Delaware Route 2

Delaware Route 2 (DE 2) is a 10.81-mile-long (17.40 km) east–west highway located in northern New Castle County, Delaware. It runs from DE 72 and DE 273 on the eastern edge of Newark east to DE 52 in Wilmington. DE 2 is known variously as Capitol Trail, Kirkwood Highway, and Lincoln and Union streets along its route. Between Newark and Wilmington, the route is a four- to six-lane divided highway that passes through suburban areas. In Wilmington, DE 2 is routed along a one-way pair of city streets.

Delaware Route 2
DE 2 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT
Length10.81 mi[1] (17.40 km)
Existed1936[2]–present
Major junctions
West end DE 72 / DE 273 in Newark
  DE 7 in Marshallton
DE 41 / DE 62 in Prices Corner
DE 141 in Prices Corner
DE 100 in Elsmere
DE 48 in Wilmington
DE 9 in Wilmington
East end DE 52 in Wilmington
Location
CountiesNew Castle
Highway system
← DE 1DDE 3 →

What would become DE 2 was paved by 1924 and became a state highway in 1927, receiving the DE 2 designation by 1936. At this time, the western terminus of the road was at the Maryland border southwest of Newark, where it continued into that state as Maryland Route 279 (MD 279). The road was progressively widened into a divided highway from Wilmington to Newark between 1940 and 1964, bypassing some portions of the road which are now known as Old Capitol Trail. DE 2 was routed to bypass Newark by 1990, with DE 2 Business (DE 2 Bus.) designated on the former route through Newark. In 2013, the western terminus of DE 2 was truncated to its current location and DE 2 Bus. was decommissioned. The westernmost portion of the route was designated as DE 279, matching the route number just across the Maryland border.

Route description
DE 2 eastbound on Kirkwood Highway in Marshallton

DE 2 begins at an intersection with DE 72 and DE 273 in the eastern part of the city of Newark. From here, DE 2 heads north concurrent with DE 72 on Capitol Trail, a four-lane divided highway. The road turns northeast and passes under CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision railroad line before it leaves Newark and continues northeast through residential areas, briefly becoming undivided as it crosses White Clay Creek.[3][4]

After the road crosses Middle Run, DE 72 splits from DE 2 by heading northwest on Possum Park Road, with DE 2 continuing northeast through suburban areas consisting of homes and businesses as a four-lane divided highway. The road passes to the south of Pike Creek and intersects several roads including Polly Drummond Hill Road/Red Mill Road, North Harmony Road, and Upper Pike Creek Road. After the Upper Pike Creek Road intersection, the route crosses Pike Creek. At the Pike Creek Road intersection, the road name becomes Kirkwood Highway. The highway continues through suburbs and reaches a junction with Delaware Park Drive, an access road that leads south to Delaware Park, which consists of a thoroughbred horse racetrack, casino, and golf course. Following this, the road intersects Milltown Road prior to crossing Mill Creek. In Marshallton, the route widens to six lanes and comes to an intersection with DE 7.[3][4]

Past this intersection, DE 2 continues past businesses, intersecting Duncan Road. The road comes to a bridge over Red Clay Creek and the Wilmington and Western Railroad before reaching Prices Corner and an intersection with Newport Gap Pike, which heads northwest as DE 41 and southeast as DE 62. At this point, DE 2 passes to the north of Prices Corner Shopping Center. The road comes to a bridge over Centerville Road, with indirect access to Centerville Road and a park and ride lot to the south, before reaching a partial cloverleaf interchange with the DE 141 freeway.[3][4]

DE 2 eastbound past DE 41/DE 62 in Prices Corner

Following this interchange, DE 2 narrows to four lanes and continues east through a mix of homes and businesses, crossing Little Mill Creek and passing to the south of the Wilmington VA Medical Center before it heads over Chestnut Run. At this point, the route enters the town of Elsmere and briefly turns southeast before curving back to the east and reaching an intersection with DE 100. Past this intersection, the road comes to a bridge over a junction between CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision and an East Penn Railroad line and then CSX's Market Street Industrial Track line before running past homes as South Union Street.[3][4]

