Southbound

Delaware 896 Southbound
	Just south of the Newark city line is the Interstate 95 (Exit 1) partial-cloverleaf interchange with Delaware 896 (South College Avenue). The interchange lies just east of the Delaware Turnpike main line toll plaza near the state line. Drivers utilizing the southbound on-ramp quickly encounter a $4.00 passenger vehicle toll. Photo taken 12/18/07.
	The busy interchange between Delaware 896 and Interstate 95 represents a choke point during the daily commute between Newark and Wilmington because of the one-lane cloverleaf ramps between Interstate 95 south and Delaware 896 south and Delaware 896 southbound Interstate 95 north. The configuration results in a dangerous traffic weaving situation and its associated congestion on the overpass above the Delaware Turnpike. Photo taken 12/18/07.
	Delaware 896 (South College Avenue) southbound at the Interstate 95 northbound loop ramp. DelDOT resurfaced and slightly reconfigured some of the ramps during 2007. Even so, wider swaths along some of the ramps remain, remnants of the toll booths that once stood along them. Photo taken 12/18/07.
	Delaware 896 fronts Iron Hill County Park between the Delaware Turnpike and Old Baltimore Pike. The four-lane arterial features controlled access from Interstate 95 southward to Old Baltimore Pike. Widening by 1997, Delaware 896 was to have been a full freeway here. Photo taken 04/24/04.
	U.S. 40 trailblazer for trucks on Delaware 896 southbound after Interstate 95. The state highway reaches U.S. 40 (Pulaski Highway) 2.7 miles to the south at the village of Glasgow. Photo taken 04/24/04.
	An exit ramp carries motorists onto Delaware 896 Business (Glasgow Avenue) southbound from the Delaware 896 mainline just north of Glasgow. Pictured here is the one-lane off-ramp of the Glasgow bypass. Note the truck restriction for Glasgow Avenue intended to prohibit commercial truck traffic from utilizing Delaware 896 Business to U.S. 40 westbound. Photo taken 04/24/04.

		Full freeway style guide signs are posted at the junction of Delaware 896 with U.S. 40 & 301 at Glasgow. The large intersection was to have been a full interchange. Yet objection to the concept by local area residents cancelled the project. DelDOT still owns the right-of-way intended for the junction and built a 300 acre state park on part of the land that was reserved for the interchange and associated U.S. 301 freeway. Note the carbon copy sign replacements that still incorrectly directs travelers to U.S. 301 as if it did not end here. Photos taken 04/24/04 & 12/19/07.
		U.S. 40 (Pulaski Highway) travels east-west between Elkton, Maryland and State Road (junction U.S. 13). The four to six lane surface boulevard is lined with strip malls, shopping plazas, apartment complexes, and subdivisions. Most of the development along the Pulaski Highway occurred between 1990 and 2004 as part of the suburban sprawl that pervades the Wilmington metropolitan area southward. At Delaware 896 is the U.S. 301 northern terminus. Although guide signs still display incorrectly trailblazers for the previous alignment of U.S. 301 (U.S. 13 from Interstate 295 to Boyds Corner and Delaware 896 from U.S. 13 to Mt. Pleasant), U.S. 301 officially ends here now (see photo below). Photos taken 04/24/04 & 12/19/07.

