U.S. Route 122 In Delaware
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U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a US Highway running from
New Castle, Delaware New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551. New Cast ...
, northeast to
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. The southernmost section of the route in the U.S. state of
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 ...
passes through northern New Castle County. It runs from its southern terminus at an interchange with US 13/ US 40 near the Wilmington Airport north to the
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
state line in Brandywine Hundred. The route passes east of the airport concurrent with Delaware Route 141 (DE 141) before coming to an interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95). At this point, US 202 heads northeast along with I-95 through Wilmington. Just north of Wilmington, US 202 splits from I-95 by running north on Concord Pike through the suburban Brandywine Hundred area to the Pennsylvania state line. US 202 is a multilane divided highway the entire length across Delaware, with the section concurrent with I-95 a
freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
. The Concord Pike was originally chartered as the Wilmington and Great Valley Turnpike in 1811, a turnpike that was to connect Wilmington to Great Valley, Pennsylvania. The Concord Pike between US 13 in Wilmington and the Pennsylvania state line became a part of US 122 in 1926. In 1934, US 122 was renumbered to US 202 and the road was realigned to head southwest and end at US 13 and US 40 in State Road. In the 1950s, the Concord Pike north of Wilmington was widened into a divided highway. By 1954, US 202 was realigned to follow US 13 northbound and Washington Street southbound through downtown Wilmington. The southern terminus was cut back to I-295 in Farnhurst in 1964. In 1970, the south end of US 202 was truncated to the I-95 interchange north of Wilmington. DE 202 was designated along Concord Avenue in 1981. US 202 was extended south to its current terminus in 1984.


