“We started with rain and are ending with snow,” he said Tuesday, Feb. 9, from a job site near Gravel Hill.

Over the past three weeks, a crew of four from Archaeological and Historical Consultants Inc. in Centre Hall, Pa., has been conducting archeological surveys at three intersections along Route 9 between Gravel Hill and Lewes. Breneman said cultural surveys must be conducted before roadwork can start. An archeological survey is one of several pre-construction processes involved with most state projects.

The crew is working at the Gravel Hill, Hudson Road and Dairy Farm Road intersections. The survey work is nearly complete, Breneman said, but there is no way to predict when intersection improvements will take place.

Because of the state’s current financial situation, DelDOT has put off construction work along Route 9.

So far, the crew has not made any major finds. Near the site of an old general store in Gravel Hill, the crew found a spear point mixed in with some modern artifacts. They have been sifting through soil and digging holes along Route 9.

“Most of what we have found is pieces of glass and ceramics,” he said.

Breneman said he is anxious to get the job completed and put the bad winter weather behind him, as he heads back home to Pennsylvania.