	All trucks to U.S. 40 westbound are permitted to turn onto the Pulaski Highway at the bypass intersection with the federal route. Delaware 896 Business (Glasgow Avenue) follows the pre-1993 route of the state highway through the village and features a truck restriction. 2.5 miles to the west is the city of Elkton, Maryland and southern end of Maryland 781 (Delancy Road). Photo taken 04/24/04.
	Low and behold a begin sign is in place for U.S. 301 on Delaware 896 southbound at Glasgow. The previously hidden or inconclusive northern terminus is now legitimate with the new sign installation posted south of the U.S. 40 (Pulaski Highway) intersection. Photo taken 04/17/04.
	Traveling the 1993 completed Glasgow bypass of Delaware 896 midway between U.S. 40 and Delaware 896 Business (Glasgow Avenue). The four lane expressway features a ghost ramp for either a future widening or perhaps the planned partial cloverleaf interchange at Delaware 896 Business and Porter Road. Photo taken 04/04/04.
	Approaching the former alignment of Delaware 896 and U.S. 301 Truck (Glasgow Avenue) on U.S. 301 & Delaware 896 southbound. Glasgow Avenue bisects the village of Glasgow and provides access to the People's Plaza shopping center and Hodgson High School. The business loop intersects U.S. 40 (Pulaski Highway) just west of the U.S. 301 northern terminus. Photo taken 04/04/04.
	Entering the intersection with Delaware 896 Business (Glasgow Avenue) and Porter Road. When Delaware 896 was widened in 1992, the former path was realigned to intersect the new divided highway at a right angle across from Porter Road. Porter Road itself links U.S. 301 & Delaware 896 with Delaware 72 and U.S. 40 in Bear. The official Delaware State Map displays a partial cloverleaf interchange at the junction and has for the last two decades. It is unclear as to whether or not an interchange is planned or the idea abandoned. Photo taken 04/04/04.
	Continuing south of Delaware 896 Business and Porter Road on U.S. 301 & Delaware 896. Four lanes of concrete with a grass median compose the paired routes between Glasgow and the Summit Bridge. The widening project took place between 1990 and 1992. Until the late 1990s all traffic signals south of Porter Road were relegated to flash cycles. Increased development and growth in the area sees the lights at Denny Road, Howell School Road, and Delaware 71 (Red Lion Road) fully operational. Photo taken 04/04/04.
	U.S. 301 reassurance shields remain sporadic on the Delaware 896 alignment between Delaware 896 Business and Summit Bridge. Displayed here is a pair of southbound shields posted beyond the intersection with Howell School Road. Howell School Road links U.S. 301 & Delaware 896 with Lums Pond State Park. Photo taken 04/04/04.
	Delaware 71 joins U.S. 301 & Delaware 896 to cross the Summit Bridge near Lums Pond State Park. The north-south route enters the upcoming intersection from Red Lion Road. Red Lion Road curves northwesterly from Old Summit Road (site of the original Summit Bridge) to U.S. 301 to access the 1960 opened Delaware 896 span. Photo taken 04/04/04.
	Red Lion Road carries Delaware 71 northward from U.S. 301 & Delaware 896 to junction Delaware 72 (Wrangle Hill Road), junction Delaware 7 (Bear Corbitt Road) and the village of Red Lion, and junction U.S. 13 (Dupont Highway) at Tybout's Corner. The two-lane roadway once carried U.S. 301S between U.S. 13 and Delaware 896. Photo taken 04/04/04.
	A lone Delaware 71 shield resides just south of the U.S. 301 & Delaware 896 intersection with Red Lion Road. The three routes ascend from here onto the Summit Bridge on a two-mile limited access roadway. Photo taken 04/04/04.

The Summit Bridge is a cantilever span over the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The four-lane cantilever bridge opened to traffic in 1960 and is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A two-mile freeway segment of U.S. 301 & Delaware 71-896 features an overpass for Chesapeake City Road and 50 MPH speed limit. The Summit Bridge received the American Institute of Steel Construction award as the most beautiful bridge in 1960. Photos taken 04/04/04, 08/10/04, and 01/02/08.

The Summit Bridge is a cantilever span over the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The four-lane cantilever bridge opened to traffic in 1960 and is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A two-mile freeway segment of U.S. 301 & Delaware 71-896 features an overpass for Chesapeake City Road and 50 MPH speed limit. The Summit Bridge received the American Institute of Steel Construction award as the most beautiful bridge in 1960. Photos taken 04/04/04, 08/10/04, and 01/02/08.