Route description

US 202 begins at a
partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...
with US 13/ US 40 east of the Wilmington Airport, with the road continuing south toward the city of New Castle as DE 141. From the southern terminus, US 202 heads north-northwest concurrent with DE 141 on four-lane
divided Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. What is being divided is called the ''dividend'', which is divided by the ''divisor'', and the result is called the ...
Basin Road, passing between Wilmington Airport to the west and residential neighborhoods in Wilmington Manor to the east. The road passes between the
Delaware Air National Guard The Delaware Air National Guard (DE ANG) is the aerial militia of the Delaware, State of Delaware, United States, United States of America. It is, along with the Delaware Army National Guard, an element of the Delaware National Guard as well as ...
's
New Castle Air National Guard Base New Castle National Guard Base is a United States Air Force installation under the control of the Delaware Air National Guard, located at Wilmington Airport in New Castle County, Delaware. Overview The base is the home of the 166th Airl ...
to the west and commercial establishments to the east, coming to a junction with the northern terminus of DE 37. Past this junction, the median of US 202/DE 141 widens as the road intersects Airport Road and becomes a freeway. The road comes to an interchange with
I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
(Delaware Turnpike) and the southern terminus of
I-295 Interstate 295 is the designation for the following eight Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: *Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania), a bypass of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Interstate 295 (Florida), a be ...
. Here, US 202 splits from DE 141 and heads to the east along I-95, an eight-lane freeway with a wide median. I-295 splits off to the east before the freeway curves northeast and has an interchange with the southern terminus of
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 ...
. Following this, I-95/US 202 becomes a six-lane freeway and heads through marshland, crossing 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 ...
. The freeway comes to bridges 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 Shellpot Secondary and Little Mill Creek as it continues through more wetlands west of the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge, with
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...
running parallel a short distance to the northwest. The road enters the city of Wilmington and curves to the north, passing to the west of
Daniel S. Frawley Stadium Daniel S. Frawley Stadium is a stadium in Wilmington, Delaware. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Wilmington Blue Rocks minor league baseball team. The park was originally known as Legends Stadium when it was built ...
, which is home of the
Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. Fra ...
baseball team, and the Chase Center on the Riverfront convention center as it heads west of the Wilmington Riverfront. I-95/US 202 continues towards downtown Wilmington and crosses onto a viaduct, passing over Norfolk Southern's Wilmington & Northern Running Track and the Northeast Corridor before coming to an interchange with DE 4 and DE 48 that provides access to the downtown area and the Wilmington Riverfront. At this point, the four-lane freeway continues northeast, with one-way northbound North Adams Street to the east and one-way southbound North Jackson Street to the west serving as
frontage road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. Where parallel high-speed roads are provided as part of a maj ...
s. I-95/US 202 continues through residential areas to the west of downtown Wilmington and passes over DE 9, with a southbound exit. Farther northeast, the freeway heads into an alignment below street level and comes to an interchange with DE 52. Past this interchange, the road continues north and crosses Brandywine Creek, heading through
Brandywine Park Brandywine Park was the first city park established by the city of Wilmington, Delaware. It is located on the banks of Brandywine Creek, between Augustine Road and North Market Street. The park was established in 1886, and was designed by Samue ...
, which is a part of the
Wilmington State Parks Wilmington State Parks is a public recreation area located in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. Open year-round, the park covers of land mostly situated along the Brandywine Creek. The state park is made up of a group of smaller parks that ...
complex. The freeway curves northeast again and passes under
CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...
's
Philadelphia Subdivision The Philadelphia Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. The line runs from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, southwest to Baltimore, Maryland, along a forme ...
before reaching a modified
cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange (road), interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passe ...
with the northern terminus of DE 202 at the northern edge of Wilmington, at which point US 202 splits from I-95. Upon splitting from I-95, US 202 heads north on the six-lane divided Concord Pike into the Brandywine Hundred area, running between Alapocas Run State Park to the west and the Rock Manor Golf Course to the east and passing over East Park Drive before coming to an interchange with the northern terminus of DE 141 and the southern terminus of DE 261 in Blue Ball that also provides access to the Augustine Cut-off. At this interchange, the southbound shoulder becomes a
bus lane A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, generally to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadway completely dedicated for use by buses, whilst ...
. Past this interchange, the road enters Fairfax and intersects Powder Mill Road/Murphy Road, where the southbound shoulder bus lane ends. The route passes between
AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () (AZ) is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, UK. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...
's North American headquarters to the west and businesses to the east. The roadway passes west of a
park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...
lot located at a church. The route continues through commercial areas, heading into Talleyville. At this point, the median of the road widens to include businesses in it as it comes to the intersection with Garden of Eden Road/Silverside Road. The median narrows again as the road curves to the north-northeast, crossing Rocky Run. US 202 passes to the west of the
Widener University Delaware Law School Widener University Delaware Law School (Delaware Law School and formerly Widener University School of Law) is a private law school in Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited law schools of Widener University. Widener Univ ...
and the Concord Mall and east of the Brandywine Campus of
Wilmington University Wilmington University (WilmU) is a private university with its main campus in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, United States. - It was established in 1968 by educator Donald E. Ross as Wilmington College and was renamed Wilmington ...
before it reaches an intersection with DE 92 in Brandywine. Past this intersection, the route runs between business parks to the west and the Brandywine Town Center shopping center to the east. A park and ride lot is located at the Brandywine Town Center. The road narrows to four lanes as it passes farm fields and homes. US 202 reaches the
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
state line, where it continues into that state as Wilmington-West Chester Pike. US 202 in Delaware 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 118,720 vehicles at the south end of Wilmington along the I-95 concurrency to a low of 30,643 vehicles at the intersection with Augustine Cut-Off between I-95 and DE 141/DE 261. The entire length of US 202 in Delaware is part of the National Highway System.


