Delaware hopes to make its two busiest highways safer this year through the installation of cable barriers in certain areas to prevent fatal accidents.
Transportation officials met Monday night in Newark to discuss safety upgrades and the installation of cable barriers along Route 1 in order to keep cars from going through medians. There are also plans to install the barriers along sections of Interstate 95, officials said.
Last month, a father and his four daughters died in a crash on Route 1 just outside of Townsend after a pickup truck crossed the grassy median and slammed into the family’s van. DelDOT expects to install barriers near the crash site by the end of the year.
"The department does have a plan to install an additional 11.5 miles of median barrier from Middletown to Smyrna and that project will begin later this year, along with adding barriers on I-95 from the PA/DE State line to Harvey Road," DelDOT spokesman Charles McLeod said in an email.
The department will continue to build median barriers next year with another 12 miles covered on Route 1 along a stretch between Smyrna and Dover.
