Delaware Route 9A (DE 9A) is a two- to four-lane road in Wilmington,

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 ...

, that serves as the primary access route to the Port of Wilmington as well as provides access to Interstate 495 (I-495). The official designation of the route runs along Terminal Avenue between DE 9 and the Port of Wilmington, interchanging with I-495. Signage has the route continuing north along Christina Avenue to an intersection with U.S. Route 13 (US 13) and DE 9 for a total length of . Christina Avenue originally became a state highway in the 1920s, serving as part of US 40 that connected to a ferry across the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

Penns Grove, New Jersey Penns Grove is a borough in Salem County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,837, a decrease of 310 (−6.0%) from the 2010 census count of 5,147, which in turn reflected an i ...

. US 40 was removed from this road in the 1930s and later became part of DE 48. It was subsequently removed in the 1950s following the discontinuance of the ferry. DE 9A was designated by 1971.

Route description

DE 9A begins at an intersection with DE 9 in the city of Wilmington, heading east-southeast as two-lane undivided Terminal Avenue through residential areas. The road widens into a four-lane divided highway and comes to an interchange with

I-495 Interstate 495 (I-495) is the designation for the following five Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: * The Capital Beltway, a beltway around Washington, D.C., running through Virginia, Maryland, and a sliver ...

. Past I-495, the road heads through industrial areas, becoming an undivided road as it crosses over

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

's New Castle Secondary railroad line at a

grade crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The t ...

. The road crosses Norfolk Southern's Christiana Avenue Industrial Track before reaching the entrance to the Port of Wilmington at the Christina Avenue intersection. At this point, DelDOT officially marks the end of DE 9A, but signage shows it turning north onto Christina Avenue. DE 9A proceeds north-northwest as a two-lane road, passing through more industrial areas and crossing under I-495 again, this time underneath the I-495 bridge over the

Christina River The Christina River is a tributary of the Delaware River, approximately 35 miles (56 km) long, in northern Delaware. It also flows through small areas of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland. Near its mouth, the river ...

. After this, the route has a grade crossing with a Norfolk Southern railroad spur before it crosses over Norfolk Southern's New Castle Secondary and Shellpot Secondary at grade crossings in marshland. The road continues between residential and commercial areas to the west and industrial areas to the east before terminating at both US 13 and DE 9 near the Christina River drawbridge leading into Wilmington's central business district. DE 9A 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 of 8,151 vehicles along Terminal Avenue. The portion of DE 9A along Terminal Avenue between I-495 and the entrance to the Port of Wilmington at Christina Avenue is part of the National Highway System.

History

What is now DE 9A was a county road by 1920. By 1924, the Christina Avenue portion of the route was constructed as a state highway. Christina Avenue became a portion of US 40 in 1926, running from US 13 to a ferry that went across the

. By 1931, US 40 was removed from this road. The road became the easternmost portion of DE 48 by 1936, which connected to a ferry that linked the route to New Jersey Route 48 in Penns Grove. DE 48 was removed from this road by 1952 after the ferry between Wilmington and Penns Grove was discontinued in 1949. DE 9A was designated around 1971 onto its current alignment.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{commons category
DE 9A at AARoads.com

Delaware Roads - DE 9A
009A Transportation in New Castle County, Delaware Wilmington, Delaware U.S. Route 40

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links