NORTH

Interstate 295 in Delaware provides a major corridor between the Southeast United States, the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area, and the Delmarva Peninsula and the state of New Jersey, New York City, and the New England states. The freeway is heavily traveled as the link between Interstate 95 (Delaware Turnpike) and the New Jersey Turnpike. During peak travel hours, Interstate 295 northbound motorists often clog Interstate 95 between Delaware 141 (Exit 5) and Delaware 1 & 7 (Exit 4). During holiday travel periods traffic also slows at the Delaware Memorial Bridge and New Jersey Turnpike toll plazas. The freeway constitutes only four lanes between Interstate 95 and U.S. 13 & 40 (Dupont Highway) and eight lanes between Farnhurst (U.S. 13) and New Jersey 49 (Broadway) in Deepwater, New Jersey. U.S. 40 joins the freeway between the Dupont Highway and the New Jersey Turnpike.

Interstate 295 Northbound
Northbound beginning from Interstate 95 north
	The Delaware Turnpike draws to a close at the three-way partition between Interstates 95 & 495 north (left), Interstate 295 north (middle), and the Exit 5B collector/distributor roadway to Delaware 141 north (right). Photo taken 03/27/04.
	Northbound on the Interstate 295 c/d roadway for Exit 5B (Delaware 141 north). The cloverleaf ramp serves Newport (pop. 1,122), Prices Corner, Elsmere (pop. 5,800), and Greenville. In conjunction with Delaware 41 (Newport Gap Pike), Delaware 141 provides the southern leg of the route to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Photo taken 03/27/04.
	Mileage sign for Interstate 295 northbound posted after the split from Interstate 95 and Delaware 141 (Newport Freeway) cloverleaf interchange. The mileage figure to New York City reflects the distance between here and the George Washington Bridge. This is the only sign featuring New York City as a control point in the state of Delaware at present. Photo taken 01/01/05.
	Original Gas - Food - Lodging services sign posted on the Interstate 295 northbound beginning for the upcoming U.S. 13 & 40 (Dupont Highway) interchange. Variable Message signs are posted on both ramps from Interstate 95 onto Interstate 295 northbound as well. Photo taken 01/01/05.

Northbound beginning from Interstate 95 & U.S. 202 south
	Two lanes of travel depart Interstate 95 & U.S. 202 from the left for Interstate 295 northbound. The sweeping ramp originally carried two lanes of traffic southeastward onto the Interstate 295. However now the right-hand lane ends 2,000 feet beyond the Interstate 495 southbound overhead. Photo taken 03/19/04.
	Continuing on the Interstate 295 northbound ramp from Interstate 95 & U.S. 202 southbound at the Interstate 95 & U.S. 202 northbound mainline. Traffic squeezes into one lane just before merging onto Interstate 295 northbound from the left. Two lanes carry Delaware Turnpike northbound drivers onto Interstate 295 from the Newport Freeway interchange nearby. Photo taken 03/19/04.
Interstate 295 northbound merge
	Traffic merging onto Interstate 295 north from Interstate 95 southbound forms the exit-only lane for the left-hand off-ramp to U.S. 13 (Dupont Highway) northbound. A second auxiliary lane adds to the right for U.S. 13 south & U.S. 40 westbound to New Castle. Commuter traffic from Wilmington sometimes cuts across all three lanes to access the southbound Dupont Highway off-ramp close by. DelDOT addressed these safety concerns by constructing a U-turn provisional ramp from the northbound on-ramp to U.S. 13 to the Dupont Highway southbound (see next photos). Photo taken 01/01/05.
	Interstate 295 northbound at the U.S. 13 south & U.S. 40 west (Dupont Highway) off-ramp. The Dupont Highway constitutes a six to eight lane arterial between Minquadale and State Road for the U.S. 13 & 40 overlap. Many older subdivisions such as Wilmington Manor and Chelsea Estates reside along the corridor. The control points include the capital city of Dover and the Delaware River and Bay Authority owned and operated New Castle County Airport. Previous guide signs posted here included U.S. 301 and the control cities of Annapolis and Norfolk. Photo taken 01/01/05.
	The northbound U.S. 13 off-ramp departs Interstate 295 northbound. Originally U.S. 301 was also signed here as the federal highway ended on the Dupont Highway nearby. Of historic significance is the fact that U.S. 202 also called Farnhurst its southern terminus up until the 1980s. Photo taken 03/19/04.
	The ramp to U.S. 13 northbound saw expansion as part of the 2001-2003 Interstate 295 reconstruction. The Dupont Highway off-ramp expands into two lanes with the addition of a U-turn ramp for U.S. 13 southbound. Pictured here is a new guide sign advising motorists of the upcoming options. Photo taken 03/19/04.
	Merging onto the Dupont Highway northbound from Interstate 295 north. A second guide sign directs motorists to the southbound U-turn ramp. The space allocated below the U.S. 13 shield is likely reserved for U.S. 40. Before reconstruction of the interchange a southbound on-ramp to Interstate 295 northbound traveled below the northbound lanes. End signs for U.S. 301 also were in place here until 1993. Photo taken 03/19/04.
	U.S. 40 eastbound joins Interstate 295 northbound at the Farnhurst interchange. The two highways share pavement between here and the New Jersey Turnpike interchange at Deepwater, New Jersey. Of historical note the former left-hand on-ramp to Interstate 295 & U.S. 40 eastbound used to merge onto the freeway from the left ahead. The ramp was removed by 2003. Photo taken 03/27/04.
	One lone sign is posted for the Landers Lane off-ramp of Interstate 295 north & U.S. 40 eastbound. The exit was built to serve the local residential areas between Delaware 9 (New Castle Avenue) and Boulden Boulevard. A truck restriction is in place to curtail commercial vehicles from utilizing the ramp to access the Southgate Industrial Park on Boulden Boulevard or Moores Lane. Six neighborhoods are included on the guide sign: Landers Park, Swanwyck, Swanwyck Gardens, Castle Hills, Swanwyck Estates, and Jefferson Farms. Photo taken 04/25/04.
	Interstate 295 & U.S. 40 constitute an eight-lane freeway between Farnhurst and New Jersey 49 (Broadway). Pictured here is the first in a series of sign bridges for the Delaware 9 (New Castle Avenue) cloverleaf interchange. The Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) maintains and polices the Delaware Memorial Bridge and Interstate 295 between Interstate 95 and the New Jersey Turnpike. Thus the authority uses its own signing practices (meaning no backplated shields in New Jersey) and promotes its own facilities (such as the headquarters here or New Castle Airport at the U.S. 13/40 interchange) on the signs. Photo taken 05/19/07.
	A ground level sign is posted 0.25 miles west of the Delaware 9 (New Castle Avenue) interchange. A collector/distributor roadway serves the cloverleaf interchange on both carriageways of Interstate 295 & U.S. 40. The DRBA Administrative Building resides within the freeway median east of Delaware 9. An EZ Pass Customer Service Center also is present at the facility. Photo taken 03/27/04.
	Four through lanes continue through the Delaware 9 interchange on Interstate 295 north & U.S. 40 east. Displayed here is the original concrete roadway and previous set of overheads for the New Castle Avenue exit. Photo taken 05/00.
	A view of the same sign bridge and scene four years later. Note the asphalt pavement and new overheads for the Delaware 9 interchange. Included on New Castle Avenue southbound exit signs are trailblazers for the Delaware War Memorial. The memorial itself resides just south of the bridge and east of New Castle Avenue and includes a list of 15,000 Delaware and New Jersey service men and women who fought during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Operation Desert Storm. Photo taken 03/27/04.
	The original set of guide signs at the Delaware 9 cloverleaf interchange and c/d roadway beginning of Interstate 295 north & U.S. 40 east. The Delaware Memorial Bridge tolls for the northbound direction were removed in 1992. The 50 cent toll doubled to $1.00 with the switch of Interstate 295 from a two-way tolled facility to southbound only at the time. Original Delaware state shields on overheads featured a black circle within the white shield. All original guide signs for Interstate 295 in Delaware were replaced by 1998. Photo taken by Michael Summa (1969).

