U.S. Route 202 in Delaware

U.S. Route 202
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT
Length:	13.06 mi[1] (21.02 km)
Existed:	1936[2] – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 13 / US 40 / DE 141 in Wilmington Manor
	DE 37 near Wilmington Manor I‑95 / DE 141 near Newport I‑295 near Newport I‑495 near Newport DE 4 / DE 9 in Wilmington DE 52 in Wilmington I‑95 / DE 202 in Wilmington DE 141 / DE 261 near Fairfax DE 92 in Brandywine
North end:	US 202 at Pennsylvania border near Brandywine
Location
Counties:	New Castle
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Bannered Divided Replaced Delaware State Route System List Byways ← DE 141 DE 202 → ← US 113 US 122 DE 141 →

U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a US Highway running from New Castle, Delaware northeast to Bangor, Maine. The southernmost section of the route in the U.S. state of Delaware passes through northern New Castle County. It runs from its southern terminus at a cloverleaf interchange with US 13/US 40 near the Wilmington Airport north to the Pennsylvania border in Brandywine Hundred. The route passes the airport concurrent with Delaware Route 141 (DE 141) before coming to an interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95). At this point, US 202 heads northeast along with I-95 through Wilmington. Just north of Wilmington, US 202 splits from I-95 by running north on Concord Pike through the suburban Brandywine Hundred area to the Pennsylvania border.

The Concord Pike was originally chartered as the Wilmington and Great Valley Turnpike in 1811, a turnpike that was to connect Wilmington to Great Valley, Pennsylvania. The Concord Pike between US 13 in Wilmington and the Pennsylvania border became a part of US 122 in 1926. By 1936, US 122 was renumbered to US 202 and the road was realigned to head southwest and end at US 13 in downtown Wilmington. In the 1950s, the Concord Pike north of Wilmington was widened into a divided highway. By 1954, US 202 was realigned to follow US 13 northbound and Washington Street southbound through downtown Wilmington and by 1959 was also extended south along US 13 to end at I-295/US 40 in Farnhurst. In 1970, US 202 was truncated to the I-95 interchange north of Wilmington. DE 202 was designated along Concord Avenue in 1981. US 202 was extended to its current terminus in 1984.

Route description

US 202/DE 141 southbound past DE 37 near Wilmington Airport

US 202 begins at a cloverleaf interchange with US 13/US 40 east of the Wilmington Airport, with the road continuing south toward New Castle as DE 141. From the southern terminus, US 202 heads north-northwest concurrent with DE 141 on four-lane divided Basin Road, passing between Wilmington Airport to the west and residential neighborhoods in Wilmington Manor to the east. The road passes between the Delaware Air National Guard's New Castle Air National Guard Base to the west and commercial establishments to the east, coming to an intersection with the northern terminus of DE 37. Past this intersection, the median of US 202/DE 141 widens as the road intersects Airport Road and becomes a freeway. The road comes to an interchange with I-95 and the southern terminus of I-295.^[3][4]

Here, US 202 splits from DE 141 and heads to the east along I-95, an eight-lane freeway with a wide median. I-295 splits off to the east before the freeway curves northeast and interchanges with the southern terminus of I-495. Following this, I-95/US 202 becomes a six-lane freeway and heads through marshland, crossing the Christina River. The freeway comes to a bridge over Norfolk Southern's Shellpot Branch, with Amtrak's Northeast Corridor running a short distance to the northwest. The road enters Wilmington and curves to the north, passing to the west of Frawley Stadium, which is home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks baseball team. I-95/US 202 continues towards downtown Wilmington and crosses onto a viaduct, passing over the Northeast Corridor and coming to an interchange that provides access to the downtown area by way of DE 4 and DE 48.^[3][4]

