Interstate 95 in Delaware

Interstate 95 (I-95) is an Interstate Highway running along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canadian border in Houlton, Maine. In the state of Delaware, the route runs for 23.43 miles (37.71 km) across the Wilmington area in northern New Castle County from the Maryland state line near Newark northeast to the Pennsylvania state line in Claymont. I-95 is the only primary Interstate Highway that enters Delaware, although it also has two auxiliary routes within the state (I-295 and I-495). Between the Maryland state line and Newport, I-95 follows the Delaware Turnpike (also known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway), a toll road with a mainline toll plaza near the state line. Near Newport, the Interstate has a large interchange with Delaware Route 141 (DE 141) and the southern termini of I-295 and I-495. I-95 becomes the Wilmington Expressway from here to the Pennsylvania state line and heads north through Wilmington concurrently with U.S. Route 202 (US 202). Past Wilmington, I-95 continues northeast to Claymont, where I-495 rejoins the route right before the Pennsylvania state line.

Plans for a road along the I-95 corridor through Wilmington to the Pennsylvania state line predate the Interstate Highway System. After the Delaware Memorial Bridge was built in 1951, the Delaware Turnpike was proposed between the bridge approach near Farnhurst (present-day interchange between I-95 and I-295) and the Maryland state line near Newark in order to alleviate traffic congestion on parallel US 40. With the creation of the Interstate Highway System in 1956, both these roads were incorporated into I-95. Construction on the Delaware Turnpike began in 1957 and ended in 1963. Construction on building I-95 through Wilmington began in the early 1960s. I-95 was completed from Newport north to downtown Wilmington in 1966 and from Wilmington north to the Pennsylvania state line in 1968. Between 1978 and 1980, I-95 was temporarily rerouted along the I-495 bypass route while the South Wilmington Viaduct was reconstructed; during this time, the route through Wilmington was designated as Interstate 895 (I-895). Improvements continue to be made to the highway including widening projects and reconstruction of sections of the road and interchanges.

I-95 enters Delaware from Maryland southwest of the city of Newark in New Castle County. From the state line, the highway heads east (north) as the Delaware Turnpike (John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway), a six-lane freeway, through wooded areas. Not far from the Maryland state line, the road crosses Muddy Run before it comes to the Newark mainline toll plaza. I-95 widens to eight lanes and reaches a partial cloverleaf interchange with DE 896, which heads north to Newark and the University of Delaware and south to Glasgow. Following this interchange, the Interstate Highway crosses the Christina River and runs between industrial areas to the north and farm fields to the south, coming to bridges over Norfolk Southern Railway's Delmarva Secondary railroad line and DE 72 without access. The road heads through more woodland with nearby suburban development as it curves northeast, with the median widening for the Biden Welcome Center service plaza accessible from both directions. A short distance later, I-95 reaches a modified cloverleaf interchange with DE 273 west of Christiana. The freeway continues northeast and comes to a modified cloverleaf interchange with the DE 1/DE 7 freeway to the northwest of the Christiana Mall; this interchange serves as the northern terminus of DE 1. This interchange has flyover ramps from southbound I-95 to southbound DE 1/DE 7 and from northbound DE 1/DE 7 to northbound I-95; the northbound ramp splits onto both sides of the northbound lanes of I-95. The interchange with DE 1/DE 7 also has access to the Christiana Mall via ramps connecting to Mall Road.

Past this interchange, I-95 widens to 10 lanes and passes under DE 58, with a ramp from southbound I-95 to DE 58 that provides the missing connection between southbound I-95 and northbound DE 7. The highway continues through woods before heading through Churchman's Marsh, where it crosses the Christina River. After this bridge, I-95 has a northbound ramp to Airport Road that serves to provide access to southbound US 202/DE 141. At this point, the lanes of the Interstate split further apart, and the northbound ramp for I-295 and northbound DE 141 exits off to parallel the northbound lanes of I-95. The ramp to northbound I-295 has two lanes while northbound I-95 carries four lanes. After this, I-95 crosses US 202/DE 141 at an interchange, at which point US 202 becomes concurrent with I-95. Upon crossing US 202/DE 141, the ramp to northbound DE 141 from the northbound I-295 ramp splits off while the ramp from US 202/DE 141 to northbound I-95 merges in from the left. Southbound, a collector–distributor road serves to provide access between I-95 and US 202/DE 141. Not far after encountering US 202/DE 141, I-295 splits off to the southeast, with the northbound entrance from I-295, the southbound exit to I-295, and the southbound entrance from I-295 on the left side of the road. At this point, the Delaware Turnpike comes to its northern terminus. After I-295, I-95/US 202 turns north and comes to a northbound exit and southbound entrance with the southern terminus of I-495, which bypasses the city of Wilmington to the east.

