- Delaware Route 2
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Delaware Route 2
Route information Maintained by DelDOT Length: 16.13 mi[1] (25.96 km) Existed: 1938 – present Major junctions West end: 
MD 279 near Elkton, Maryland
DE 4 near Newark
DE 896 near University of DE
DE 72 near University of DE
DE 273 near University of DE
DE 7 near Stanton
DE 41 near Prices Corner
DE 141 near Prices Corner
DE 100 in Elsmere
DE 48 in Wilmington
DE 9 in WilmingtonEast end: 
DE 52 in WilmingtonHighway system ← 
DE 1DE 3 
→Delaware Route 2 is a 16.13-mile (25.96 km) long east–west 4 to 6 lane highway located in northern New Castle County, Delaware. It begins at the junction of Delaware Route 52 in Wilmington, and terminates at the Maryland state line near Elkton, Maryland.
Route 2 is known variously as Elkton Road, Christina Parkway, Chestnut Hill Road, South Chapel Street, Library Avenue, Capitol Trail (or Kirkwood Highway), Wilmington Avenue, Lincoln & Union Streets along its 14.91-mile (24.00 km) route.
Route 2 is a very heavily travelled highway, with an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of over 52,509 vehicles in its busiest section from Delaware Route 41 to Delaware Route 141.
Contents
Route description
Delaware Route 2 begins at the Maryland state line as a continuation of Maryland Route 279 (Elkton Road). Elkton Road provides a four-lane surface arterial between the city of Elkton, Maryland, Interstate 95 Exit 109, and west Newark.
The route then turns east onto the Christina Parkway, forming a concurrency with Delaware Route 4 and Delaware Route 896 with Delaware Route 2 Business continuing east on Elkton Road toward downtown Newark. At the intersection with South College Avenue, where Route 896 heads to the south, Routes 2 and 4 continue east on Chestnut Hill Road to the intersection with Delaware Route 72 (South Chapel Street).
Route 2 then turns north onto Route 72 and runs along the east side of Newark on South Chapel Street and Library Road. At the intersection with Delaware Route 273, Route 2 meets the eastern terminus of Delaware Route 2 Business and Route 2 continues east, along with Route 72, onto the Robert W Kirkwood Highway, a road named for American Revolutionary War participant Major Robert W. Kirkwood that serves as a major commercial thoroughfare between Newark and Elsmere. Route 72 splits from Route 2 at the south end of Possum Park Road. Route 72, Polly Drummond Hill Road, Upper Pike Creek Road, Milltown Road, Delaware Route 7 (Limestone Road), and Duncan Road all provide north–south routes from the Kirkwood Highway into the Pike Creek Valley. Almost all of Kirkwood Highway is developed with commercial strip malls and shopping centers, as well as numerous residential subdivisions and apartment complexes such as Woodmill Village, Woodmill Townhomes, Meadowood, & Green Valley.
A six lane bridge replaced a four-lane span over the Red Clay Creek in the late 1980s. At the east end of the bridge is the intersection with the Newport Gap Pike, which heads north as Delaware Route 41 and south as Delaware Route 62. From this intersection, Route 41 shares a half-mile overlap with State Route 2 through Prices Corner to the Exit 6 partial-cloverleaf interchange of Delaware Route 141, which joins the Kirkwood Highway with Interstate 95 and New Castle via U.S. Route 202 and Delaware Route 141 (Basin Road).
Delaware Route 2 continues east on the four-lane divided Kirkwood Highway to the Little Mill Creek crossing adjacent to the V.A. Hospital, where it crosses into Elsmere and becomes Wilmington Avenue. In Elsmere, Route 2 crosses Delaware Route 100 (Dupont Road) and then over CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision between Route 100 and Prospect Road on a four lane bridge
Route 2 then enters the city of Wilmington in the Canby Park neighborhood where it splits onto the one-way pair of Union Street westbound and Lincoln Street eastbound. It passes through the Hill Top and Little Italy neighborhoods before ending at Delaware Route 52 (Pennsylvania Avenue).
History
The highway first came into existence as early as 1938. Route 2 was widened between Delaware 41 (Newport Gap Pike) and Elsmere by 1944. Expansion of the roadway westward occurred by 1964 to the city of Newark.