At this point, the four-lane freeway continues northeast, with one-way northbound North Adams Street to the east and one-way southbound North Jackson Street to the west serving as frontage roads. I-95/US 202 continues through residential areas to the west of downtown Wilmington, passing over DE 9, with a southbound exit. Farther northeast, the freeway heads into an alignment below street level and comes to an interchange with DE 52. Past this interchange, the road continues north and crosses Brandywine Creek, heading through Brandywine Park, which is a part of the Wilmington State Parks complex. The freeway curves northeast again and passes under CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision before reaching an interchange with the northern terminus of DE 202 at the northern edge of Wilmington, at which point US 202 splits from I-95.^[3][4]

Southbound US 202 along the Concord Pike at the intersection with Cleveland Avenue

Upon splitting from I-95, US 202 heads north on the six-lane divided Concord Pike into the Brandywine Hundred area, passing the Rock Manor Golf Club and Alapocas Run State Park before coming to an interchange with the northern terminus of DE 141 and the southern terminus of DE 261 in Blue Ball. Past this interchange, the road enters Fairfax and passes between AstraZeneca's North American headquarters to the west and businesses to the east. The route continues through commercial areas, heading into Talleyville. At this point, the median of the road widens at the intersection with Garden of Eden Road/Silverside Road. The median narrows again as the road runs curves to the north-northeast. US 202 passes to the west of the Widener University School of Law and the Concord Mall before it reaches an intersection with DE 92 in Brandywine east of First State National Historical Park. Past this intersection, the route runs between business parks to the west and the Brandywine Town Center shopping center to the east. The road narrows to four lanes as it passes farm fields and homes. US 202 reaches the Pennsylvania border, where it continues into that state as Wilmington West Chester Pike.^[3][4]

US 202 in Delaware has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 102,035 vehicles at the south end of Wilmington along the I-95 concurrency to a low of 30,807 vehicles at the intersection with Augustine Cut-Off between I-95 and DE 141/DE 261.^[1] The portion of US 202 in Delaware from the south end of the I-95 concurrency to the Pennsylvania border is part of the National Highway System.^[5]

History

U.S. Route 122
Location:	Wilmington-Brandywine Hundred
Length:	6.15 mi[1] (9.90 km)
Existed:	1926[6]–1936[2]

The Wilmington and Great Valley Turnpike Company was chartered on January 23, 1811 to build a turnpike running north from Wilmington along the Concord road, continuing to West Chester and Great Valley in Pennsylvania. Construction on the turnpike progressed throughout the 1810s.^[7] The Wilmington and Great Valley Turnpike was known in Delaware as the Concord Pike.^[8] The Concord Pike was taken over by New Castle County in 1911, at which point the tolls were removed.^[9] A portion of the Concord Pike near Talleyville was incorporated into the state highway system by 1920, with the remainder of the road proposed to become a state highway.^[10] By 1924, the Concord Pike between Blue Ball and Talleyville was a state highway, with the remainder remaining a county road.^[11] A year later, what is now US 202 along Basin Road was completed as a state highway.^[12] When the US Highway System was established in 1926, US 122 was designated to follow the Concord Pike between US 13 (Philadelphia Pike) in Wilmington and the Pennsylvania border, heading north into that state and continuing to US 22 at Whitehouse, New Jersey.^[6][13] On July 1, 1935, the portion of the route between Talleyville and the Pennsylvania border was taken over by the state.^[14][2]

US 202 southbound on Concord Pike approaching Talleyville

By 1936, US 122 was redesignated US 202. Also at this time, US 202 was realigned in Wilmington to head southwest from Concord Avenue onto Baynard Boulevard, splitting into a one-way pair following Washington Street southbound and West Street northbound as it passed through downtown Wilmington. In this area, US 202 turned east onto Front Street to end at US 13.^[2] In 1941, the portion of US 202 along Baynard Boulevard and from Talleyville to the Pennsylvania state line was reconstructed.^[15]

