DelDOT lays out safety push, project schedule and FY26 funding outlook

Delaware Department of Transportation Secretary Shante Hastings told the Bond Bill Committee on March 26 that DelDOT is reframing how it approaches roadway safety and preparing a roughly $575 million capital program for fiscal 2026 after operating costs and debt service. Hastings said DelDOT is pursuing a ‘‘safe systems’’ philosophy and expanding tools such as automated speed enforcement in work zones.

Hastings said the department’s immediate safety target is zero road deaths. “Our goal is 0,” she said, and noted Delaware has recorded 18 roadway fatalities to date this year — a drop from 2024 and 2023 levels even as officials emphasized that “one is too many.” The secretary described infrastructure responses that shift responsibility from individual road users to system design, citing new fencing and cable median barrier installations on Route 13 and Route 1 and smaller short-term treatments such as additional stop controls.

Why it matters: Hastings framed the presentation around two linked pressures: an intensified focus on preventing deaths and serious injuries on Delaware roads, and the need to match long-term capital work with constrained state revenues and uncertain federal funding. The department is pursuing near-term safety countermeasures while moving major corridor projects forward, but said the FY26 capital envelope will depend on both federal reauthorization and the state revenue picture.

Major safety and program highlights DelDOT said a state-authorized pilot of electronic speed enforcement in work zones has produced measurable changes where it has been used. Hastings told the committee the pilot on the I‑95/896 project began with warnings and then moved to citations; DelDOT has measured average speed reductions of about 7 miles per hour in the northbound direction and about 6 miles per hour in the southbound direction, crash counts down almost 20 percent and injury crashes down roughly 40 percent in the pilot corridors, she said.

The secretary also described the department’s broader adoption of a ‘‘safe systems’’ approach — a USDOT-originated framework DelDOT is using to change project choices and design priorities, especially for vulnerable road users.

Leadership and program changes Hastings announced senior leadership adjustments inside DelDOT: Lainie Clymer moved from director of finance to deputy secretary; Anne Brown moved from maintenance and operations to director of finance; Mark Lutz is chief engineer; Pam Steinbach moved into maintenance; and Stephanie Johnson became director of planning, with resilience and sustainability folded into planning. John Sisson is head of Delaware Transit and Sierra McLeod is director of community relations, the secretary said.

Funding picture and FY26 plan Hastings told the committee DelDOT projects roughly $1.05 billion in available funding for FY26. After the department takes off operating costs and debt service, she said the remaining state and federal resources will yield a capital program DelDOT estimates at about $575 million next year. Hastings described the state-side plan as including approximately $250 million for state capital investments; she also referenced the federal-funding component and the need to preserve the department’s debt-service metric.

She noted DelDOT has used bond proceeds recently and that some trust-fund receipts — including an initial deposit to a toll stabilization account created in the 03/2001 financing package — have improved near-term cash flow. But she also warned rising operating costs and inflation will tend to shrink what is available for capital in later years unless new revenue is adopted.

Key corridor projects and service changes Hastings reviewed major corridor work scheduled or underway: ongoing work on the I‑95 corridor (295 improvements, four‑bridge rehabilitations, substructure contracts and the large 95/896 interchange work), multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar Route 1 widening planning, Route 40 widening and interchange projects, the Camden bypass work, and a series of Sussex County and Kent County projects (bridges, bypasses and grade separations). She said some ramps at the 95/896 interchange will open this summer and the remaining interchange construction will continue into 2026.

Transit and microtransit On transit, Hastings reiterated DelDOT’s DART Reimagine planning is in implementation: microtransit pilots (DART Connect) are expanding from Millsboro–Georgetown and Newark to additional routes; DelDOT continues to acquire battery-electric and hydrogen buses; and ridership/performance adjustments are underway as routes are redesigned.

Subdivision streets and resurfacing (SSPMF) DelDOT summarized its Subdivision Street Pavement Management Fund (SSPMF) activity to date: between 2019 and 2025 DelDOT has committed roughly $135 million to subdivision streets, and Hastings said the agency has completed work on nearly all 2024 locations and is beginning construction on the 2025 list. She said the program has touched about 10 percent of the nearly 1,600 miles of state‑maintained subdivision streets, and noted a FY26 portion of the capital plan will address short segments left at the ends of longer roads (including small segments of “very poor” pavement).

Federal grants and uncertainty Hastings told lawmakers that roughly $112 million in federal grants across multiple projects is currently ‘‘on hold’’ pending federal obligation and agreement paperwork, and she said DelDOT is watching the federal reauthorization process for surface transportation (the end of IIJA-era funding levels for some programs). She warned that some already-awarded grants remain in a six‑month or longer signature process inside receiving federal agencies, which has put projects in temporary limbo and could delay construction unless alternative funding is identified.

Rail and other studies On rail, Hastings said DelDOT is nearing completion of Phase 1 of the Diamond State rail line study and plans to seek federal approval and funding to enter Phase 2; DelDOT remains uncertain whether the federal grant that funded the study will be available for the next phase and is proceeding as far as the grant allows.

What lawmakers asked Several legislators raised routine budget and program questions during the presentation. Senators and representatives pressed Hastings on answers including the state of workforce vacancies (equipment operators ~11 percent vacancy; mechanics ~14 vacancies; engineering ~35 vacancies; DMV frontline ~5 percent; bus drivers down to about 8 percent vacancy), subcontractor capacity for the new automated enforcement workload, and the pace and cost of subdivision street repairs. Lawmakers also raised litter, truck parking and contractor work‑zone compliance as local quality-of-life issues.

Ending note Hastings closed by saying DelDOT is balancing a near‑term emphasis on proactive safety measures with long‑term corridor work and a focus on maintaining the department’s debt metrics. She urged continued attention to state funding options to avoid a decline in capital capacity as operating costs rise, and described several short‑term openings and adjustments for the public to expect as projects advance.