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Delaware Route 24 (DE 24) is a state highway located in Sussex County,
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
. The route runs from Maryland Route 348 (MD 348) at the
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
border east of
Sharptown, Maryland Sharptown is a town in Wicomico County, Maryland, United States. The population was 651 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. History San Domingo School was listed on the National ...
, east to an intersection with DE 1 in Midway, between
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...
and Rehoboth Beach. Along the way, DE 24 passes through
Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...
, Millsboro, and Long Neck. DE 24 intersects U.S. Route 13 (US 13) in Laurel, US 113/ DE 20 and DE 30 in Millsboro, and DE 5 and DE 23 in Long Neck. DE 24 features an
alternate route An official alternate route is a special route in the United States that provides an alternate alignment for a highway. They are loop roads and found in many road systems in the United States including the U.S. Highway system and various stat ...
, DE 24 Alternate (DE 24 Alt.), that runs to the north of the route from US 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 Alt. was designated by 2006.


Route description

DE 24 begins at the
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
border, where the road continues west into that state as MD 348. From the state line the route heads east on two-lane undivided Sharptown Road. The road heads through agricultural areas with some woods and homes, crossing Cod Creek before curving to the northeast and crossing Tussocky Branch. DE 24 runs to the south of Laurel Airport and passes homes, crossing Little Creek to the north of Horseys Pond before it enters the town of
Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...
. At this point, the route turns north onto West Street and runs through residential areas. DE 24 curves east and becomes West Market Street, crossing the
Delmarva Central Railroad The Delmarva Central Railroad is an American short-line railroad owned by Carload Express that operates of track on the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The railroad operates lines from Porter, Delaware to Ha ...
's Delmarva Subdivision line at-grade as it continues into the downtown area of Laurel. At the Central Avenue junction, the route becomes East Market Street and runs southeast, bending east onto East 4th Street and heading through areas of homes to the south of Records Pond. At the eastern edge of Laurel, DE 24 comes to an intersection with US 13. Past Laurel, DE 24 heads east on Laurel Road through farmland with some woodland and homes, crossing
James Branch James Branch (27 February 1845 – 16 November 1918), was a British boot manufacturer and Liberal politician. Branch was born in Bethnal Green in the East End of London, where he established a boot factory. An active member of the Liberal Par ...
. The route then passes to the north of
Trap Pond State Park Trap Pond State Park is a Delaware state park located near Laurel, Delaware, United States. It preserves one of the largest surviving fragments of what was once an extensive wetland in what is now southwestern Sussex County. The state park f ...
, with Trap Pond Road heading south to provide access to the state park. The road continues east through a mix of farms and woods with occasional residences, reaching an intersection with Millsboro Highway in
Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...
. Here, DE 24 turns north onto Millsboro Highway, with the road running northeast. Farther along, residential development increases as the road crosses into the town of Millsboro. At this point the road name becomes Laurel Road as it passes homes and reaches an intersection with US 113/ DE 20. Past this intersection, DE 24 turns north-northeast on Washington Street. The two routes split into a
one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...
that heads north, following Main Street eastbound and Washington Street westbound. The road crosses the Delmarva Central Railroad's Indian River Subdivision line at-grade. The one-way pair heads through the downtown area of Millsboro, rejoining along two-way Main Street and crossing Indian River to the east of Millsboro Pond. A short distance later, the route comes to an intersection with the southern terminus of DE 30. Past the DE 30 intersection, DE 24 heads northeast on John J. Williams Highway, soon curving to the east. The road runs through farmland with some woods and homes, passing through a
Mountaire Farms Mountaire Farms is the fourth-largest producer of chicken in the United States, with headquarters in Millsboro, Delaware. The company operates internationally, serving the United States and foreign markets as far away as Asia. Mountaire Farms has ...
chicken plant and briefly gaining a
center left-turn lane A reversible lane, also known as variable lane, dynamic lane, and tidal flow, is a managed lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours, ...
. The route continues through rural areas as a two-lane road and crosses Swan Creek and Warwick Gut, bending to the northeast and passing northwest of the Nanticoke Indian Museum before coming to an intersection with DE 5 northwest of Oak Orchard. At this point DE 5 turns northeast to form a
concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with DE 24. The road heads north through residential and commercial development with some fields as it enters the Long Neck area, where it intersects DE 23. Here, DE 5 splits from DE 24 by turning northwest onto DE 23, and DE 24 continues north through a mix of farms, woods, and residential neighborhoods, crossing Guinea Creek and passing the
Baywood Greens Baywood Greens is a public golf club located in Long Neck, Delaware that is consistently rated as one of the very best in the state. The front nine holes are nicknamed the "Woods Nine", while the back nine holes carry the "Water Nine" nickname. A ...
golf course. The road runs through
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
and passes east of Burton Pond before it curves to the northeast, crossing Love Creek on the Eugene D. Bookhammer Bridge. The route continues northeast, widening to four lanes at the Mulberry Knoll Road intersection, and intersects DE 1D/ DE 24 Alt. Here, DE 1D turns northeast to join DE 24 and the two routes pass homes and businesses as a five-lane road with a center left-turn lane. DE 24/DE 1D becomes a four-lane undivided road and then a divided highway as it comes to its end at an intersection with DE 1 in Midway, located between the cities of
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...
and Rehoboth Beach. The section of DE 24 east of US 113 serves as part of a primary
hurricane evacuation route Hurricane evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hurricane. County judges, emergency managers and other officials may recommend a voluntary evacuation or order a mandatory evacuati ...
from the Oak Orchard and Long Neck areas to points inland while the section of DE 24 between US 13 and Millsboro Highway serves as part of a secondary hurricane evacuation route from the coastal areas. The portions of the route between Townsend Street and Delaware Avenue in Laurel and Christ Church Road and Trap Pond Road east of Laurel are designated as part of the Nanticoke Heritage Byway, a
Delaware Byway The Delaware Byways (formerly Delaware Scenic and Historic Highways) system consists of roads in the U.S. state of Delaware that travel through areas of scenic and historic interest. The intent of this system is to promote tourism and raise aware ...
. DE 24 has an
annual average daily traffic Annual average daily traffic (AADT) is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a year divided ...
count ranging from a high of 34,023 vehicles at the DE 30 intersection to a low of 1,681 vehicles at the intersection with Dickerson Road west of Laurel.