Following the I-495 interchange, the median narrows and I-95/US 202 heads northeast through marshland as the six-lane Wilmington Expressway, crossing the Christina River. The freeway comes to bridges over Norfolk Southern Railway's Shellpot Secondary railroad line and Little Mill Creek as it continues through more wetlands west of the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge, with Amtrak's Northeast Corridor railroad line running parallel a short distance to the northwest. The road enters Wilmington and curves to the north, passing to the west of Daniel S. Frawley Stadium, which is home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks baseball team, and the Chase Center on the Riverfront convention center as it heads west of the Wilmington Riverfront. I-95/US 202 heads toward downtown Wilmington and crosses onto a viaduct, passing over Norfolk Southern Railway's Wilmington & Northern Running Track and the Northeast Corridor before coming to an interchange with DE 4 and DE 48 that provides access to the downtown area and the Wilmington Riverfront. At this point, the four-lane freeway continues northeast, with one-way northbound North Adams Street to the east and one-way southbound North Jackson Street to the west serving as frontage roads. I-95/US 202 continues through residential areas to the west of downtown Wilmington and passes over DE 9, with a southbound exit. Farther northeast, the freeway heads into an alignment below street level and comes to an interchange with DE 52. Past this interchange, the road heads to the north and crosses Brandywine Creek, heading through Brandywine Park, which is a part of the Wilmington State Parks complex. The freeway curves northeast again and passes under CSX Transportation's Philadelphia Subdivision railroad line before reaching a modified cloverleaf interchange with the northern terminus of DE 202 at the northern edge of Wilmington, at which point US 202 splits from I-95 to head north along Concord Pike.

Past US 202, I-95 leaves Wilmington for the suburban Brandywine Hundred area and continues northeast as a four-lane road, passing southeast of the Rock Manor Golf Club and running along the northwest side of the CSX Transportation line. The freeway heads across Matson Run before it curves east to pass over the railroad tracks. The roadway continues through wooded areas to the south of the CSX Transportation tracks, crossing Shellpot Creek and coming to a diamond interchange with DE 3 northwest of the town of Bellefonte. After this exit, I-95 and the rail line curve to the northeast and continue through woodland with nearby residential areas, passing northwest of Bellevue State Park and crossing Stoney Creek. The highway crosses Perkins Run before it reaches a northbound exit and southbound entrance with Harvey Road southeast of the villages of Arden, Ardentown, and Ardencroft. Past this interchange, the freeway curves east away from the CSX Transportation tracks and winds northeast near suburban neighborhoods in Claymont. In Claymont, the Interstate comes to a diamond interchange with DE 92, at which point I-495 also merges onto the northbound direction of the interstate via a southbound exit and northbound entrance. The southbound exit to DE 92 is via the I-495 interchange while all other ramps of the DE 92 interchange connect directly to I-95. Following the interchange, I-95 passes to the west of the former Tri-State Mall before it crosses the state line into Pennsylvania. The southbound exit from I-95 to I-495 is located in Pennsylvania, 132 feet (40 m) before the Delaware state line.

I-95 in Delaware has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 205,868 vehicles at the I-295 interchange near Newport to a low of 56,903 vehicles at the DE 92 interchange in Claymont. As part of the Interstate Highway System, the entire length of I-95 in Delaware is a part of the National Highway System, a network of roadways important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.

I-95 has a mainline toll plaza along the Delaware Turnpike near the Maryland state line in Newark. Cash or E-ZPass is accepted for payment of tolls. The plaza is staffed by toll collectors and also features high-speed E-ZPass lanes. The toll for passenger vehicles costs $5.00 both northbound and southbound.