Why is DE 1 not an interstate?

[MASTERNC]

Apologies if this has been posted ad nauseum (though I couldn't find a thread in the search), but is there a reason Delaware has never tried to upgrade Route 1 to Interstate status into Dover?  Other than Tybouts Corner, it is pretty much at Interstate standard from I-95 all the way to the Puncheon Run Connector.

[The Ghostbuster]

Probably because it is unnecessary. The Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway is just fine as DE 1.

[jmacswimmer]

Apologies if this has been posted ad nauseum (though I couldn't find a thread in the search), but is there a reason Delaware has never tried to upgrade Route 1 to Interstate status into Dover?  Other than Tybouts Corner, it is pretty much at Interstate standard from I-95 all the way to the Puncheon Run Connector.

Pure speculation on my part, but is it possible this is another VA 895 situation where something with the design/construction funding prevented interstate status due to being a toll road?

[roadman65]

Apologies if this has been posted ad nauseum (though I couldn't find a thread in the search), but is there a reason Delaware has never tried to upgrade Route 1 to Interstate status into Dover?  Other than Tybouts Corner, it is pretty much at Interstate standard from I-95 all the way to the Puncheon Run Connector.

Well if it were NC, it would be, but DelDOT ( along with 49 other states excluding Alaska) are content without adding every freeway in their border to interstate standard.

[Alex4897]

Apologies if this has been posted ad nauseum (though I couldn't find a thread in the search), but is there a reason Delaware has never tried to upgrade Route 1 to Interstate status into Dover?  Other than Tybouts Corner, it is pretty much at Interstate standard from I-95 all the way to the Puncheon Run Connector.

Pure speculation on my part, but is it possible this is another VA 895 situation where something with the design/construction funding prevented interstate status due to being a toll road?

The corridor was always thought of as an extension of the original beach-bound segment of SR 1 and as a relief route to US 13. I don't think interstate status was ever seriously considered because no one ever really thinks of it as a spur off I-95. I doubt the conversation ever got far enough for the tolling problem to come up, if the conversation ever happened at all.

The corridor's fine with a single number as is in my opinion, DelDOT's bad enough as it is with splitting single corridors into multiple route designations.

[vdeane]

I-87, if you can get MD and VA on board (spoiler alert: you probably can't).

[MATraveler128]

Should've been the real I-99 rather than the one in central PA. Or perhaps I-97 before that number was wasted in Annapolis. Although I heard there was once a proposal to make it into I-101 to mirror US 101 on the opposite end of the country.

[Mapmikey]

Delaware was conceptually interested in an interstate corridor down DE 1 and US 113 in 2006.

See the last page here - https://web.archive.org/web/20201016222922/http://virginiadot.org/projects/resources/I-99_Final_Report_-_VDOT_website.pdf

[sprjus4]

Apologies if this has been posted ad nauseum (though I couldn't find a thread in the search), but is there a reason Delaware has never tried to upgrade Route 1 to Interstate status into Dover?  Other than Tybouts Corner, it is pretty much at Interstate standard from I-95 all the way to the Puncheon Run Connector.

Well if it were NC, it would be,

NC-540, NC-147, US-74 Bypass, all toll roads in North Carolina, say otherwise. North Carolina isn't adding interstates to "every freeway".

[abqtraveler]

I-87, if you can get MD and VA on board (spoiler alert: you probably can't).

Well, if you're going to do that, you might as well continue the I-87 designation north along I-95 and the New Jersey Turnpike to New York City and make I-87 a continuous route from North Carolina to the Canadian Border.

[Henry]

IIRC, this is one of only two freeways to be signed entirely in metric (with I-19 in AZ being the other). In any case, I don't see DE 1 ever becoming an Interstate, because as it's been said a million times, not every limited-access highway needs to be one.

[Alps]

I-87, if you can get MD and VA on board (spoiler alert: you probably can't).

Well, if you're going to do that, you might as well continue the I-87 designation north along I-95 and the New Jersey Turnpike to New York City and make I-87 a continuous route from North Carolina to the Canadian Border.

*along I-95, I-295, NJ 700, I-95, and take over I-278

[vdeane]

IIRC, this is one of only two freeways to be signed entirely in metric (with I-19 in AZ being the other). In any case, I don't see DE 1 ever becoming an Interstate, because as it's been said a million times, not every limited-access highway needs to be one.

Only the exit numbers are km-based on DE 1.  The distances are all signed in miles.  Actually, it's not even all the exit numbers; the newer ones south of Dover measure out the distance in miles from the southern-most km-based number.  It's a mess.