DE 2 crosses into the city of Wilmington in the Canby Park Estates neighborhood and passes to the north of Canby Park, where it splits into the one-way pair of South Lincoln Street eastbound and South Union Street westbound and heads northeast. The one-way pair, which carries two lanes in each direction, passes urban homes and businesses and reaches an intersection with DE 48 (Lancaster Avenue) in the Union Park Gardens neighborhood. At this point, DE 2 becomes North Lincoln Street eastbound and North Union Street westbound, with the westbound direction forming a concurrency with westbound DE 48 between West 2nd Street and Lancaster Avenue. The highway enters the Little Italy neighborhood, where it intersects the northern terminus of DE 9. The route continues north to its eastern terminus at DE 52.[3][4]

DE 2 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 49,116 vehicles at the DE 141 interchange to a low of 19,009 vehicles at the DE 9 intersection.[1] The entire length of DE 2 is part of the National Highway System.[5]

History
Old cutout shield for DE 2 westbound past DE 48 in Wilmington. This sign has since been replaced.

The portion of present-day DE 2 between Prices Corner and Wilmington was built in 1881 as New Road, connecting Greenbank Mill to Wilmington.[6] The road that ran from the Maryland state line west of Newark and through Newark to Wilmington, which would later become DE 2, was originally a narrow and winding unpaved county road.[6][7] Since the 1910s, this roadway was called the Lincoln Highway, a name it would retain until 1938. The Lincoln Highway name continued northeast of Wilmington along the Philadelphia Pike, which is present-day U.S. Route 13 Business (US 13 Bus.) and US 13, to the Pennsylvania border in Claymont. The Lincoln Highway between Newark and Wilmington also became known as the Capitol Trail as the travel corridor eventually led to the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.[6] By 1924, the roadway between the Maryland border west of Newark and Wilmington was paved.[8] In 1925, suggestions were made for the state to take over maintenance of the highway connecting the Maryland border to Newark and Wilmington.[9][10] The same year, recommendations were made to remove a grade crossing with a junction between the Reading Railroad (now the East Penn Railroad) and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (now CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision) in Elsmere.[10] In 1927, the state took over maintenance of the highway between the Maryland border and Wilmington via Newark.[11] In November 1931, the Marshallton Cutoff was opened, bypassing the narrow and winding route through the community of Marshallton. This section included a through plate girder bridge over the Red Clay Creek.[12] In the 1930s, plans were made to build a divided highway alignment of the Capitol Trail between Wilmington and Stanton, including a bypass of Marshallton, as a result of the construction of the Delaware Park racetrack, which opened in 1937.[6]

In 1936, DE 2 was designated to run from the Maryland border southwest of Newark, where it connected to MD 279, to DE 52 in Wilmington, following Elkton Road, Main Street, Capitol Trail, New Road, and Union Street.[2] In 1938, construction began on widening DE 2 into a divided highway between Prices Corner and Elsmere, with plans to extend the divided highway westward to bypass the two-lane section through Marshallton to the north along a new alignment.[13] In 1939, the divided highway alignment of DE 2 was completed between DE 7 and Elsmere, with the exception of the bridge over the Red Clay Creek in Cranston Heights.[14] This bridge was finished in 1940, completing the improvement of DE 2 into a divided highway between DE 7 and Elsmere.[14][15] The new divided highway routing of DE 2 was extended west from DE 7 to Pike Creek Road in 1941. The bypassed former alignment of the route between Pike Creek Road and Prices Corner became known as Old Capitol Trail. On May 9, 1941, the new alignment of DE 2 between Pike Creek Road and the east end of New Road in Elsmere was named the Robert Kirkwood Highway in honor of Robert Kirkwood, an American Revolutionary War soldier from Newark. The portion of the route between DE 273 and Pike Creek Road retained the name Capitol Trail.[6]

DE 2 concurrent with DE 4 and DE 896 on the Christiana Parkway in Newark in 2003. The DE 2 designation was removed from this road in 2013.

