If your trucking takes you through Delaware on Interstate 95, you’ll need to find your way around part of that highway where tractor-trailers have been banned.
The Delaware Department of Transportation earlier this week announced tractor-trailers are barred from using the northbound lanes through a construction zone in Wilmington.
DelDOT on Tuesday, Sept. 21, said that from Interstate 495 to north of the Brandywine River Bridge in Wilmington, only two-axle vehicles and buses are allowed to use the north lanes of I-95. DelDOT said the restriction is meant to reduce the number of truck crashes in the I-95 construction zone.
Since the beginning of the project in February, almost two dozen crashes involving tractor-trailers have occurred in the construction zone, according to DerlDOT. The project, which includes the repair of 19 bridges, the roadway, and several on- and off-ramps, will take years to complete.
“While the tractor-trailer operators are not always at fault in these incidents, these crashes have shut down the roadway for lengthy periods of time and this is an additional step we are taking to increase safety in the construction zone,” Transportation Secretary Nicole Majeski said in a statement.
The restriction does not apply to I-95 southbound due to multiple access points and difficulty enforcing the restriction, however, the Department urges tractor-trailers and other vehicles with more than two axles to utilize I-495 as an alternate route.
See how to avoid delays while getting around the section of I-95 where trucks are banned.