In Elsmere, Delaware Route 2 originally followed New Road, crossing a CSX railroad line at-grade. It was eventually moved to the current alignment on Wilmington Avenue that crosses over the railroad tracks. The bridge was originally two lanes, but was replaced by a four lane bridge in the late 1980s.
Until about 1990 Delaware Route 2 ran through Newark via Elkton Road and the one-way couplet of Main Street (westbound) and Delaware Avenue (eastbound). It was relocated to the south and east of Newark onto the Christina Parkway, Chestnut Hill Road, South Chapel Street, and Library Road in an effort to reroute through traffic away from the central business district and University of Delaware campus. Delaware Route 2 Business now takes the place of the original mainline through downtown Newark.
Major intersections
The entire route is in New Castle County.
Location Mile[1] Road Notes Maryland state line 0.00 MD 279 west (Elkton Road)Western terminus, continues as MD 279 Newark 1.05 
DE 2 Bus. east / DE 896 north (Elkton Road) / DE 4 (Christina Parkway)Western terminus of DE 4, west end of DE 896 concurrency 2.70 DE 896 south (College Avenue)East end of DE 896 concurrency 3.56 DE 4 east (Chestnut Hill Road) / DE 72 south (Chapel Street)East end of DE 4 concurrency, west end of DE 72 concurrency 4.99
DE 2 Bus. / DE 273 (Delaware Avenue)Eastern terminus of DE 2 Bus., west end of DE 273 eastbound overlap 5.19
DE 2 Bus. west / DE 273 (Main Street/Ogletown Road) – OgletownEast end of DE 273 eastbound overlap 6.42 DE 72 north (Possum Park Road)East end of DE 72 concurrency Marshallton 10.34 DE 7 (Limestone Road)Prices Corner 12.09 
DE 41 north / DE 62 east (Newport Gap Pike)West end of DE 41 concurrency, western terminus of DE 62 12.67 
DE 141 to I-95 – Newport, FairfaxInterchange, East end of DE 41 concurrency and southern terminus of DE 41 Elsmere 14.36 DE 100 (Dupont Road)Wilmington 15.41 DE 48 (Lancaster Avenue)15.60 DE 9 south (4th Street)16.13 DE 52 (Pennsylvania Avenue)Eastern terminus 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Bannered routes
Delaware Route 2 Business
Location: Newark Length: 2.91 mi[1] (4.68 km) Delaware Route 2 Business is a 2.91-mile (4.68 km)[1] long business route of Delaware Route 2 that runs through Newark. It was originally part of Delaware Route 2 until Delaware Route 2 was rerouted to follow the Christina Parkway south of Newark and Delaware Route 72 east of Newark. The route runs east on Elkton Road, concurrent with Delaware Route 896. It then passes through the eastern part of Newark on a pair of one-way streets, Delaware Avenue eastbound and Main Street westbound. It overlaps Delaware Route 273 along these one-way streets. Its eastern terminus is in eastern Newark where it meets Routes 2 and 72.
See also
U.S. Roads portal
Delaware portal
References
Road transportation infrastructure of the metro Philadelphia area Interstates U.S. Routes Pennsylvania Routes New Jersey Routes Delaware Routes Named roads/streets Benjamin Franklin Parkway · Broad Street · City Avenue · Front Street · Girard Avenue · Market Street · Roosevelt Boulevard · South Street · Chestnut Street · Walnut Street
Pennsylvania Turnpike · New Jersey Turnpike · Delaware Turnpike · Atlantic City Expressway · Schuylkill Expressway · Delaware Expressway · Blue Route · Vine St Expressway · North South Freeway · Lancaster Avenue · Bethlehem Pike · Baltimore Pike · Black Horse PikeBridges Delaware Memorial Bridge · Commodore Barry Bridge · Walt Whitman Bridge · Ben Franklin Bridge · Betsy Ross Bridge · Tacony–Palmyra Bridge · Burlington–Bristol Bridge · Delaware River – Turnpike Toll BridgeCategories:- State highways in Delaware
- Transportation in New Castle County, Delaware
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