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. The sections under contract were completed by 1924 and the remainder of present-day DE 24 was proposed as a state highway a year later. Completion of these final segments occurred by 1931. DE 24 was assigned to its current alignment between the Maryland border west of Laurel and DE 14 (now DE 1) in Midway by 1936. In 1940, a new bridge was built over Love Creek as part of improving the route east of Millsboro for traffic heading to the beaches in the summer. On April 16, 2018, the
Delaware Department of Transportation The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) is an agency of the U.S. state of Delaware. The Secretary of Transportation is Shanté Hastings. The agency was established in 1917 and has its headquarters in Dover, Delaware, Dover. The depar ...
(DelDOT) unveiled plans to widen DE 24 to four lanes between the Love Creek bridge and DE 1 along with adding left turn lanes and improving intersections. This project is planned in order to improve safety and reduce traffic congestion along the road. Construction on the first phase between Mulberry Knoll Road and DE 1 began on March 3, 2020 and was completed in early 2022. Construction on the second phase between the Love Creek bridge and Mulberry Knoll Road began in March 2022; construction is scheduled to be finished in 2024. A two-lane bypass of DE 24 is being built to the north of Millsboro, running from the intersection of US 113 and DE 20, which will be converted to an interchange, east across Millsboro Pond, DE 30, and Hollyville Road to an intersection with DE 24 east of Millsboro. The bypass is being built to reduce congestion on the section of DE 24 through Millsboro. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on March 31, 2023, with Governor John Carney, U.S. Senator
Tom Carper Thomas Richard Carper (born January 23, 1947) is an American politician and former military officer who served from 2001 to 2025 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Delaware. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), D ...
, DelDOT secretary Nicole Majeski, and local officials in attendance. Construction of the Millsboro bypass is planned to be completed in the later part of 2025.


Major intersections


Delaware Route 24 Alternate

Delaware Route 24 Alternate (DE 24 Alt.) is an
alternate route An official alternate route is a special route in the United States that provides an alternate alignment for a highway. They are loop roads and found in many road systems in the United States including the U.S. Highway system and various stat ...
of DE 24 between US 113 in Stockley and DE 24 in Midway. The route heads east from US 113 on two-lane undivided Speedway Road, passing to the north of Georgetown Speedway. DE 24 Alt. reaches a
roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...
with Zoar Road/Bethesda Road and heads southeast onto Zoar Road, passing through agricultural areas with some woods and homes and crossing the Delmarva Central Railroad's Indian River Subdivision line. The road continues east through more areas of farms, woods, and residences, turning north and east before crossing DE 30 in Zoar. The route heads east-northeast through more rural areas, turning north onto Hollyville Road. DE 24 Alt. turns northeast and comes to a junction with DE 5 in Hollyville. The road continues east as Hollymount Road and intersects DE 23 in
Hollymount Hollymount () is a village in County Mayo, Ireland. It is in the plains of south Mayo, on the R331 road midway between the towns of Ballinrobe and Claremorris. The village was named after the nearby Hollymount Estate, although the village lie ...
. Here, DE 24 Alt. turns north to join DE 23 on Beaver Dam Road and the two routes continue through agricultural and wooded areas with residential developments, curving to the northeast and crossing Bundicks Branch. In Five Points the road intersects DE 1D at a roundabout, with DE 23 turning to the north and DE 24 Alt. continuing northeast along with DE 1D on Plantation Road, which soon becomes a divided highway. The two routes curve southeast immediately to the south of the intersection between US 9/ DE 404 and DE 1 and head through a mix of farmland and residential development as an undivided road. Finally, the road reaches an intersection with DE 24 where DE 24 Alt. ends and DE 1D turns northeast to join DE 24. DE 24 Alt. was designated by 2006. Major intersections


See also

*


References


External links

{{commons category
DE 24 at AARoads.com

Delaware Roads - DE 24
024 Transportation in Sussex County, Delaware