The southbound off-ramp to New Castle Avenue departs the Interstate 295 & U.S. 40 eastbound c/d roadway. New Castle Avenue provides a four-lane surface arterial between south Wilmington and the town of New Castle. Drivers using the ramp actually enter Cherry Lane just west of Delaware 9. From there a right-hand turn is required for the two mile trek to New Castle. Photos taken 03/27/04 & 05/19/07.

	Large guide signs were installed on Interstate 295 north & U.S. 40 east at the Delaware 9 (New Castle Avenue) overcrossing in 2001. The bridges themselves were rebuilt and painted blue. New and reconstructed bridges at the Farnhurst interchange are also painted blue. Perhaps the color relates to the DRBA itself. Otherwise the pull through panel here displays four through lanes and the control points of New Jersey - New York. For the most part Interstate 295 northbound within the Diamond State receives the control points of New Jersey - New York or NJ - NY. Some older signs however refer to just New Jersey. A Welcome to the Delaware Memorial Bridge sign originally graced the New Castle Avenue overpass here. Photo taken 04/25/04.
	The War Memorial itself draws into view at the Delaware 9 northbound cloverleaf ramp. New Castle Avenue carries Delaware 9 northward into the South Bridge neighborhood of Wilmington in two miles. Photo taken 03/27/04.
	Variable message sign bridge with variable speed limit signs on Interstate 295 & U.S. 40 eastbound at the Delaware Memorial Bridge. To the left is the DRBA police building. It was reported in a News Journal article in 2000 that the DRBA officers are required to make at least one traffic stop per hour on any given day. Stops can entail anything from moving violations to assisting a stranded motorist. Photo taken 04/25/04.

	Suite of photos from the 1951 opened eastbound span of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The four-lane bridge served Interstate 295 & U.S. 40 solely until September of 1968. At that time the westbound bridge opened to traffic and the eastbound bridge closed for a 15-month refurbishment project. In 1969 the twin suspension bridges officially opened to all traffic to constitute the longest such suspension bridge pair in the world. Photos taken 04/25/04 & 05/20/07 except for the fourth from last photo on the bottom row (03/95).

Interstate 295 Offsite Links

• Interstate 295 @ Interstate-Guide.com
• Delaware Multiplexes @ Multiplex.com (Tim Reichard)
• Interstate 295 Delaware Guide @ OKRoads.com (Eric Stuve)
• Interstate 295 @ PhillyRoads.com (Steve Anderson)
• Interstate 295 New Jersey @ NJFreeways.com (Ray Martin)
• Interstate 295 New Jersey Route Log (Dan Moraseski)
• Delaware Memorial Bridge @ PhillyRoads.com (Steve Anderson)
• Delaware Memorial Bridge @ NJFreeways.com (Ray Martin)
• Delaware Memorial Bridge Approach @ NJFreeways.com (Ray Martin)
• New Jersey Highways (Jeff Taylor)

Page Updated September 23, 2007.