In 1953, the portion of US 202 along the Concord Pike between the Wilmington border and Murphy Road was widened into a four-lane divided highway.^[16] In September 1953, construction began to widen the portion of US 202 between Murphy Road and Talleyville into a four-lane divided highway. This widening was completed in October 1954.^[17] In 1955, recommendations were made to widen US 202 between Talleyville and the Pennsylvania border.^[18] The divided highway was extended north from Talleyville to the Pennsylvania border in 1957.^[19][20]

By 1954, US 202 was moved onto a new one-way pair through downtown Wilmington, with the southbound direction splitting from Concord Avenue to follow Baynard Boulevard to Washington Street and the northbound direction following US 13 on one-way Walnut Street and two-way Market Street before heading north onto Concord Avenue.^[21] US 202 was extended south along US 13 from downtown Wilmington to an interchange with I-295/US 40 in Farnhurst by 1959.^[22] By 1966, the portion of I-95 that currently carries US 202 was completed between DE 141 and downtown Wilmington.^[23] I-95 was completed between downtown Wilmington and the Concord Pike in 1969.^[24]

In 1970, the southern terminus of US 202 was truncated to the interchange with I-95 north of Wilmington.^[25][26] By 1981, DE 202 was designated along Concord Avenue between US 13 Bus. and I-95, extending south from the southern terminus of US 202.^[27] US 202 was extended south to its current terminus at US 13/US 40 near the Wilmington Airport in 1984, following I-95 through Wilmington before heading south along DE 141.^[28][29]

In 1992, plans were made to build an interchange with DE 141 and DE 261 north of I-95; however, plans for the proposed interchange were placed on hold two years later. In 2000, the portion of US 202 between I-95 and DE 141 (Powder Mill Road) was improved, with the alignment shifted to eliminate a few curves, the intersections at DE 261 and DE 141 improved, and a southbound transit lane added.^[30] In the 2000s, the Blue Ball Construction Project built an interchange at DE 261 that also relocated the northern terminus of DE 141 from the Powder Mill Road intersection further north. The project took place between 2002 and 2007 and cost $123 million.^[31]

In December 2011, a project began to improve the interchange between I-95 and US 202/DE 202 in order to reduce congestion. The project widened the ramp between northbound I-95 and northbound US 202 to two lanes, the ramp between southbound US 202 and southbound I-95 was extended to modern standards, and the ramp between southbound I-95 and southbound DE 202 was relocated from a cloverleaf loop to a directional ramp that intersects DE 202 at a signalized intersection. In addition, the interchange ramps were repaved and bridges were rehabilitated. The project was finished in July 2015, months behind schedule due to the closure of I-495 in 2014. On August 7, 2015, a dedication ceremony to mark the completion of the project was held, with Governor Jack Markell, Senator Tom Carper, and DelDOT secretary Jennifer Cohan in attendance. The project, which cost over $33 million, was 80-percent funded by the federal government.^[32]

Major intersections

The entire route is in New Castle County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Wilmington Manor	0.00	0.00		DE 141 south (Basin Road) – New Castle	Continuation beyond US 13/US 40, south end of DE 141 overlap
			1A	US 13 north / US 40 east – Wilmington, Delaware Memorial Bridge	Southern terminus, interchange
			1B	US 13 south / US 40 west – Dover, Elkton, Baltimore	Interchange, no northbound exit
	1.02	1.64		DE 37 south (Commons Boulevard)
			South end of freeway section
Newport			2	I‑295 north – Delaware Memorial Bridge, New Jersey	Southbound exit
	1.51	2.43	3A 5B	I‑95 south (Delaware Turnpike) – Newark, Baltimore DE 141 north – Newport	North end of DE 141 overlap, South end of I-95 overlap
	3.60	5.79	5D	I‑495 north – Port of Wilmington, Philadelphia	Southern terminus of I-495; northbound exit and southbound entrance
	4.29	6.90	5C	I‑295 north – New Castle, Delaware Memorial Bridge	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Wilmington	5.73	9.22	6	DE 4 (MLK Jr. Boulevard / Maryland Avenue)	Northbound exit and entrance, access to Wilmington Station and Riverfront Attractions
	6.40	10.30		DE 4 (MLK Jr. Boulevard) / DE 9 (Fourth Street)	Southbound exit and entrance, access to Wilmington Station
	6.63	10.67	7	DE 52 (Delaware Avenue)	Split into exits 7A (south) and 7B (north) southbound
	7.92	12.75	8	I‑95 north – Chester, Philadelphia DE 202 south (Concord Avenue) – Wilmington	North end of I-95 overlap
			North end of freeway section
Blue Ball	8.67	13.95		DE 141 south (Powder Mill Road) / DE 261 north (Foulk Road)	Interchange
Brandywine	12.28	19.76		DE 92 (Beaver Valley Road/Naamans Road) – Brandywine Creek State Park, Philadelphia, Claymont
	13.06	21.02		US 202 north (Wilmington West Chester Pike) – West Chester	Pennsylvania state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Delaware portal

