On the afternoon of October 31, a fresh stretch of pavement opened under the Nassau Bridge. The Cape Gazette reported the same day that several drivers had already tried to take it in the wrong direction. The new road only runs one way for now. You can drive from the Lewes Senior Activity Center toward Old World Breads, but you can't drive back.
That one-way stretch is part of DelDOT's SR 1, Minos Conaway Road Grade Separated Intersection project. Over the next ten weeks the project matters less for what it has opened and more for what it still has closed. Nassau Road is shut between Queen Anne Way and New Road through mid-January 2027. DelDOT's detour around the closure runs along Savannah Road, which is also the road to the farmers market, Hospitality Night and the Christmas parade.
One direction under the bridge
The new pattern has opened in pieces. On October 5, DelDOT opened a roundabout at Route 1 and Minos Conaway Road, which restored access to Minos Conaway and let southbound traffic reach Janice Road and Nassau Commons Boulevard. Here's how a southbound trip works now, according to the Cape Gazette's October 6 report:
- Leave southbound Route 1 on the new road just south of Red Mill Pond.
- At the Minos Conaway roundabout, you can turn onto Minos Conaway Road, keep heading south toward the Lewes Senior Activity Center, or go back onto Route 1 south.
- Keep going south on the newly built road that runs parallel to Route 1 until you reach the second roundabout, next to the Nassau Bridge.
- From that roundabout you can reach Janice Road and Nassau Commons Boulevard. As of October 31, you can also go eastbound under the bridge toward Old World Breads.
The return trip has to wait for the third roundabout, at New Road and Nassau Road. About half of it was finished by early October. Crews held off on closing Nassau Road to build the rest until the first section was open and the summer traffic had gone. DelDOT's project page lists the closure as running from October 6, 2026, to January 16, 2027. The page also says part of the New Road and Nassau Road intersection is expected to reopen in early November to improve access to northbound Route 1, with the rest of the closure ending in January 2027. If that partial reopening happens around the time you read this, it should loosen things a little. Full two-way traffic under the bridge is still a mid-January milestone.
The detour shares a road with December
DelDOT's September 28 traffic alert gives the official detour, and it uses the same two roads from every direction:
- Southbound on Route 1: keep going south, turn left onto Savannah Road, then left onto Old Orchard Road to reach New Road.
- Northbound on Route 1: turn right onto Savannah Road, then left onto Old Orchard Road to reach New Road.
- Westbound on New Road: turn left onto Old Orchard Road, right onto Savannah Road, then right onto Route 1.
DelDOT asks drivers to use caution in the work zone and expect minor delays. Now set the closure dates next to the town calendar:
| Date | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Saturdays through Nov. 28 | Historic Lewes Farmers Market | Lewes Elementary, 820 Savannah Road |
| Thursday, Dec. 3, 5 to 8 p.m. | Hospitality Night; Second Street closed to cars 3 to 8 p.m. | Downtown, with Santa at Second and Bank Streets |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | Final holiday farmers market and $20 for Plenty food drive | Lewes Elementary, 820 Savannah Road |
| Saturday, Dec. 5, 5 p.m. | 94th Lewes Christmas Parade, then the tree lighting and candlelight caroling | Downtown, ending at Zwaanendael Park |
| Sunday, Dec. 6 | Parade rain or snow date | Downtown |
| Mid-January 2027 | Nassau Road and New Road expected to reopen in both directions | Nassau, by Old World Breads |
Saturday, December 5 is the busiest day on that list. The farmers market's final holiday edition is on Savannah Road in the morning, and the parade, honoring grand marshal Mary Alice "Mak" Kelly, steps off at 5 p.m., according to the Lewes Chamber's October 28 announcement. The Chamber's older calendar listing still shows December 6. The newer announcement makes December 5 the parade date and December 6 the backup if the weather doesn't cooperate.
If you live off New Road or in the neighborhoods around Old Orchard Road, the Nassau Road shortcut to Route 1 is closed until January. The posted route runs along Savannah Road on the same days the town is heading downtown.
Getting north without the crossovers
The other big change is easy to miss until you need it. Nearly all of the Route 1 crossovers between Five Points and Red Mill Pond have closed. For anyone who used to cut across the median to head north, that move is gone for good.
CoastTV described the new way to reach northbound Route 1. Take southbound Route 1 to Exit 40, then go through the Minos Conaway roundabout, along the new service road, through the Janice Road roundabout, eastbound on New Road under the Nassau Bridge, and onto southbound Nassau Road. On a map it looks long. In practice it puts you back on Route 1 without crossing oncoming traffic, which is the safety problem the project was built to fix. DelDOT's stated purpose is to keep Route 1 moving and make the unsignalized Minos Conaway intersection safer while improving access for local traffic.
CoastTV also reported DelDOT's assurance that businesses in the construction zone remain open and accessible. For a stop at Old World Breads this month, the eastbound lane under the bridge gets you there. You'll leave the way the detour signs point.
After January, the work crosses Route 1
Reopening Nassau Road in January finishes the southbound side, not the project. The Cape Gazette reported that crews still have to build a new access road on the northbound side in front of businesses including Surfing Crab and Meineke, and that work on the south side of the Nassau Bridge hadn't started yet. DelDOT's October 2026 phasing chart lays out the order:
- October 2026 to summer 2027: northbound Route 1 north of the Nassau Bridges
- January to October 2027: northbound Route 1 south of the Nassau Bridges
- October 2027 to January 2028: the northbound off-ramp and an extension of Nassau Road to Tulip Drive
DelDOT's project page currently lists the end of construction as summer 2028. Schedules on a job this size tend to move, but the order of the work is clear. The orange barrels on the southbound side start to clear in January, and the northbound side becomes the busy one through 2027.
Downtown errands before the year turns
Some of the trips worth making along that detour have a deadline. The Old Screen Door at 209 Monroe Avenue is closing at the end of the year after 17 years with owner Tony Romano, who told the Cape Gazette he's retiring. The shop's mix of local artists, jewelry makers, pottery, books and furniture has to be gone by January 1. Some vendors have marked things down, and others are moving their merchandise elsewhere. "Whatever's left, I'll set up tables on the deck, put up a sign that says free and call the thrift stores," Romano told the paper. Seagreen Bicycle and Tom Tom, next door, are staying.
If your December plans include crossing the bay, the Delaware River and Bay Authority has added a temporary $7 fuel surcharge per vehicle per crossing on the Cape May–Lewes Ferry. Walk-on passengers are exempt. The surcharge is expected to last through December 31, but the authority may adjust it as fuel costs change.
For the next ten weeks, the quickest route into Lewes from the Nassau side probably isn't the one you're used to. DelDOT's project page is where updates show up first, including word on the partial reopening expected in early November.
If you're getting ready to sell, planning showings, or just wondering how the Minos Conaway work will change daily trips from your street, Denny Horner and the Denny & Leyla Team are happy to talk it through with you, from Nassau to Second Street. Contact Us.
