DOVER — The Route 1 corridor improvement project, a $340 million infrastructure initiative originally scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2019, has entered its eleventh year of active construction, according to records obtained by The Scrapple through a public records request that itself took fourteen months to fulfill.

The project, which encompasses a 23-mile stretch of highway between the Christiana Mall interchange and the Lewes ferry terminal, has been described by the Delaware Department of Transportation as "substantially progressing," "on track," and, in one 2023 press release, "entering its final phase" — a phrase that has now appeared in four consecutive annual reports.

"We remain committed to completing this project," said DelDOT spokesperson Carla Vance in a statement provided to The Scrapple. "Significant work has been accomplished."

She did not specify what work. We asked. She sent a PDF.

The Route 1 improvement project was announced in 2015 with a projected completion date of late 2019 and a budget of $210 million. By 2020, the budget had increased to $280 million and the completion date had moved to 2022. By 2023, the budget was $340 million and the completion date was described as "contingent on supply chain conditions."

The current projected completion date is 2028, though three engineers interviewed for this story — all of whom requested anonymity because they work for contractors on the project — said 2031 was "more realistic" and one said "I honestly don't know anymore" before ending the call.

According to DelDOT's most recent project summary, the following work has been completed as of this writing: resurfacing of a 4.2-mile segment near Smyrna (2021), installation of new signage at seven interchanges (2022–2023), removal and replacement of a bridge deck near Milford (2024), and placement of orange construction barrels at all remaining locations. The barrels, sources say, are considered permanent at this point.

For residents who commute along Route 1, the project has become a fixed feature of daily life, like the weather or the knowledge that the Christiana Mall food court will never fully recover.

"I've driven through this construction since my kids were in middle school," said Donna Falk of Milford. "They're in college now. One of them is engaged. I'm going to drive through this construction to her wedding."

Truck driver Pete Szymanski, who runs a regular route between Wilmington and Rehoboth, said he has "made peace with it."

"It's just part of the road now," he said. "The cones are load-bearing at this point. You take them away, the whole thing collapses."

DelDOT maintains that the project is proceeding according to its current schedule, which has been revised 11 times since 2015. The department notes that infrastructure projects of this scale routinely experience delays and that Delaware's project compares favorably to similar initiatives in neighboring states.

When asked to name a similar initiative in a neighboring state that had taken longer, the spokesperson said she would follow up. She has not followed up.

The Route 1 project is funded through a combination of federal highway funds, state transportation bonds, and what one budget analyst described as "a kind of institutional momentum that has become self-sustaining."

Construction is expected to resume in spring, as it does every year.