Interstate 95 in Delaware

This article is about the section of Interstate 95 in Delaware. For the entire route, see Interstate 95.

Interstate 95 marker
Interstate 95
Map
I-95 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT
Length23.43 mi[1][2] (37.71 km)
Existed1956[3]–present
HistoryFirst section opened in 1963, completed in 1968[4][5]
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
South end I-95 at the Maryland state line
Major intersections
North end I-95 at the Pennsylvania state line
Location
CountryUnited States
StateDelaware
CountiesNew Castle
Highway system
← DE 92→ DE 100
← I-495I-895→ DE 896

Interstate 95 (I-95) is an Interstate Highway running along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canadian border in Houlton, Maine. In the state of Delaware, the route runs for 23.43 miles (37.71 km) across the Wilmington area in northern New Castle County from the Maryland state line near Newark northeast to the Pennsylvania state line in Claymont. I-95 is the only primary Interstate Highway that enters Delaware, although it also has two auxiliary routes within the state (I-295 and I-495). Between the Maryland state line and Newport, I-95 follows the Delaware Turnpike (also known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway), a toll road with a mainline toll plaza near the state line. Near Newport, the Interstate has a large interchange with Delaware Route 141 (DE 141) and the southern termini of I-295 and I-495. I-95 becomes the Wilmington Expressway from here to the Pennsylvania state line and heads north through Wilmington concurrently with U.S. Route 202 (US 202). Past Wilmington, I-95 continues northeast to Claymont, where I-495 rejoins the route right before the Pennsylvania state line.

Plans for a road along the I-95 corridor through Wilmington to the Pennsylvania state line predate the Interstate Highway System. After the Delaware Memorial Bridge was built in 1951, the Delaware Turnpike was proposed between the bridge approach near Farnhurst (present-day interchange between I-95 and I-295) and the Maryland state line near Newark in order to alleviate traffic congestion on parallel US 40. With the creation of the Interstate Highway System in 1956, both these roads were incorporated into I-95. Construction on the Delaware Turnpike began in 1957 and ended in 1963. Construction on building I-95 through Wilmington began in the early 1960s. I-95 was completed from Newport north to downtown Wilmington in 1966 and from Wilmington north to the Pennsylvania state line in 1968. Between 1978 and 1980, I-95 was temporarily rerouted along the I-495 bypass route while the South Wilmington Viaduct was reconstructed; during this time, the route through Wilmington was designated as Interstate 895 (I-895). Improvements continue to be made to the highway including widening projects and reconstruction of sections of the road and interchanges.

  1. ^ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  2. ^ Staff (2018). "Traffic Count and Mileage Report: Interstate, Delaware, and US Routes" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference interstatemap was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ej11168 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).