A century-old intersection was in need of repairs until residents pushed back

An intersection adjacent to a historic site will not undergo major structural repairs, due to overwhelming community backlash.

The intersection between Old Baltimore Pike and Cooch’s Bridge Road sits next to Cooch House and Battlefield, Delaware’s only Revolutionary War site and a nationally recognized historic district. The site is made up of three bridges, each dating back to the early 20th century, and according to Delaware’s Department of Transportation, are reaching the end of their design life.

Two public workshops were held in February and March of this year, each of which garnered a response from hundreds of residents concerned about preserving the area’s historical integrity.

It was announced on Thursday, Sept. 19 that DelDOT would significantly scale back the scope of the project, despite the department’s insistence that the corridor surrounding the intersection requires safety improvements.

Basic improvements will still be made to the site, but to a much lesser extent.

Here are the details.

Historic Cooch's Bridge Site's looking forward

The history of the Cooch’s Bridge site is an important pretext for understanding why the project was proposed in the first place.

Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site has sat in its Iron Hill home for over 250 years and is the site of the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge – the only Revolutionary War battle that took place on Delaware soil.

In 2018, the site was sold by the Cooch family to the state of Delaware, and it is now overseen by the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs. Since securing ownership, the state has invested in renovations of the site in hopes that it will be fully open to the public by 2026, a vision shared by Friends of Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site.

Other plans to work toward reopening the site include making it a recreational pit stop and connecting it to existing trail systems nearby. As of now, there are no pedestrian or bike lanes near the intersection in question.

Residents come to aging intersection's defense

The intersection of Old Baltimore Pike and Cooch’s Bridge Road, adjacent to the site, is a heavily-utilized and accident-prone intersection. According to DelDOT data, as of earlier this year, 34 crashes have been reported since 2015.

Most crashes can be attributed to the roadway’s poor alignment and width, inadequate sight distance, nearby obstructions and protruding guardrails. But the bridges’ age also plays a factor, since parts of the bridges are deteriorating and in need of structural repairs.

Environmental and traffic studies to revamp the intersection began in the fall of 2020, and various improvements were proposed and presented to the public earlier this year. Some of those included widening the roadway with shoulders and bike lanes, intersection improvements like roundabouts and guardrail upgrades.

Over 300 community members showed up to a public hearing at Glasgow High School in February, some to learn more about the proposals and some to express their concern for the historic area.

Patricia Maichle, whose ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, spoke out against the project’s proposals during the meeting.

“I think it’s appalling that our only Revolutionary War historic site is being damaged in this way,” Maichle said. “It’s not the best thing for the community. It deletes the goodness that people come here for.”

Many of the residents also expressed a fear that widening the roadways would open the area up for commercial development.

Despite DelDOT's assessment, project is scaled back

An email was sent from Jason Hastings, chief of bridges & structures for DelDOT, to attendees of the various public workshops on Thursday, Sept. 19, notifying them that due to the overwhelming concern among community members, the project as proposed would not continue.

“While the department believes that the proposed project would be beneficial for both safety and the anticipated enhancements to the Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site, the feedback received was overwhelmingly in favor of not pursuing significant improvements along the corridor,” the notice said.

However, there are still immediate transportation issues that need to be addressed at the intersection.

According to C.R. McLeod, communications manager for DelDOT, these mainly include performing concrete patching repairs to the deteriorating parts of the bridge.

McLeod also stated that the department will investigate options to bring the walls of the bridge and its guardrails up to current standards, while still maintaining their historical appearance. These options will be shared with the public before the project reaches its final design or construction stages.

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Any other proposed improvements to the Old Baltimore Pike and Cooch’s Bridge Road corridor, including replacing the bridges, will not be considered at this time, according to DelDOT

“The department believes the proposed improvements would have made the road safer and funded the needed infrastructure work to support the efforts to make the Cooch’s Bridge Historical Site a more prominent historical destination,” McLeod said. “However, given the lack of community support, we won’t be pursuing improvements beyond the necessary bridge work.”

Vince Watchorn, board of directors president for the Friends of Cooch’s Bridge Historical Site, expressed the group’s support in the scaling back of the project.

“[We] are delighted by DelDOT’s decision to scrap its redesign of Old Baltimore Pike,” Watchorn said. “Our organization believes that modifications to the road must fully account for the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs' plans to preserve the Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site and open it to the public. We are deeply appreciative that the agency’s people are willing to listen to outside viewpoints and respond appropriately.”

Molly McVety covers community and environmental issues around Delaware. Contact her at mmcvety@delawareonline.com . Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety .

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: A century-old intersection was in need of repairs until residents pushed back