach extension of the Junction Breakwater Trail could be finished by next summer.
DelDOT spokesman Jim Westhoff said there is no firm timetable or cost estimates for the time. John Hermes of DelDOT told the Rehoboth streets and transportation committee that he anticipated a two-year process, with planning the first year and construction taking another year.
Hermes said the plan’s goal is to keep bicycle and pedestrian traffic on one side of the road heading into Rehoboth and get traffic onto Rehoboth Avenue Extended but not crossing it.
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The trail currently ends at Hebron Road and Holland Glade Road outside Rehoboth. A second prong of the trail leads through the woods and also ends at Hebron Road.
To get to Rehoboth Avenue Extended, DelDOT has planned several alternate routes, including going down and then across Church Street onto Rehoboth Avenue Extended. Another proposal would cut through a planned development next to Shoal Harbor and come out on Rehoboth Avenue Extended. Hermes said the developer has agreed to construct and pay for the trail connection through to Rehoboth Avenue Extended.
Hermes said the Church Street section is one of the most difficult because so much traffic uses it, particularly during the summer. He said the plan there would be to widen the existing bike lane and keep bicycle traffic from making left hand turns onto Rehoboth Avenue Extended.
DelDOT’s plans call for new 10-foot paths on one side of the road leading to the entrance to Rehoboth. The north side of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal Bridge would be widened to provide a 10-foot, two-way access path for bike and pedestrian traffic.