Tunnel under the Delaware River? The wild idea that died a quick death.

When the last concrete was poured on the DuPont Boulevard in 1923, southern Delaware drivers were freed of the tyranny of railroad schedules as they drove from Selbyville to Wilmington. At Delaware’s biggest city, motorists were stymied by the Delaware River. They had to turn north to the narrow streets of Philadelphia and take one of the bridges there to cross the river.

Delaware's roads were atrocious until transformative DuPont Boulevard

Bays and rivers were once considered highways. Boat travel was considered the most comfortable and quickest way to travel until the railroads arrived in the early decades of the 19th century. Trains offered quick and comfortable travel, but passengers were bound by ironclad railroad schedules that dictated when travelers left and arrived.

At the dawn of the 20 ^th century, horseless carriages began to appear on Delaware roads. The newfangled machines allowed motorists to drive where and whenever they wanted.

At that time, Delaware roads were atrocious, and it took decades for them to improve. T. Coleman du Pont’s gift to the state of the DuPont Boulevard, a hard surfaced highway from one end of the state to the other, allowed motorists to drive the length of the state in a few hours. That ended at Wilmington, where they encountered the Delaware River.

On Feb. 22, 1937, tunnel expert John Meigs, chief engineer for the Wilmington-Deepwater Tunnel Company, addressed the Milford Rotary Club touting the virtues of a tunnel under the Delaware River in the Wilmington area. As reported by the Milford Chronicle, he explained, "The river portion of the tunnel will be a round cylinder, 31 feet in outside diameter, constructed piecemeal in place out of circular iron segments and line[d] with concrete. It will accommodate a two-lane, two direction roadway with a service walkway on one side," he said.

There would be one and a half miles long, traffic lanes would be separated by a wide raised guardrail, reducing the chance of accidents. Meigs pointed out that most tunnels were constructed in urban areas that required the purchase of expensive land, but his proposed tunnel would begin in a cornfield and end in a marsh. There were no buildings within a hundred yards of either entrance to the tunnel.

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An economic boon for Sussex County? Not to be

In 1937, Sussex County and the rest of Delaware were mired in the Great Depression, and Meigs told the Rotary club, “One-third of the $10,000,000 cost of the project will be paid out in wages, much of which will be placed in circulation in Delaware immediately.” He also indicated that much of the material used to construct the tunnel would be bought from Delaware firms.

Meigs claimed that the tunnel would increase traffic flow well into Sussex County, resulting in an economic boom for that part of the state. He said, “This Increase of prosperous car movement through the lower counties of Delaware will leave a large amount of money in Its wake!”

When the Wilmington-Deepwater Tunnel Company asked the Delaware legislature for authorization to build the tunnel the company ran into considerable opposition. The Smyrna Times reported on April 1, 1937, “Sentiment in the legislature is divided on the tunnel bill and its fate is doubtful … opponents claim Delaware is not yet ready for a project of this size, which they believe will become a liability.”

Without legislative support, the tunnel project died a quick death. Any proposed crossings of the Delaware River were put on hold during World War II.  Delaware drivers were left without a convenient way to cross the river until the Delaware Memorial Bridge near New Castle opened in 1951.

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Principal sources

Milford Chronicle, February 26, 1937.

Smyrna Times, April 1, 1937.

Delaware Memorial Bridge, https://www.delawarememorialbridge.com/

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Tunnel under the Delaware River? The wild idea that died a quick death.