History

The Wilmington and Great Valley Turnpike Company was chartered on January 23, 1811 to build a turnpike running north from Wilmington along the Concord road, continuing to West Chester and Great Valley in Pennsylvania. Construction on the turnpike progressed throughout the 1810s. The Wilmington and Great Valley Turnpike was known in Delaware as the Concord Pike. The Concord Pike was taken over by New Castle County in 1911, at which point the tolls were removed. A portion of the Concord Pike near Talleyville was incorporated into the state highway system by 1920, with the remainder of the road proposed to become a state highway. By 1924, the Concord Pike between Blue Ball and Talleyville was a state highway, with the remainder remaining a county road. A year later, what is now US 202 along Basin Road was completed as a state highway. When the US Highway System was established in 1926, US 122 was designated to follow the Concord Pike between US 13 (Philadelphia Pike) in Wilmington and the Pennsylvania state line, heading north into that state and continuing to US 22 at
Whitehouse, New Jersey Whitehouse, also spelled White House, is an unincorporated community located within Readington Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The community lies along the former Jersey Turnpike (now U.S. Route 22), just west of Mechanicsville. ...
. In 1934, US 122 was redesignated US 202. Also at this time, US 202 was realigned in Wilmington to head southwest from Concord Avenue onto Baynard Boulevard, splitting 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 ...
following Washington Street southbound and West Street northbound as it passed through downtown Wilmington. In this area, US 202 turned east onto Front Street to an intersection with US 13. From here, US 202 headed south concurrent with US 13 to an intersection with US 13 and US 40 in State Road. On July 1, 1935, the portion of the route between Talleyville and the Pennsylvania state line was taken over by the state. In 1941, the portion of US 202 along Baynard Boulevard and from Talleyville to the Pennsylvania state line was reconstructed. In 1953, the portion of US 202 along the Concord Pike between the Wilmington border and Murphy Road was widened into a four-lane divided highway. In September 1953, construction began to widen the portion of US 202 between Murphy Road and Talleyville into a four-lane divided highway. This widening was completed in October 1954. In 1955, recommendations were made to widen US 202 between Talleyville and the Pennsylvania state line. The divided highway was extended north from Talleyville to the Pennsylvania state line in 1957. By 1954, US 202 was moved onto a new one-way pair through downtown Wilmington, with the southbound direction splitting from Concord Avenue to follow Baynard Boulevard to Washington Street and the northbound direction following US 13 on one-way Walnut Street and two-way Market Street before heading north onto Concord Avenue. In 1964, the southern terminus of US 202 was cut back from State Road to an interchange with I-295/US 40 in Farnhurst; this interchange also served as the northern terminus of US 301, which was extended along US 13/US 40 from its previous terminus at State Road to Farnhurst. By 1966, the portion of I-95 that currently carries US 202 was completed between DE 141 and downtown Wilmington. I-95 was completed between downtown Wilmington and the Concord Pike in 1969. In 1970, the southern terminus of US 202 was truncated to the interchange with I-95 north of Wilmington. By 1981, DE 202 was designated along Concord Avenue between US 13 Bus. and I-95, extending south from the southern terminus of US 202. US 202 was extended south to its current terminus at US 13/US 40 near the Wilmington Airport in 1984, following I-95 through Wilmington before heading south along DE 141. In 1992, plans were made to build an interchange with DE 141 and DE 261 north of I-95; however, plans for the proposed interchange were placed on hold two years later. In 2000, the portion of US 202 between I-95 and DE 141 (Powder Mill Road) was improved, with the alignment shifted to eliminate a few curves, the intersections at DE 261 and DE 141 improved, and a southbound transit lane added. In the 2000s, the Blue Ball Construction Project built an interchange at DE 261 that also relocated the northern terminus of DE 141 from the Powder Mill Road intersection further north. This interchange was constructed as part of the Blue Ball Properties project, a project undertaken to improve roads in this area as part of AstraZeneca locating their North American headquarters to the area. The project took place between 2002 and 2007 and cost $123 million. In December 2011, a project began to improve the interchange between I-95 and US 202/DE 202 in order to reduce congestion. The project widened the ramp between northbound I-95 and northbound US 202 to two lanes, the ramp between southbound US 202 and southbound I-95 was extended to modern standards, and the ramp between southbound I-95 and southbound DE 202 was relocated from a cloverleaf loop to a directional ramp that intersects DE 202 at a signalized intersection. In addition, the interchange ramps were repaved and bridges were rehabilitated. The project was finished in July 2015, months behind schedule due to the closure of I-495 in 2014. On August 7, 2015, a dedication ceremony to mark the completion of the project was held, with Governor
Jack Markell Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician and diplomat. He had served the United States ambassador both to Italy and to San Marino. He had served as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-oper ...
, 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 ...
, and DelDOT secretary Jennifer Cohan in attendance. The project, which cost over $33 million, was 80-percent funded by the federal government. On September 25, 2017, the section of US 202 along Concord Pike between I-95 and the Pennsylvania state line was dedicated as the Gold Star Highway in honor of families of military members who died in service, with Governor John Carney and DelDOT secretary Cohan in attendance at a dedication ceremony.


Major intersections


See also

*


References


External links


US 202 at AARoads.com

Delaware Roads - US 202
{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=202, state=Delaware, stateafter=Pennsylvania 02-2 Delaware Transportation in New Castle County, Delaware Turnpikes in Delaware