Interstate 95 in Delaware
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| Interstate 95 Main route of the Interstate Highway System |
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| Delaware Turnpike John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway |
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| Length: | 23.43 mi[1] (37.71 km) | ||||||||
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| South end: |  I-95 at Maryland border near Newark |
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| Major junctions: |
 DE 896 near Newark  DE 1/DE 7 in Churchmans Crossing  US 202/DE 141 near Newport I-295 near Newport I-495 near Newport US 202 in Wilmington |
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| North end: | I-95 at Pennsylvania border near Claymont |
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In Delaware, Interstate 95 runs diagonally from the border with Pennsylvania in northeast to the border with Maryland. Between the Maryland state line and exit 5, I-95 is also designated as the Delaware Turnpike and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway. Along with its auxiliaries, I-95 is the only Interstate highway in the state. Only two other states, Maine, and Rhode Island share this distinction.
The route is the most heavily-traveled highway in Delaware, with peak average daily traffic at 182,853 (DelDOT 2006 study). Traffic backups are common, with the exit four interchange (Delaware Route 1) named the worst intersection in the state.
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[edit] County traversed
[edit] Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.
[edit] Route description
[edit] Delaware Turnpike
Interstate 95 crosses into Delaware from Maryland, where it is known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway, as a six-lane highway south of the city of Newark. Almost immediately after crossing the state line, there is a $4.00 toll plaza for both the northbound and southbound lanes. After the toll plaza, I-95 widens to eight lanes. It then features an interchange with Delaware Route 896, which runs northbound to Newark and the University of Delaware and southbound to U.S. Route 301, which heads south towards the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
Interstate 95 continues east and features a service plaza in the center median, with food, gas, restrooms, and an information center. The highway then intersects Delaware Route 273, which provides access to Christiana as well as to southbound Delaware Route 1. The highway then heads towards the cloverleaf interchange with Delaware Route 1 and Delaware Route 7 near the Christiana Mall. The interchange features a northbound entrance ramp from the Christiana Mall. Access from I-95 southbound to Delaware Route 7 northbound is not provided directly, rather it is provided by way of a ramp to Delaware Route 58 westbound, which intersects DE 7 at an interchange.
Interstate 95 then passes through the Churchman's Marsh before reaching Delaware's most complex interchange with Delaware Route 141, U.S. Route 202, Interstate 295, and Interstate 495. The carriageways of I-95 split and the northbound ramp providing access to DE 141 southbound by way of Airport Road splits off first. Shortly after, the northbound ramp providing access to Interstate 295 and DE 141 northbound branches off from the main northbound lanes of I-95, paralleling the highway for quite a distance. Interstate 95 features cloverleaf connections with southbound collector-distributor lanes with DE 141 and US 202. It is here that U.S. Route 202 begins a concurrency with Interstate 95 that continues through the city of Wilmington. Interstate 95 then features connections to both I-295 northbound, which heads towards the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the New Jersey Turnpike, and I-495, which bypasses Wilmington to the east, passing through the Port of Wilmington.
[edit] Wilmington
Past I-295 and I-495, Interstate 95, along with US 202, narrow to six lanes and head toward the city of Wilmington. They pass over the marshes of the Christina River and then pass by Frawley Stadium, home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks baseball team. The interstate then passes over the Amtrak Northeast Corridor and then a part of the city of Wilmington on a high viaduct. It features ramps that connect to Delaware Route 4 and Delaware Route 48 in Downtown Wilmington.
Interstate 95 narrows to a four-lane highway and then dives into a below street level alignment. It features ramps which provide access to Delaware Route 52. The highway then crosses the Brandywine Creek and passes through northern parts of the city. It then heads to an interchange with the Concord Pike, where US 202 heads north, splitting from I-95, and Delaware Route 202 heads south into the city on Concord Avenue.
At this point, Interstate 95 leaves the city limits of Wilmington and enters the suburban Brandywine Hundred area. It heads northeast, closely following a CSX rail line for the next few miles. It first follows the line to the west, but then crosses over it and runs to the east of it. I-95 then interchanges with Delaware Route 3 (Marsh Road). It continues to head to the northeast and meets Harvey Road at a partial interchange, with only a northbound exit and a southbound entrance.
Interstate 95 continues towards Claymont, where it features a diamond interchange with Delaware Route 92. Interstate 495 also merges into northbound I-95 within this interchange. A short distance past this interchange, Interstate 95 crosses the border into Pennsylvania.
[edit] Auxiliary routes
- Interstate 295 is the connector from I-95 to the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the New Jersey Turnpike, and a bypass route of Philadelphia. Once in New Jersey, I-295 continues northeast to Trenton.
- Interstate 495 is a bypass of Wilmington. I-495 runs from I-95 south of Wilmington near Newport, along the Delaware River north, before merging back in with I-95 at the Delaware/Pennsylvania state border. US 13 runs parallel to the highway, crossing I-495 at both the north and south ends.
[edit] Construction
In 2007, the Delaware Department of Transportation announced that they would be widening I-95 to five lanes. Northbound, the new fifth lane will run from the SR-1 interchange at exit 4 to the I-495 split just south of the city of Wilmington. Southbound, the new fifth lane will run from the SR-141 interchange at exit 5 to just south of the Churchman's Road bridge where I-95 crosses SR-58. Construction began in May 2007 and is expected to be completed in November of 2008.
[edit] Exit list
The entire route is in New Castle County.
| Municipality | Mile | # | Destinations | Notes | |
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| Maryland state line | |||||
| Newark | 0.54 | Delaware Turnpike Toll Plaza: $4.00 | |||
| 2.34 | 1 |  DE 896 to US 301 – Newark, Middletown |
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| Christiana | 5.10 | Delaware House Service Area | Left exit; located in center median | ||
| 6.63 | 3 |  DE 273 – Newark, Dover |
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| 7.89 | 4A | DE 1 / DE 7 south – Christiana, Mall Road |
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| 8.13 | 4B |  DE 7 north / DE 58 – Churchmans Crossing, Stanton |
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| Newport | 10.56 | 5A | DE 141 south / US 202 south – New Castle, New Castle County Airport |
South end of US 202 overlap | |
| 11.50 | 5B | DE 141 north – Newport |
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| 11.75 | 5C | I-295 north - Del Mem Br, New Jersey-New York |
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| 12.65 | 5D | I-495 north - Port of Wilmington, Philadelphia |
Designated as "Thru Route to Philadelphia" | ||
| Wilmington | 14.78 | 6 |  DE 4 (Maryland Ave, MLK Blvd) |
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| 15.68 | 7 |  DE 52 (Pennsylvania Ave) |
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| 16.97 | 8 |  US 202 north (Concord Pike) / DE 202 south – Wilmington, West Chester, PA |
North end of US 202 overlap | ||
| 19.12 | 9 |  DE 3 (Marsh Road) |
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| Claymont | 21.30 | 10 | Harvey Road | Northbound exit, southbound entrance | |
| 23.10 | 11 (NB) |  DE 92 (Naamans Road) – Claymont |
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| 23.43 | 11 (SB) | I-495 south - Port of Wilmington, Del Mem Br, Baltimore |
Designated as "Thru Route to Baltimore" | ||
| Pennsylvania state line | |||||
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.deldot.gov/static/pubs_forms/traffic_counts/2006/rpt_pgs1_38_rev.pdf DelDOT 2006 Traffic Count and Mileage Report
[edit] External links
| Interstate 95 |
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| Previous state: Maryland |
Delaware | Next state: Pennsylvania |
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