Delaware Route 8

Delaware Route 8
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT
Length:	17.16 mi[1] (27.62 km)
Major junctions
West end:	MD 454 in Marydel, MD
	DE 44 in Pearsons Corner DE 15 in Dover US 13 Alt. in Dover US 13 in Dover DE 1 east of Dover
East end:	DE 9 north of Little Creek
Highway system
Routes in Delaware ← DE 7 US 9 →

Delaware Route 8 is a state highway located in Kent County, Delaware. It runs from Maryland Route 454 at the Maryland border near Marydel, Maryland east to an intersection with Delaware Route 9 north of Little Creek. The route passes through the heart of Delaware's capital, Dover, on Division Street and the western part of Dover on Forrest Avenue. The road was built as a state highway west of Dover by 1924 and east of Dover by 1931. The DE 8 designation was given to the road by 1936.

Route description

Delaware Route 8 heads to the northeast from the Maryland border in the stateline town of Marydel on Halltown Road. In Pearsons Corner, it intersects the eastern terminus of Delaware Route 44, where the name changes to Forrest Avenue. It then heads east through the countryside west of Dover, which is home to many Amish families.^[1][2]

Westbound Delaware Route 8 (Forrest Avenue) in West Dover.

DE 8 then crosses into Dover, where it widens from a two-lane country road to a five-lane suburban road. It passes through the residential and commercial areas of West Dover and it intersects Delaware Route 15. It then heads toward downtown Dover, where DE 8 bears to the left onto Division Street, narrowing to a two-lane road. It passes through the northern edge of downtown Dover, intersecting U.S. Route 13 Alternate (Governors Avenue) and passing by Wesley College.^[1][2]

It then leaves downtown Dover and intersects U.S. Route 13. The name then changes to North Little Creek Road and it continues through the eastern part of Dover. At the eastern edge of Dover, it features a partial interchange with Delaware Route 1, providing access to and from the north. This interchange was not originally constructed when DE 1 was built in the early 1990s; it was built later by upgrading an emergency connection that existed between the two routes. It then heads east through countryside to an intersection with Delaware Route 9 just north of the town of Little Creek.^[1][2]

History

By 1920, what is now DE 8 existed as an unimproved county road.^[3] The route was completed as a state highway between the Maryland border in Marydel and Dover by 1924.^[4] By 1925, the road was proposed as a state highway between Dover and Little Creek.^[5] This state highway was completed by 1931.^[6] When Delaware created its state highway system by 1936, DE 8 was assigned to its current alignment between the Maryland border in Marydel and DE 9 north of Little Creek.^[7] The route has remained on the same roads since its inception.^[8]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Kent County.

Location	Mile[1]	Road	Notes
Marydel	0.00	MD 454 north (Crown Stone Road)	Maryland state line, western terminus
Pearsons Corner	6.21	DE 44 west (Hartly Road)
Dover	12.00	DE 15 (Saulsbury Road)
	12.81	US 13 Alt. (Governors Avenue)
	13.54	US 13 (Dupont Highway)
		DE 1	Interchange
Little Creek	17.16	DE 9 (Bayside Drive)	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Delaware portal

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} http://www.deldot.gov/information/pubs_forms/manuals/traffic_counts/2006/pdf/rpt_pgs1_38_rev.pdf DelDOT 2006 Traffic Count and Mileage Report
2. ^ ^{a b c} Google, Inc. Google Maps – overview of Delaware Route 8 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=delaware+8+and+maryland+454&daddr=Delaware+9+%26+State+Road+8,+Dover,+Kent,+Delaware+19901&geocode=FaLPVAIdkjZ8-ynVhVIyboDHiTHADmVoFi6Wfg%3BFcS1VQIdkbiA-ym9FfZ1PGTHiTEuJJuzykz91Q&hl=en&mra=pd&mrcr=0&sll=39.142067,-75.597933&sspn=0.114498,0.338173&ie=UTF8&ll=39.141245,-75.597954&spn=0.1145,0.338173&t=h&z=12. Retrieved 2010-08-23. 
3. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (1920 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_002.pdf. Retrieved 2010-04-15. 
4. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (1924 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_003.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-01. 
5. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (1925 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_004.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-19. 
6. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (1931 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_005.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-19. 
7. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (1936/37 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_008.pdf. Retrieved 2010-04-15. 
8. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (2008 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_083.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-02.