Delaware Route 24

Delaware Route 24
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT
Length:	40.61 mi[1] (65.36 km)
Major junctions
West end:	MD 348 east of Sharptown, MD
	US 13 in Laurel DE 30 in Mission US 113 / DE 20 in Millsboro DE 30 in Millsboro DE 5 in Oak Orchard DE 23 in Long Neck
East end:	DE 1 in Midway
Highway system
Routes in Delaware ← DE 23 DE 26 →

Delaware Route 24 is a state highway located in Sussex County, Delaware. The route runs east from Maryland Route 348 at the Maryland border east of Sharptown, Maryland to an intersection with Delaware Route 1 in Midway, between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. Along the way, DE 24 passes through Laurel, Millsboro, and Long Neck. The road runs concurrent with Delaware Route 30 for several miles in the Millsboro area. DE 24 features an alternate alignment, Delaware Route 24 Alternate, that runs to the north of the route from U.S. Route 113 in Stockley to DE 24 near Midway. DE 24 was built as a state highway throughout the 1920s, with completion of the entire route by 1931. DE 24 was assigned onto its current alignment by 1936. DE 24 Alternate was designated by 2006 to bypass construction along the eastern portion of DE 24.

Route description

Delaware Route 24 heads east from the Maryland border on Sharptown Road. It angles to the northeast, passing by the Laurel Airport, and enters the town of Laurel, where it becomes West Street. In Laurel, DE 24 heads north on West Street and then east on Market Street, intersecting U.S. Route 13 on the eastern border of Laurel.^[1][2]

Past Laurel, DE 24 heads east on Laurel Road. It passes to the north of Trap Pond State Park and heads east through countryside. It heads to an intersection with Delaware Route 30 (Millsboro Highway) near Mission, where DE 24 makes a left turn to form a concurrency with DE 30. The two routes head northeast toward the town of Millsboro, where they intersect U.S. Route 113 and Delaware Route 20 and turn north onto Washington Street. In the center of Millsboro, the road splits into the one-way pair of Main Street northbound and Washington Street southbound before joining together on Main Street and crossing the Indian River, which heads east from Millsboro Pond.^[1][2]

DE 24 and DE 30 then split with DE 24 heading east on the John J. Williams Highway, named for former Delaware U.S. Senator John J. Williams. It passes by the site of the Nanticoke Indian Pow Wow and then angles to the north. It meets Delaware Route 5 near Oak Orchard and the two routes form a concurrency. At the intersection with Delaware Route 23 in Long Neck, DE 5 makes a left turn onto DE 23, and DE 24 heads north through housing sprawl that has popped up through eastern Sussex County within recent years. Near Midway, it meets Delaware Route 1D and Delaware Route 24 Alternate, forming a brief concurrency with DE 1D up to the intersection with Delaware Route 1, where both routes end.^[1][2]

History

By 1920, what is now DE 24 existed as a state highway between Mission and Phillips Hill, with the remainder of the route existing as an unimproved county road. At this time, the road was under contract as a state highway between Laurel and Pepper and from Phillips Hill to east of Millsboro.^[3] The sections under contract were completed by 1924.^[4] By 1925, the remainder of present-day DE 24 was proposed as a state highway.^[5] Completion of these remaining segments occurred by 1931.^[6] When Delaware created its state highway system by 1936, DE 24 was assigned to its current alignment between the Maryland border west of Laurel and DE 14 (now DE 1) in Midway.^[7] DE 24 has remained on the same alignment since its inception.^[8]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Sussex County.

Location	Mile[1]	Road	Notes
	0.00	MD 348 west (Laurel Road)	Maryland state line, western terminus
Laurel	8.89	US 13 (Sussex Highway)
Mission	20.25	DE 30 west (Millsboro Highway)	West end of DE 30 overlap
Millsboro	25.27	US 113 / DE 20 (Dupont Boulevard)
	26.06	DE 30 north (Gravel Hill Road)	East end of DE 30 overlap
Oak Orchard	31.35	DE 5 south (Oak Orchard Road)	West end of DE 5 overlap
Long Neck	32.92	DE 5 north / DE 23 (Indian Mission Road/Long Neck Road)	East end of DE 5 overlap
Midway	39.89	DE 1D north / DE 24 Alt. west (Plantation Road)	West end of DE 1D overlap
	40.61	DE 1 (Coastal Highway)	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Bannered routes

Delaware Route 24 Alternate
Location:	Stockley-Midway

Delaware Route 24 Alternate is an alternate alignment of DE 24 between U.S. Route 113 in Stockley and Midway that was created to provide an alternate route for motorists while improvements are made to this portion of DE 24. The route follows Speedway Road, Zoar Road, Hollyville Road, DE 23, and DE 1D.^[9] DE 24 Alternate was assigned by 2006.^[10]

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 24 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=delaware+24+and+maryland+348&daddr=DE-24+E%2FLaurel+Rd+to:delaware+1+and+delaware+24&geocode=FavMSwId6u58-ymVeSoys_i4iTHS0EVVHSRFhQ%3BFegeTAIdsBCA-w%3BFaL_TgIdOoyF-ykjlCHZmLe4iTGj40HwfOB2WQ&hl=en&mra=ls&via=1&sll=38.556757,-75.417709&sspn=0.230889,0.676346&ie=UTF8&ll=38.624381,-75.416336&spn=0.230671,0.676346&t=h&z=11. Retrieved 2010-08-25. 
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. 
9. ^ "ROAD SYSTEM COLLECTORS". Delaware Department of Transportation. http://deldot.gov/information/pubs_forms/ctp04-09/final/pdf/sc/sc_collectors_pgs_5-41_thru_5-61.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-04. 
10. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (2006 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_081.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-19.