Delaware Route 6

Delaware Route 6 (DE 6) is a state highway in Kent County, Delaware. It runs from Maryland Route 291 (MD 291) at the Maryland border west of Blackiston to the Delaware Bay in Woodland Beach. The route passes through rural areas of northern Kent County as well as the towns of Clayton and Smyrna. DE 6 intersects DE 42 in Blackiston, DE 15 in Clayton, DE 300 and U.S. Route 13 (US 13) in Smyrna, and DE 9 to the east of Smyrna. The road was built as a state highway during the 1920s and 1930s and received the DE 6 designation by 1936. The easternmost part of the route was paved in the 1960s and the route was moved to its current alignment bypassing downtown Smyrna by the 1990s.

Delaware Route 6
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT
Length	17.38 mi[1] (27.97 km)
Existed	1936[2]–present
Tourist routes	Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway
Major junctions
West end	MD 291 near Blackiston
	DE 42 in Blackiston DE 15 near Clayton DE 300 in Smyrna US 13 in Smyrna DE 9 near Smyrna
East end	Delaware Avenue in Woodland Beach
Location
Counties	Kent
Highway system
Delaware State Route System List Byways ← DE 5 DE 7 →

Route description

DE 6 eastbound past DE 15 in Clayton

DE 6 begins at the Maryland border, where the road continues west into that state as MD 291. From the state line, the route heads east on two-lane undivided Millington Road, passing through the Blackiston Wildlife Area. The road runs through areas of woods and farms with some homes. In Blackiston, DE 6 intersects the western terminus of DE 42, which heads southeast toward the town of Kenton. The route continues east through more agricultural areas and reaches a junction with DE 15, at which point residential development near the road increases. DE 15 turns east to form a concurrency with DE 6, with the two routes continuing east. Upon reaching the western edge of the town of Clayton, DE 15 splits from DE 6 by heading to the north.[3][4]

DE 6 proceeds northeast through Clayton on Main Street, where it passes homes along with a few businesses. In Clayton, the road crosses the Delmarva Central Railroad's Delmarva Subdivision line at-grade as it turns more to the east. The route continues into the town of Smyrna, where it becomes Smyrna Clayton Boulevard. Shortly after entering Smyrna, DE 6 crosses Greens Branch and intersects DE 300, where it turns northeast onto West Glenwood Avenue and forms a concurrency with DE 300. The two routes pass a mix of homes and businesses before gaining a center left-turn lane past the Main Street intersection and entering a commercial area in the northern part of Smyrna as East Glenwood Avenue. Here, the road widens into a divided highway before intersecting US 13. At this point, DE 300 ends and DE 6 turns southeast to form a concurrency with US 13. The two routes pass more businesses on four-lane divided North Dupont Boulevard. DE 6 splits from US 13 by heading to the east on two-lane undivided East Commerce Street, running through residential areas. The route passes over the DE 1 toll road without an interchange and leaves Smyrna.[3][4]

Upon leaving Smyrna, DE 6 becomes Woodland Beach Road and passes to the north of Smyrna Airport. The road heads east into agricultural areas, crossing Mill Creek as it winds east. The route intersects DE 9 before turning northeast into marshland within the Woodland Beach Wildlife Area. DE 6 turns north and reaches its eastern terminus at an intersection with Delaware Avenue in the community of Woodland Beach, located along the Delaware Bay.[3][4]

The portion of the route between Alley Mill Road west of Clayton and DE 300 in Smyrna is part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, a Delaware Byway.[5] DE 6 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 26,210 vehicles at the east end of the US 13 concurrency to a low of 525 vehicles at the Delaware Avenue intersection in Woodland Beach.[1] None of DE 6 is part of the National Highway System.[6]

History

By 1920, what is now DE 6 existed as an unimproved county road.[7] The road was completed as a state highway within Clayton and was proposed as one from Clayton west to Blackiston by 1924.[8] On August 5, 1925, the state highway between Clayton and Blackiston was completed.[9] In 1929, the road leading to Woodland Beach was completed as a state highway.[10] The portion of the road between Blackiston and the Maryland border was upgraded to a state highway in 1930.[11] When Delaware created its state highway system by 1936, DE 6 was routed between the Maryland border west of Blackiston and Woodland Beach, following its current alignment to Smyrna, passing through Smyrna on Commerce Street, and continuing east on its current alignment to Woodland Beach. All of the route was paved except for the easternmost portion.[2] The eastern portion of the road was paved by 1967.[12] By the 1990s, DE 6 was routed onto its current alignment through Smyrna along DE 300 and US 13, bypassing the downtown area.[13]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Kent County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Blackiston	0.00	0.00	MD 291 west (Cypress Road) – Millington	Maryland state line; western terminus
	3.15	5.07	DE 42 east (Blackiston Road) – Kenton	Western terminus of DE 42
Clayton	5.83	9.38	DE 15 south (Alley Corner Road)	West end of DE 15 overlap
	7.12	11.46	DE 15 north (Duck Creek Road)	East end of DE 15 overlap
Smyrna	7.94	12.78	DE 300 west (Wheatleys Pond Road) – Kenton	West end of DE 300 overlap
	9.04	14.55	US 13 north (North Dupont Boulevard) – Wilmington DE 300 ends	Eastern terminus of DE 300; west end of US 13 overlap
	9.33	15.02	US 13 south (South Dupont Boulevard) – Dover	East end of US 13 overlap
​			DE 9 (Hay Point Landing Road) – Flemings Landing, Leipsic
Woodland Beach	17.38	27.97	Delaware Avenue	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

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 (August 21, 2010). "Overview of Delaware Route 6" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
5. "Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway". Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
6. National Highway System: Delaware (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
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: 17. Retrieved November 18, 2010. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
10. "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1929 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. December 31, 1929: 19. Retrieved November 15, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
11. "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1930 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. December 31, 1930: 19. Retrieved November 18, 2010. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
12. Delaware State Highway Department (1967). Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
13. Delaware Department of Transportation Division of Planning Cartographic Information Section (1996). Delaware Official State Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.

External links

Template:Attached KML/Delaware Route 6

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• Media related to Delaware Route 6 at Wikimedia Commons