In 1940, plans were made to eliminate the grade crossing with the railroad junction in Elsmere by replacing it with a bridge over the tracks along with a new alignment for DE 2 between the end of the divided highway in Elsmere and Union and Lincoln streets in Wilmington.[15] Due to World War II and steel shortages, construction of the bridge would be delayed until after the war.[16] In December 1949, the bridge carrying the route over the Reading Railroad and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Elsmere was opened to traffic, with final work on the bridge finished in 1950.[17]

In 1956, DE 2 and DE 273 were routed onto the one-way pair of Delaware Avenue eastbound and Main Street westbound in downtown Newark following an eastward extension of Delaware Avenue to the intersection between DE 2 and DE 273 east of the city.[18] In 1957, work began to widen DE 2 into a four-lane divided highway between the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (now CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision) bridge in Newark and DE 7.[19] The divided highway was extended west to Red Mill Road by 1959. Also by this time, the route was split into a one-way pair in Wilmington on Union Street and Lincoln Street.[20] The road between Newark and Red Mill Road became a divided highway by 1964.[21] The portion of DE 2 along Elkton Road between the Maryland border and Newark was widened into a divided highway in 1972.[22]

The Christiana Parkway around the southern edge of Newark was completed in September 1983.[23][24] By 1990, DE 2 was realigned to bypass Newark along Christiana Parkway, which carried portions of DE 4 and DE 896, Chestnut Hill Road, which also carried DE 4, and South Chapel Street and Library Avenue, which was also DE 72. With this realignment, the former route through Newark became DE 2 Bus.[25] In 2013, the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) proposed the renumbering of routes in and around Newark. The plan called for DE 2 to start at DE 273 (Main Street) east of Newark instead of at the Maryland state line as well as the removal of the DE 2 Bus. designation through Newark. In addition, the portion of Elkton Road between the Maryland border and the Christiana Parkway would be designated as DE 279. The goal of the project was to "simplify the route designations in Newark, reduce sign clutter, and reduce sign maintenance costs." The changes were completed in the middle part of 2013.[26] In September 2015, the concurrency with DE 41 in Prices Corner was removed.[27][28]

Major intersections

The entire route is in New Castle County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Newark0.000.00 DE 72 south (Library Avenue) to I-95
DE 273 (East Main Street/Ogletown Road) – Ogletown		Western terminus; west end of DE 72 overlap
1.211.95 DE 72 north (Possum Park Road)East end of DE 72 overlap
Marshallton5.178.32 DE 7 (Limestone Road) – Stanton, Christiana, Dover
Prices Corner6.9211.14 DE 41 north / DE 62 east (Newport Gap Pike) – Avondale, LancasterSouthern terminus of DE 41; western terminus of DE 62
7.5012.07 DE 141 to I-95 – Newport, FairfaxDE 141 exit 6
Elsmere9.1914.79 DE 100 (Dupont Road)
Wilmington10.0816.22 DE 48 (Lancaster Avenue)West end of westbound overlap with DE 48 westbound
DE 48 (West 2nd Street)East end of westbound overlap with DE 48 westbound
10.4316.79 DE 9 south (West 4th Street)Northern terminus of DE 9
10.8117.40 DE 52 (Pennsylvania Avenue)Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Delaware Route 2 Business

Delaware Route 2 Business
LocationNewark
Length2.91 mi[1] (4.68 km)
Existed1990[25]–2013[26]
Westbound DE 2 Bus./DE 273 along Main Street in Newark approaching College Avenue in 2013, a short time before DE 2 Bus. was decommissioned

Delaware Route 2 Business (DE 2 Bus.) was a 2.91-mile (4.68 km)[1] long business route of DE 2 that ran through the city of Newark. DE 2 Bus. continued northeast from an intersection with DE 2/DE 4/DE 896 southwest of downtown Newark along four-lane divided Elkton Road, concurrent with DE 896. From this point, DE 2 Bus./DE 896 crossed the Christina River and headed into residential areas. The road changed names to South Main Street and became undivided as it passed businesses before reaching downtown Newark. Here, DE 2 Bus./DE 896 intersected DE 273, with the road splitting into a one-way pair. Eastbound DE 2 Bus./northbound DE 896 ran concurrent with eastbound DE 273 on West Delaware Avenue, heading to the east, while westbound DE 2 Bus./southbound DE 896 remained along South Main Street, also concurrent with eastbound DE 273. The one-way pair carried two lanes in each direction. Westbound DE 2 Bus. entered South Main Street from West Main Street, which also carried the westbound direction of DE 273 and the northbound direction of DE 896. At the intersection with South College Avenue, the concurrency in both directions with northbound DE 896 ended. DE 2 Bus./DE 273 passed through the University of Delaware campus and continued through the commercial downtown as East Delaware Avenue eastbound and East Main Street westbound. Farther east, the one-way pair crossed the Pomeroy and Newark Rail Trail and passed the Newark Transit Hub serving DART First State buses, which is located between East Main Street and East Delaware Avenue. East Delaware Avenue shifted farther to the south of East Main Street, with the one-way streets passing between a residential neighborhood and East Delaware Avenue passing to the north of Newark High School. Past here, the route came to an intersection with DE 2/DE 72. At this point, DE 2 Bus. ended and eastbound DE 273 headed north with DE 2/DE 72 to rejoin westbound DE 273.[29][30]