[tmoore952]

Should've been the real I-99 rather than the one in central PA. Or perhaps I-97 before that number was wasted in Annapolis. Although I heard there was once a proposal to make it into I-101 to mirror US 101 on the opposite end of the country.

IIRC (native Delawarean here) the current I-97 and I-99 were designated as such when DE 1 was still being built (most of which occurred in the 1990s). The only part of DE 1 that is older than that is the Sussex county portion (~ 20 miles) between about Milford and Lewes.

But if this proposed I-99 is supposed to follow US 13 (more or less), the part of DE 1 south of Dover is irrelevant to this discussion.

[Life in Paradise]

Delaware was conceptually interested in an interstate corridor down DE 1 and US 113 in 2006.

See the last page here - https://web.archive.org/web/20201016222922/http://virginiadot.org/projects/resources/I-99_Final_Report_-_VDOT_website.pdf

Quite an interesting interstate proposal, although they make out of the way jogs to include both Salisbury MD and Ocean City MD in one place, and a bit of a bow in Norfolk.  Could help in cases of hurricanes, etc but would be expensive for both land cost and building, especially in low lands.  Will stay in the what if book.

[sprjus4]

Delaware was conceptually interested in an interstate corridor down DE 1 and US 113 in 2006.

See the last page here - https://web.archive.org/web/20201016222922/http://virginiadot.org/projects/resources/I-99_Final_Report_-_VDOT_website.pdf

Quite an interesting interstate proposal, although they make out of the way jogs to include both Salisbury MD and Ocean City MD in one place, and a bit of a bow in Norfolk.  Could help in cases of hurricanes, etc but would be expensive for both land cost and building, especially in low lands.  Will stay in the what if book.

If such a proposal ever did take off (highly unlikely given this political / funding environment), "I-99" would follow US-17, I-64, and US-13 through Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, and Norfolk.

The bow routing is following the now dead Southeastern Parkway proposal, which would've been a vital freeway connecting Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. Unfortunately, the routing had too many environmental issues and Chesapeake has since decided to develop homes over its once preserved routing. The end result is now overcrowded, dangerous 2 lane roads connecting the two cities and traffic signal infested arterials in Virginia Beach. Both cities suffer connectivity issues due to poor planning and that continues today, costing time and lives.

Virginia Beach is attempting to revive its portion of the freeway, but it will not connect to Chesapeake or VA-168 since Chesapeake has filled in all the previously preserved right of way.

Regardless of if the Southeastern Parkway was built or not, it does not make sense for an "I-99" routing... it's its own independent freeway.

[roadman65]

Apologies if this has been posted ad nauseum (though I couldn't find a thread in the search), but is there a reason Delaware has never tried to upgrade Route 1 to Interstate status into Dover?  Other than Tybouts Corner, it is pretty much at Interstate standard from I-95 all the way to the Puncheon Run Connector.

Well if it were NC, it would be,

NC-540, NC-147, US-74 Bypass, all toll roads in North Carolina, say otherwise. North Carolina isn't adding interstates to "every freeway".

No, but they've added ( and are adding) enough as is.  US 70 east of Raleigh, US 64 east of Raleigh, all of US 220, the recent I-587 from US 264, I-295, I-74, US 421 south of Greensboro, I-26 extension, and what about US 117 later to become I-795.

[Strider]

Apologies if this has been posted ad nauseum (though I couldn't find a thread in the search), but is there a reason Delaware has never tried to upgrade Route 1 to Interstate status into Dover?  Other than Tybouts Corner, it is pretty much at Interstate standard from I-95 all the way to the Puncheon Run Connector.

Well if it were NC, it would be,

NC-540, NC-147, US-74 Bypass, all toll roads in North Carolina, say otherwise. North Carolina isn't adding interstates to "every freeway".

No, but they've added ( and are adding) enough as is.  US 70 east of Raleigh, US 64 east of Raleigh, all of US 220, the recent I-587 from US 264, I-295, I-74, US 421 south of Greensboro, I-26 extension, and what about US 117 later to become I-795.

So does Texas. I don't see a problem with adding more interstates. Carry on.

Besides sprjus4 said it exactly. NC does not add every interstate on each of their freeway.

[wdcrft63]

Apologies if this has been posted ad nauseum (though I couldn't find a thread in the search), but is there a reason Delaware has never tried to upgrade Route 1 to Interstate status into Dover?  Other than Tybouts Corner, it is pretty much at Interstate standard from I-95 all the way to the Puncheon Run Connector.

Well if it were NC, it would be,

NC-540, NC-147, US-74 Bypass, all toll roads in North Carolina, say otherwise. North Carolina isn't adding interstates to "every freeway".

