The North Millsboro Bypass, a 2.4-mile connector that diverts trucks and resort-bound traffic around a bottleneck in downtown Millsboro, will soon have a new name.
Late Tuesday night, the House approved Senate Bill 349. Sponsored by State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn (R-Georgetown), the bipartisan measure will rename the $140 million public works project the Senator Richard S. Cordrey Bypass.
A Millsboro native, Richard Cordrey served in the Delaware General Assembly from 1970 to 1996, spending all but two years of his tenure in the Senate. From January 1977 to November 1996, he was the Senate President Pro Tempore. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving person in that position in the nation. In 2005, he joined the Minner administration as Secretary of Finance, a cabinet post he held for four years.
Sen. Cordrey successfully sponsored two constitutional amendments that were adopted in 1980 as part of the state government’s financial management reforms driven by Gov. Pete du Pont. The first established a spending cap of 98% of anticipated General Fund revenues, with the second creating a budget reserve account, the “Rainy Day Fund,” to be used for unexpected emergencies.
State Rep. Valerie Jones Giltner (R-Georgetown) sponsored SB 349 in the House.
Senate Bill 349 cleared the House and Senate unanimously. It is pending the governor’s consideration and will likely be signed into law at a ceremony near the bypass.
