U.S. Route 9 in Delaware

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 9 in Delaware. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 9.
This article is about the portion of the U.S. Highway numbered 9 in Delaware. For the state highway with the same number, see Delaware Route 9.

U.S. Route 9 marker
U.S. Route 9
Map
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT and DRBA
Length31.04 mi[1] (49.95 km)
Existed1974[2][3]–present
Tourist
routes		 Delaware Bayshore Byway
Historic Lewes Byway, Gateway to the Bayshore
Major junctions
West end US 13 in Laurel
Major intersections
East end US 9 via the Cape May–Lewes Ferry in Lewes
Location
CountryUnited States
StateDelaware
CountiesSussex
Highway system
← DE 8→ DE 9
← DE 26DE 28→ DE 30

U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a United States Numbered Highway in the Northeastern U.S., running from Laurel, Delaware, north to Champlain, New York. In Delaware, the route runs a southwest–northeast path through Sussex County. Even though US 9 is signed north–south for the remainder of its route, the segment in Delaware is signed east–west. The highway runs from its western terminus at US 13 in Laurel northeast to the Cape May–Lewes Ferry terminal in Lewes, where the ferry carries the route across the Delaware Bay to North Cape May, New Jersey. US 9 passes through rural areas and serves the communities of Laurel, Georgetown, and Lewes. US 9 intersects Delaware Route 20 (DE 20) in Hardscrabble, US 113 and DE 18/DE 404 in Georgetown, DE 30 in Gravel Hill, DE 5 in Harbeson, and DE 1 at the Five Points intersection in Nassau. US 9 runs concurrent with DE 404 between Georgetown and Five Points and with DE 1 between Five Points and Carpenters Corner.

What is now US 9 in Delaware was originally built as a state highway during the 1920s and designated by 1936 as Delaware Route 28 (DE 28) between Laurel and Georgetown and a part of DE 18 between Georgetown and Lewes. US 9 was extended to Delaware from New Jersey by way of the Cape May–Lewes Ferry in 1974, replacing all of DE 28 and the portion of DE 18 between Georgetown and Five Points, with the route aligned to bypass Lewes. DE 404 was designated concurrent with the portion of US 9 between Georgetown and Five Points by 1987.

  1. ^ Staff (2018). "Traffic Count and Mileage Report: Interstate, Delaware, and US Routes" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference AASHTO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference DE 1976 map was invoked but never defined (see the help page).