Delaware Route 4

This article is about the current Delaware Route 4. For the former Delaware Route 4, see Delaware Route 299.

Delaware Route 4
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT
Length:	14.31 mi[1] (23.03 km)
Major junctions
West end:	DE 2 / DE 896 in Newark
	DE 896 in Newark DE 2 / DE 72 in Newark DE 273 in Ogletown DE 58 in Christiana DE 7 in Stanton DE 141 in Newport DE 62 near Newport DE 100 near Elsmere I-95 / US 202 in Wilmington
East end:	DE 48 in Wilmington
Highway system
Routes in Delaware ← DE 3 DE 5 →

Delaware Route 4 (DE 4) is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from Delaware Route 2 and Delaware Route 896 in Newark east to Delaware Route 48 in downtown Wilmington. What is now DE 4 was originally a county road that was paved in the 1930s. DE 4 was designated in the 1960s to run from the Maryland border along Chestnut Hill Road near Newark east to DE 48 in Wilmington. Between 1971 and 1981, the route extended past DE 48 along Washington Street and Washington Street Extension to US 13 Business in Bellefonte. In the 1980s, the western terminus of DE 4 was realigned from Chestnut Hill Road to the newly-built Christina Parkway, terminating at DE 2 and DE 896.

Route description

Delaware Route 4 heads east from Elkton Road, which heads northeast to Newark as Delaware Route 2 Business and Delaware Route 896 and southwest toward the Maryland border as Delaware Route 2, on the undivided, two-lane Christina Parkway, concurrent with Routes 2 and 896. The road eventually widens to a four-lane, divided highway and intersects with South College Avenue, where Route 896 heads to the south and Routes 2 and 4 continue east on Chestnut Hill Road to the intersection with Delaware Route 72 (South Chapel Street).^[1][2]

At this intersection, DE 2 heads north on DE 72 and Route 4 continues east on Chestnut Hill Road into suburban Brookside. It then reaches Ogletown, where it features an interchange with Delaware Route 273 and the name changes to Ogletown Stanton Road. It then heads to the northeast and intersects Delaware Route 58 near the Christiana Hospital.^[1][2]

Delaware Route 4 then meets Delaware Route 7, where it turns north for a concurrency, crossing over the Amtrak Northeast Corridor and the White Clay Creek and passing by the Delaware Park Racetrack. It then heads to Stanton, where it splits into the one-way pair of Mitch Road eastbound and Main Street westbound. At the beginning of the one-way pair, DE 7 heads to the north on Limestone Road.^[1][2]

Past Stanton, DE 4 continues east through suburban areas on the four-lane, divided West Newport Pike. It then reaches the town of Newport where it splits into the one-way pair of Market Street eastbound and Justis Street westbound. In Newport, the route interchanges with Exit 4 of Delaware Route 141, which passes over the town on a limited-access alignment. The route becomes two-way at the eastern edge of Newport, heading northeast on the four-lane undivided East Newport Pike.^[1][2]

DE 4 intersects Delaware Route 62 (Boxwood Road), where the road names changes to Maryland Avenue. It then intersects the southern terminus of Delaware Route 100, which ends at DE 4 as the one-way pair of Race Street northbound and Dupont Road southbound. The road then continues into the city of Wilmington on Maryland Avenue. It heads northeast to Downtown Wilmington, where the route passes under Interstate 95 and ends at Delaware Route 48, which follows the one-way pair of Lancaster Avenue eastbound and Second Street westbound and provides access to I-95 at Exit 6.^[1][2]

History

By 1920, what would become DE 4 existed as a county road.^[3] The road from Stanton to Wilmington was paved by 1924.^[4] The portion west of Stanton was paved by 1936.^[5] The present DE 4 designation first appeared in 1967, at which point it ran from the Maryland border near Newark east to DE 48 in Wilmington, following Chestnut Hill Road from the state line before picking up its current alignment southeast of Newark.^[6] By 1971, the route was extended northeast to US 13 Business in Bellefonte, forming a brief concurrency with DE 48 before continuing along Washington Street and Washington Street Extension.^[7] DE 4 was truncated back to DE 48 by 1981, with DE 3 being realigned to the easternmost part of Washington Street Extension by 1984.^[8][9] The Christina Parkway around the southern edge of Newark was completed by 1984.^[9] DE 4 was realigned to use the Christina Parkway by 1987, ending at DE 2 in the southwestern part of Newark.^[10] DE 896 was rerouted to use the Christiana Parkway by 1988 with DE 2 following by 1990.^[11][12]

Major intersections

The entire route is in New Castle County.

Location	Mile[1]	Road	Notes
Newark	0.00	DE 2 west / DE 2 Bus. east / DE 896 north (Elkton Road)	Western terminus , west end of DE 2/DE 896 concurrency
	1.65	DE 896 south (College Avenue)	East end of DE 896 concurrency
	2.51	DE 2 north / DE 72 (Chapel Street)	East end of DE 2 concurrency
Ogletown		DE 273 (Newark Christiana Road/Christiana Road) to I-95 – Newark, Christiana, New Castle	Interchange
Churchmans Crossing	6.77	DE 58 east (Churchmans Road) to I-95
	7.73	DE 7 south (Stanton Christiana Road) to DE 1 / I-95 – Christiana, Dover	West end of DE 7 concurrency
Stanton	8.89	DE 7 north (Limestone Road)	East end of DE 7 concurrency
Newport	11.05	DE 141 to I-95 / I-295 / I-495 – New Castle	Interchange
	12.10	DE 62 (Boxwood Road)
Wilmington	12.77	DE 100 north (Dupont Road)
	14.10	I-95 / US 202	Interchange
	14.31	DE 48 (Martin Luther King Boulevard)	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 f g} 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 d e} Google, Inc. Google Maps – overview of Delaware Route 4 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=christiana+parkway+and+elkton+road&daddr=39.6967537,-75.6578779+to:39.7166,-75.60303+to:DE+4+and+DE+48&geocode=Fbw-XQIdWcB7-yl943uXZanHiTHITS-5kn42sQ%3BFXG5XQIda419-ykPILzzBgHHiTHWMzfsu7LWAw%3BFfgGXgIdqmN--ymVAtaDFgLHiTHIrJbbIt3agg%3BFUJmXgIdEwt_-ykNqMZTbv3GiTH0fZno6NB1sw&hl=en&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=2&sz=12&via=1,2&sll=39.6932,-75.66804&sspn=0.120465,0.338173&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=12. Retrieved February 6, 2011. 
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 April 15, 2010. 
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 August 1, 2010. 
5. ^ 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 April 15, 2010. 
6. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (1967 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_042.pdf. Retrieved February 6, 2011. 
7. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (1971 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_050.pdf. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
8. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (1981 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_058.pdf. Retrieved February 6, 2011. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (1984 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_062.pdf. Retrieved February 5, 2011. 
10. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (1987 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_064.pdf. Retrieved February 6, 2011. 
11. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (1988 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_066.pdf. Retrieved February 6, 2011. 
12. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (PDF). Delaware Official Highway Map (Map) (1990 ed.). http://www.deldot.gov/archaeology/historic_pres/historic_highway_maps/pdf/cd_070.pdf. Retrieved February 6, 2011.