Delaware Route 48

Delaware Route 48
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT
Length	7.09 mi[1] (11.41 km)
Existed	1936[2]–present
Major junctions
West end	DE 41 in Hockessin
Major intersections	DE 100 / DE 141 near Wilmington DE 2 in Wilmington I-95 / US 202 in Wilmington DE 4 in Wilmington
East end	US 13 Bus. in Wilmington
Location
Country	United States
State	Delaware
Counties	New Castle
Highway system
Delaware State Route System List Byways
← DE 44 → DE 52

Delaware Route 48 (DE 48) is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from DE 41 in Hockessin east to U.S. Route 13 Business (US 13 Bus.) in downtown Wilmington. The route passes through suburban areas of Wilmington along Lancaster Pike, intersecting DE 100 and DE 141. DE 48 continues into Wilmington as Lancaster Avenue and intersects DE 2, where it splits into the one-way pair of Lancaster Avenue eastbound and Second Street westbound. Upon reaching downtown Wilmington, the route intersects Interstate 95 (I-95)/US 202 and DE 4 before continuing to the eastern terminus.

What is now DE 48 was originally built as the Lancaster Pike in 1817, a turnpike that was to connect Wilmington to the Gap and Newport Turnpike. The turnpike became county-maintained in 1877. The Lancaster Pike was designated DE 48 by 1936, with the route continuing east through Wilmington to the Wilmington-Penns Grove Ferry across the Delaware River, where it connected to Route 48 in Penns Grove, New Jersey. The ferry was discontinued in 1949 and the eastern terminus of DE 48 was cut back to its current location by 1952.