The Airport and Canterbury Road closures have been extended by the City of Milford and DelDOT. The roads will continue to be closed at the intersection of Canterbury and Airport Road with the closure extended to Delaware Veteran’s Boulevard.
Initially, the roads were supposed to be open in early March but recent weather events led to delays in completing the roundabout at Airport Road. Now the roads are scheduled to be closed until April 6, 2026.
Travelers in the area will be required to follow posted detours. Access to businesses and residences in the area have remained open.
The new roundabout is part of the road improvements needed for the Milford Corporate Center which is under construction at the intersection of Canterbury and Milford-Harrington Road. Due to expected increased traffic, the roundabout was added by DelDOT to keep traffic moving.
There is significant evidence that roundabouts are much safer than four-way stops or traffic signals. Roundabouts reduce fatal crashes by up to 90 percent and injury crashes by 80 percent. Roundabouts slow traffic to 15-20 miles per hour, eliminating high-speed, right-angle or head-on collisions. Traffic entering the roundabout is required to yield and this forces traffic to move in the same direction, also resulting in fewer sever, sideswipe-type accidents.
Roundabouts also require less land than a traditional intersection as turn lanes are not required. They also save money as there is no cost to operate a traffic signal which can cost as much as $5,000 per year. The intersection operates even if there is a power outage and roundabouts are actually safer for pedestrians.
There are often comments that New Jersey has eliminated traffic circles, which is true, but a roundabout and a traffic circle are completely different traffic devices. New Jersey, which has been known for its circles, is actually replacing traffic circles with roundabouts. A roundabout enforces low speeds due to a tighter curved entrance and in all roundabouts, the entering traffic must yield. Some older traffic circles required the traffic inside the circle to yield, although that was not common. Roundabouts are usually designed as a spiral where changing lanes is not required to exit while traffic circles require lane changes.
For more information about the difference between circles and roundabouts, visit the Federal Highway Administration online.
