Delaware Department of Transportation engineers told the Milford City Council that two steel-beam bridges carrying U.S. 113 over the Haven Lake spillway will require bearing replacements and concrete repairs, and that the work will proceed under phased lane closures. Jonathan Moore, DelDOT’s bridge maintenance and construction engineer, described the bridges as steel I-beam structures with integral concrete decks built in 1962 and said that cleaning and painting work revealed significantly deteriorated bearings.

Moore said the bearing deterioration created a “floating bearing scenario” that lets beams move and “slamming” occur when heavy trucks pass. He emphasized the bridges were not in danger of collapse but said leaving the condition unaddressed would accelerate deterioration. The southbound bridge is 54 feet long; the northbound bridge is 74 feet long.

Traffic and construction plan: DelDOT will implement a phased maintenance-of-traffic (MOT) plan that first closes the outside lanes and shifts traffic toward the middle and then closes inside lanes, leaving one lane in each direction on US-113. The agency will use hydraulic jacks and temporary jacking diaphragms to lift the spans slightly and replace bearings; Moore said the jacks will act as temporary bearings while work proceeds and described brief rolling roadblocks for the jacking operations (typically during off-peak hours).

Moore said the project schedule calls for message boards to be set before work and the first planned construction day was listed as Sept. 2; he also said that DelDOT considered a worst-case seasonal traffic model to size the MOT. The bridges carry roughly 12,000 vehicles a day in each direction, he added, and the agency expects initial delays that lessen over time as drivers adapt to temporary routing.

Public-safety and rail access: Council members asked about emergency-vehicle access and a nearby railroad. Moore said the lane width will accommodate emergency vehicles and that DelDOT cannot direct rail operations; he said the agency communicates schedule and routing to local emergency services in advance.

Community outreach: Moore left information sheets and business cards with staff and said DelDOT is coordinating public messaging and will work with the city to notify residents.

Outcome: DelDOT presented its maintenance and repair plan; no council vote was required at the meeting. The presentation identified the work scope (bearing replacement, spall repair, slope paving and joint seal repairs), the planned MOT phases, and an initial start date for construction activities.