Federal Aid Project Number: 1081(118)
deKoven Drive and Rapallo Avenue Improvements in the City of Middletown
Project Location:
This project is located in the City of Middletown on deKoven Drive from Washington Street heading north to include Rapallo Avenue up to its intersection with Main Street. Offline work is located on 7 and 31 Rapallo Avenue.
View the color roll plan for project 0082-0330
Existing Conditions:
deKoven Drive parallels Main Street and serves as a frontage road to Main Street. deKoven Drive turns into Rapallo Avenue via a substandard compound curve. Rapallo Avenue is bi-directional with unmarked street parking on both sides of the road. The current curb to curb width is approximately 35.5 feet which leaves 6.5 feet of unmarked parking on each side of the road. The City ROW along deKoven Drive and Rapallo Avenue is very tight to the edge of the buildings, often with the sidewalk terminating all the way up at the building foundation. The City is experiencing numerous violations of the “no left turn” from Main Street southbound to Rapallo Avenue eastbound. Additionally, the City is looking for ways to alleviate congestion on Main Street in the vicinity of Rapallo Avenue.
Crash Data: (updated 5/29/2025)
The latest available three-year crash data along these roads (January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2025) reported 19 crashes with 5 injuries.
Purpose and Need:
The purpose of this project is to improve safety and reduce congestion in the vicinity of deKoven Drive and Rapallo Avenue. This project is needed because the curve between deKoven Drive and Rapallo Avenue is substandard and because the lane configuration on Rapallo Avenue leads to excessive congestion at its intersection with Main Street.
Project Improvements:
Improvements will be made to Rapallo Avenue by converting the existing bi-directional roadway to a one-way configuration heading towards Main Street. A designated right turn lane and a through/left lane are proposed on Rapallo Avenue at Main Street. By converting Rapallo Avenue to one-way and by widening approximately 3 feet, all 21 on-street parking spaces will be maintained and widened by 1.5 feet to provide more space for parked vehicles. This configuration will also improve the pedestrian safety of the crossing along Main Street by allowing pedestrians to focus on only one approach and eliminate the current observed illegal left turns onto Rapallo Avenue from Main Street southbound. The horizontal curve between deKoven Drive and Rapallo Avenue will also be addressed and improved to better meet driver expectations. In addition to the roadway work, a gravel parking lot at 7 and 31 Rapallo Avenue will be paved and striped and all sidewalks and sidewalk ramps within the project limits will be repaired as needed.
Funding:
Engineering: 100% State FIF
Construction: 80% Federal STPH/ 20% State
Schedule:
FDP: November 11, 2026
DCD: December 23, 2026
ADV: January 20, 2027
AWD: February 17, 2027
NTP: May 31, 2027
*Subject to available funding