No, but they've added ( and are adding) enough as is.  US 70 east of Raleigh, US 64 east of Raleigh, all of US 220, the recent I-587 from US 264, I-295, I-74, US 421 south of Greensboro, I-26 extension, and what about US 117 later to become I-795.

So does Texas. I don't see a problem with adding more interstates. Carry on.

Besides sprjus4 said it exactly. NC does not add every interstate on each of their freeway.

In North Carolina, Texas, and elsewhere the push for new interstate designations rarely if ever comes from DOTs, who have to find the funds for upgrades. It comes from business interests who think their city can better attract new investments if the city is on an interstate route. Whether that's true or not is debatable at best, but once one city goes for an interstate others are sure to follow. Members of Congress are happy to create these new interstate corridors through federal legislation, but without providing any new funding to support them.

[The Ghostbuster]

Regardless of whether or not DE 1 becomes an Interstate (hint: it won't), DE 1's exits should be converted from kilometer-based to mile-based. I understand why Interstate 19 has kilometer-based exit numbers, but DE 1 should never have had them, especially the exits south of DE 9.

[Alps]

Delaware was conceptually interested in an interstate corridor down DE 1 and US 113 in 2006.

See the last page here - https://web.archive.org/web/20201016222922/http://virginiadot.org/projects/resources/I-99_Final_Report_-_VDOT_website.pdf

Quite an interesting interstate proposal, although they make out of the way jogs to include both Salisbury MD and Ocean City MD in one place, and a bit of a bow in Norfolk.  Could help in cases of hurricanes, etc but would be expensive for both land cost and building, especially in low lands.  Will stay in the what if book.

I don't see any maps in that link - where are you looking?

[Mapmikey]

Delaware was conceptually interested in an interstate corridor down DE 1 and US 113 in 2006.

See the last page here - https://web.archive.org/web/20201016222922/http://virginiadot.org/projects/resources/I-99_Final_Report_-_VDOT_website.pdf

Quite an interesting interstate proposal, although they make out of the way jogs to include both Salisbury MD and Ocean City MD in one place, and a bit of a bow in Norfolk.  Could help in cases of hurricanes, etc but would be expensive for both land cost and building, especially in low lands.  Will stay in the what if book.

I don't see any maps in that link - where are you looking?

The maps are on pdf pgs 21 and 22

[roadman65]

Apologies if this has been posted ad nauseum (though I couldn't find a thread in the search), but is there a reason Delaware has never tried to upgrade Route 1 to Interstate status into Dover?  Other than Tybouts Corner, it is pretty much at Interstate standard from I-95 all the way to the Puncheon Run Connector.

Well if it were NC, it would be,

NC-540, NC-147, US-74 Bypass, all toll roads in North Carolina, say otherwise. North Carolina isn't adding interstates to "every freeway".

No, but they've added ( and are adding) enough as is.  US 70 east of Raleigh, US 64 east of Raleigh, all of US 220, the recent I-587 from US 264, I-295, I-74, US 421 south of Greensboro, I-26 extension, and what about US 117 later to become I-795.

So does Texas. I don't see a problem with adding more interstates. Carry on.

Besides sprjus4 said it exactly. NC does not add every interstate on each of their freeway.

Figure of speech, however NC to TX isn't that fair a comparison.

[Strider]

Apologies if this has been posted ad nauseum (though I couldn't find a thread in the search), but is there a reason Delaware has never tried to upgrade Route 1 to Interstate status into Dover?  Other than Tybouts Corner, it is pretty much at Interstate standard from I-95 all the way to the Puncheon Run Connector.

Well if it were NC, it would be,

NC-540, NC-147, US-74 Bypass, all toll roads in North Carolina, say otherwise. North Carolina isn't adding interstates to "every freeway".

No, but they've added ( and are adding) enough as is.  US 70 east of Raleigh, US 64 east of Raleigh, all of US 220, the recent I-587 from US 264, I-295, I-74, US 421 south of Greensboro, I-26 extension, and what about US 117 later to become I-795.

So does Texas. I don't see a problem with adding more interstates. Carry on.

Besides sprjus4 said it exactly. NC does not add every interstate on each of their freeway.

Figure of speech, however NC to TX isn't that fair a comparison.

Both have the same goals. That's a comparison. You're just hating at this point.

[roadman65]

Whatever. This thread is about Delaware Route 1 not being an interstate. There are other threads about NC interstates.


Bottom line is DE thinks different and it's their personal preference not to incorporate this particular freeway into the interstate system like some states do, or as the OP was just curious about this route in particular.  I'm incline to agree with some, that every freeway don't need to be interstate, but that don't make me hate a state that wants more interstates either.