DelDOT outlines 10‑week plan to contain and repaint Seaford drawbridge; pedestrian access, shuttle service to continue

Jonathan Moore, a supervising engineer with the Delaware Department of Transportation, told the Seaford Mayor and Council that a planned containment-and-painting project for Front Street drawbridge (Bridge 3‑151) will run about 10 weeks for the drawbridge alone and require temporary full closures to vehicular and boating traffic.

Moore said the project responds to “active corrosion” found during routine inspections and that the bridge is not currently structurally unsound, but corrosion must be arrested to prevent future structural problems. “The bridge will remain open to pedestrian traffic during this operation,” Moore said, adding that at least one sidewalk will be open at all times and that a free ADA‑compliant shuttle will run when the lift span must be opened for access to some parts of the structure.

The bridge is 99 years old and is the oldest of eight operational drawbridges in Delaware,…