New Delaware toll highway closer to reality

Federal transportation officials say the U.S. 301 toll road in project in southern New Castle County from the Maryland-Delaware line to State Route 1 is eligible for federal funding.

 

State officials said Monday that the federal government has agreed to provide a low-interest, direct loan of up to $211.3 million for the project. Delaware officials say the federal loan provides several advantages, including below-market interest rates, and deferrals of interest payments for five years and principal payments for 10 years.

With the loan agreement, federal officials have agreed that the toll project remains financially viable despite a 2013 downward revision in projected vehicle counts.

The current estimated price tag for the project, which includes a two-lane spur road branching northward from the four-lane main toll road, is about $650 million.