	Descending toward the northern terminus of Delaware 15 (Bethel Church Road) on U.S. 301 & Delaware 71-896 southbound. Delaware 15 provides an alternate route between Summit Bridge and the city of Middletown by way of western New Castle County. Bethel Church Road becomes Delaware 286 0.75 miles to the west at Choptank Road (Delaware 15). Delaware 286 travels west from there to Chesapeake City, Maryland. Photo taken 01/02/08.
		Delaware 15 saw extension from central Delaware to Summit Bridge by 1993. The state route previously linked U.S. 13 near Woodside with Delaware 14 in Milford. The extension of the designation overtakes several rural highways west of Dover and Smyrna. At Middletown Delaware 15 travels Bunker Hill Road northbound to Choptank Road and Bethel Church Road. A guide sign remained in place on U.S. 301 southbound for the Bethel Church Road intersection displaying "Road 433 - Chesapeake City". The panel dated from before the Delaware 15 extension but was replaced by 2007. The new sign would better convey information if it included "Delaware 15 south to Delaware 286", since the Delaware 286 connection leads west to Maryland 286 and Chesapeake City. Photos taken 04/04/04 & 01/02/08.

	U.S. 301 & Delaware 71-896 at the southbound beginning of Delaware 15 near Summit Bridge. Delaware 15. The state highway returns to U.S. 301 6.7 miles to the south at junction Delaware 299 (Main Street) in Middletown. Photo taken 01/02/08.
	Until 2000, the traffic signals at the Delaware 15 (Bethel Church Road) intersection were set in caution phase. New developments to the west on Delaware 286 and to the south on U.S. 301 & Delaware 71-896 led DelDOT to activate the signals. Photo taken 04/04/04.
	Over 1,000 new homes are under construction or exist on U.S. 301 & Delaware 71-896 southbound between Delaware 15 and Mt. Pleasant. Pictured here is a southbound set of reassurance shields posted between Bethel Church Road and Old Summit Bridge Road. The new homes are overtaking a path that was once intended for a U.S. 301 freeway. Photo taken 04/04/04.
	Old Summit Bridge Road (original Delaware 71) ends at U.S. 301 & Delaware 71-896 0.75 miles to the east of Delaware 15. The north-south road travels northward from the triplex into the village of Summit Bridge. Lorewood Grove Road provides an east-west route between Old Summit Bridge and U.S. 13 at South St. Georges to the north of the traffic signal. Photo taken 04/04/04.
	U.S. 301 & Delaware 71-896 reassurance shields posted south of Old Summit Bridge Road; these are new replacements which properly show the order of U.S. 301 to Delaware 71 & 896. Delaware 896 departs the multiplex 1.4 miles to the south at Mt. Pleasant. Delaware 71 continues another 3.4 miles to the intersection of U.S. 301 and Broad Street in Middletown. Photo taken 01/02/08.

A series of guide signs advise motorists of the impending split of Delaware 896 (Boyds Corner Road) south from U.S. 301 & Delaware 71 (Summit Bridge Road) at Mount Pleasant. Boyds Corner Road represents the original U.S. 301 link between Summit Bridge Road and U.S. 13 (Dupont Parkway). The route also provides a direct route to Exit 142 of the SR 1 Turnpike for interests south to Smyrna, Dover, and the Delaware beaches. Photos taken 01/02/08.

	Delaware 896 (Boyds Corner Road) turns east for its final approach to U.S. 13 (Dupont Parkway) at Boyds Corner. U.S. 301 & Delaware 71 continue along Summit Bridge Road southward into Middletown. Churchtown Road heads west through growing suburban areas to Maryland 310 (Cayots Corner Road). Photo taken 01/02/08.
Scenes pertaining to Delaware 896
	Welsh Tract Road eastbound at junction Delaware 896 (South College Avenue) in Newark. Welsh Tract Road parallels Interstate 95 between South College Avenue and Otts Chapel Road, providing a short cut route for local traffic between the two north-south roads. Photo taken 12/18/07.

Page Updated January 5, 2008.