The Airport Road roundabout opened to traffic last week, the day after Savannah Edwards, Senior Planner with the Rossi Group and Malcolm Jacob, Transportation Planner with Dover Kent County MPO presented Milford City Council with results of a study conducted for the Airport Road corridor. The study was to examine Airport Road between Canterbury Road and U.S. 113 to identify improvements for intersections as well as possible bicycle connectivity.
“We were looking at the Airport Road corridor where the new roundabout is located and at the eastern most is Dupont Boulevard,” Edwards said. “The study began last July. We went out and took a scan of what is out there and then collected initial feedback from people about how they use the corridor and what they wished was there. Then we looked at what the key issues were.”
Public input was gathered at a council meeting on September 8, 2025, a pop-up booth at the Riverwalk Freedom Festival, and a public workshop at the Food Bank of Delaware on February 19, 2026. The study found that the majority of people using Airport Road were going to Walmart. Of those surveyed, the majority felt that traffic controls signals would make the road safer. The public also suggested protected walkways and bike paths.
“At the February public workshop, 16 of 25 people voted that they supported a roundabout at Delaware Veteran’s Boulevard. The study found that there was between an eight and ten second delay at that intersection,” Edwards said. “Five out of 25 opposed the roundabout strongly. The next intersection, Bowman Road, adding a roundabout could make congestion worse.”
At Airpark Plaza, Edwards pointed out that there were a number of crashes at the intersection. The suggestion was to relocate the entrance back to align with the bowling alley across the street. The shopping center would not lose parking with this design and with the right signage the change could reduce congestion and crashes. Bicycle lanes along Airport Road were also recommended.
“Once the study is submitted to the MPO, it can be submitted to DelDOT for them to prioritize,” Jacobs said. “There is some funding from Safe Streets for All and TAP projects. These studies have been performed before and several years ago we completed the Bicycle Master Plan. DelDOT has implemented portions of that plan with a pathway under design on 113 from Milford Plaza all the way to the high school.”
Councilman Jason James asked if developers were required to conform to any of the recommendations. Rob Pierce, City Planner, stated that Milford code required developers to comply with the master plan and bicycle master plan.
“Airport Road is the largest road that the city actually owns and operates,” Pierce said. “So, any entrance improvements would need to be reviewed by Public Works and the city engineer and this study could help us with those improvements.”
The entire study can be found on the City of Milford website.