The business route was created by 1990 when DE 2 was routed to bypass Newark.[25] In 2012, the Newark city council voted in favor of renaming the portion of Elkton Road carrying DE 2 Bus./DE 896 between West Park Place and West Main Street to South Main Street in order to promote businesses along this stretch of road. The change went into effect January 1, 2013.[31] DE 2 Bus. was decommissioned in 2013 as part of changes that also truncated the western terminus of DE 2 to the intersection with DE 72 and DE 273 in the eastern part of Newark.[26]

Major intersections
The entire route was in Newark, New Castle County.

mi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
0.000.00 DE 2 / DE 4 east / DE 896 south (Elkton Road/Christina Parkway) to I-95 southWestern terminus; west end of DE 896 overlap
1.522.45 DE 273 west (West Main Street)
DE 896 north (New London Road)		West end of DE 273 overlap
1.712.75 DE 896 (South College Avenue)East end of DE 896 overlap
2.914.68 DE 2 / DE 72 (Capitol Trail/Library Avenue)
DE 273 east (Ogletown Road)		Eastern terminus; east end of DE 273 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
  •  U.S. Roads portal

References
  1. Staff (2018). "Traffic Count and Mileage Report: Interstate, Delaware, and US Routes" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  2. Delaware State Highway Department; The National Survey Co. (1936). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1936–1937 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  3. Delaware Department of Transportation (2017). Official Travel & Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  4. Google (December 27, 2013). "overview of Delaware Route 2" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  5. National Highway System: Delaware (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  6. Francis, William (2014). Along the Kirkwood Highway. Images of America. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 7–9, 14, 25. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  7. Delaware State Highway Department (1920). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  8. Delaware State Highway Department (1924). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  9. "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1925 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. December 31, 1925: 21. Retrieved November 11, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. "Delaware State Highway Department Report" (PDF) (1926 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. December 31, 1926: 35. Retrieved November 11, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1927 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. December 31, 1927: 28. Retrieved November 11, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1931 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. December 31, 1931: 15. Retrieved November 11, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1938 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. January 1, 1939: 15. Retrieved November 11, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1939 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. January 1, 1940: 17. Retrieved November 11, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1940 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. January 1, 1941: 5. Retrieved October 30, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1941-42 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. July 1, 1942: 35. Retrieved November 17, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. "Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1950 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. July 1, 1950: 33. Retrieved November 11, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. "Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1956 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. July 1, 1956: 11. Retrieved November 12, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  19. "Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1957 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. July 1, 1957: 18. Retrieved November 11, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. Delaware State Highway Department (1959). Official Highway Map of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1959–1960 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  21. Delaware State Highway Department (1964). Official Highway Map of Delaware (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  22. Maryland State Highway Administration (1972). Maryland: Official Highway Map (Map). Baltimore: Maryland State Highway Administration.
  23. "Newark council says truckers evade tolls". The News Journal. Wilmington, DE. November 15, 1983.
  24. Delaware Department of Transportation (1984). Official State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  25. Delaware Department of Transportation (1990). Official State Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  26. Shannon, Josh (July 1, 2013). "A route to less clutter: DelDOT to consolidate Newark route numbers". Newark Post. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  27. "Proposed Route Designation Changes – DE Route 41 and DE Route 2". Delaware Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  28. "Routes 2 and 41 Separation Study" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  29. Delaware Department of Transportation (2012). Delaware Transportation & Tourism Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation.
  30. Google (January 8, 2012). "overview of Delaware Route 2 Business" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  31. Andrew, Theresa (June 29, 2012). "Portion of Elkton Road will be renamed 'South Main Street' Jan. 1". Newark Post. Retrieved July 21, 2013.

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