References

1. Staff (2011). "Traffic Count and Mileage Report: Interstate, Delaware, and US Routes" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
2. Delaware State Highway Department; The National Survey Co. (1936). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1936–37 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
3. Delaware Department of Transportation (2008). Delaware Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
4. Google (January 6, 2012). "overview of U.S. Route 202 in Delaware" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
5. National Highway System: Delaware (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
6. Bureau of Public Roads & American Association of State Highway Officials (November 11, 1926). United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). 1:7,000,000. Washington, DC: U.S. Geological Survey. OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via University of North Texas Libraries.
7. Scharf, John Thomas. History of Delaware : 1609-1888, Volume 1. Philadelphia: L.J. Richards & Co. p. 418. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
8. The charter of the city of Wilmington. Wilmington, DE: City of Wilmington. p. 1058. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
9. Delaware Federal Writers Project. Delaware: a guide to the first state. New York City: The Viking Press. p. 422. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
10. Delaware State Highway Department (1920). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
11. Delaware State Highway Department (1924). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
12. Delaware State Highway Department (1925). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
13. Delaware State Highway Department (1931). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
14. "Annual Report of the State Highway Department of the State of Delaware" (PDF) (1935 ed.). Dover, DE: Delaware State Highway Department. January 7, 1936: 7. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
15. "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1940 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. January 1, 1941: 31. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
16. "Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1953 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. July 1, 1953: 35. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
17. "Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1954 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. July 1, 1954: 12-14. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
18. "Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1955 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. July 1, 1955: 26. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
19. Delaware State Highway Department (1957). Official Highway Map of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1957–58 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
20. "Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1957 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. July 1, 1957: 16-17. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
21. Delaware State Highway Department (1954). Official Highway Map of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1954–55 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
22. Delaware State Highway Department (1959). Official Highway Map of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1959–60 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
23. Delaware State Highway Department (1966). Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
24. Delaware State Highway Department (1969). Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
25. U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee (November 6, 1970). "U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee Agenda Showing Action Taken by the Executive Committee" (PDF) (Report). Houston, TX: American Association of State Highway Officials. p. 397. Retrieved October 15, 2014 – via Wikimedia Commons.
26. Delaware Department of Highways and Transportation (1971). Delaware Highways Official Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Highways and Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
27. Delaware Department of Transportation (1981). Delaware Official State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
28. Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (December 7, 1984). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda" (PDF) (Report). New Orleans, LA: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 546. Retrieved October 15, 2014 – via Wikimedia Commons.
29. Delaware Department of Transportation (1985). Official State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
30. "Blue Ball Properties Transportation Improvements Project - Project History" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
31. "Blue Ball Properties Project Honored At American Society of Civil Engineers - Delaware Section's Dinner". Delaware Department of Transportation. May 9, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
32. "I-95 and U.S. Route 202 Interchange Project Completion Ceremony" (Press release). Delaware Department of Transportation. August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Media related to U.S. Route 202 in Delaware at Wikimedia Commons