State Route 896

South of I-95 by Iron Hill, SR 896 expands into a controlled access arterial to a bypass of Glasgow. The route was expanded from a rural two lane roadway between 1992-97, to both serve increasing commuter traffic south to the U.S. 40 corridor, and truck traffic south to the Summit Bridge across the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. Continued suburban growth both north and south of the canal justified expansion of the state route to Mount Pleasant.

SR 896 turns east along Boyds Corner Road between SR 71 (Summit Bridge Road) at Mount Pleasant and U.S. 13 (Dupont Parkway) at Boyds Corner. The formerly rural east-west segment bisects the Bayberry Village community and other newer developments.

Delaware Route 896 Guides

• North - Boyds Corner to Glasgow
• North - Glasgow to Newark
• South - Newark to Glasgow
• South - Glasgow to Boyds Corner
• Archive

SR 896 was initially designated as SR 796, reflecting the previous number of PA 896 north to New London and U.S. 1 in Chester County. SR 896 appeared first on the 1938 Official Delaware Highway Map, coinciding with its Pennsylvania counterpart. The state route ran south through Newark along New London Road and College Avenue, briefly overlapping with SR 273 at the west end of Downtown. South from Newark, SR 896 extended to Glasgow and SR 71 just north of the 1920s-built Summit Bridge.

The southern leg of SR 896 was realigned to head east from Mount Pleasant to U.S. 13 at Boyds Corner by 1983. This left the former route south of Middletown as an unnumbered road until 1990, when SR 71 took it over.

Within the city of Newark, SR 896 was relocated from South College Avenue between SR 4 (Christina Parkway) and SR 2/273 (Delaware Avenue) east. The change was made by 1988, coinciding with the realignment of SR 2 away from Downtown. SR 2/896 formed a bypass alongside SR 4 west to Elkton Road, where SR 896 turned northeast alongside SR 2 Business to its split alignment alongside SR 273 (Delaware Avenue / West Main Street).

The Glasgow bypass opened to traffic in 1993 as the new alignment of both SR 896 and U.S. 301 south from U.S. 40 (Pulaski Highway). The expressway, and the associated expansion of SR 896 north and south, were constructed in place of a long planned freeway for U.S. 301 between Middletown and Interstate 95. Interchanges were planned along the SR 896 corridor at U.S. 40, Old Baltimore Pike, and Porter Road, but dropped due to community opposition. However, an interchange will be built at SR 896 and U.S. 40 after all due to substantial traffic congestion and safety needs.

A number of changes were approved for the city of Newark in Fall of 2013. Of those, the overlaps of SR 2 with SR 4/896 along Christina Parkway and SR 2 Business alongside SR 896 on Elkton Road / S Main Street were eliminated. SR 896 travels Elkton Road, and the portion renamed to South Main Street, solo from SR 4 to the north/south separation with SR 273.