Delaware Route 48 (DE 48) is a state highway in

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. The route runs from DE 41 in

Hockessin Hockessin () is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 13,527 at the 2010 census. History Hockessin came into existence as a little village in 1688 when several families settled in the a ...

east to U.S. Route 13 Business (US 13 Bus.) in downtown Wilmington. The route passes through suburban areas of Wilmington such as Lancaster Pike, intersecting DE 100 and DE 141. DE 48 continues into Wilmington as Lancaster Avenue and intersects DE 2, where it splits into the

one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...

of Lancaster Avenue eastbound and Second Street westbound. Upon reaching downtown Wilmington, the route intersects Interstate 95 (I-95)/ US 202 and DE 4 before continuing to the eastern terminus. What is now DE 48 was originally built as the Lancaster Pike in 1817, a turnpike that was to connect Wilmington to the Gap and Newport Turnpike. The turnpike became county-maintained in 1877. The Lancaster Pike was designated DE 48 by 1936, with the route continuing east through Wilmington to the Wilmington-Penns Grove Ferry across the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

, where it connected to Route 48 in

, heading southeast on Lancaster Pike, a two-lane undivided road. The road runs through wooded areas and residential development, crossing Loveville Road and Hyde Run before curving east and gaining a second westbound lane for trucks as it descends a hill. The route widens into a four-lane

divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

before crossing the

Wilmington and Western Railroad The Wilmington and Western Railroad is a freight and heritage railroad in northern Delaware, operating over a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) branch line between Wilmington and Hockessin. The railroad operates both steam and diesel loc ...

at-grade and

Red Clay Creek Red Clay Creek is a tributary of White Clay Creek, running through southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. As of 2000, portions of the creek are under wildlife habitat protection. Course The East and West branche ...

. The road passes residential areas and business parks as it crosses Centerville Road. DE 48 crosses

Little Mill Creek Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

and comes to an intersection with DE 100/ DE 141, at which point DE 100 forms a concurrency with DE 48. The two routes head southeast as a four-lane undivided road, crossing Chestnut Run and passing through residential and commercial areas. The road crosses an

East Penn Railroad East Penn Railroad is a short-line railroad that operates a number of mostly-unconnected lines in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Except for two industrial park switching operations, all are former Pennsylvania Railroad or Read ...

line at-grade and runs to the north of a cemetery, with DE 100 splitting from DE 48 by turning south on South Dupont Road as it passes south of the

Cab Calloway School of the Arts Cab Calloway School of the Arts (CCSA) is an arts-oriented magnet school in Wilmington, Delaware, operated by the Red Clay Consolidated School District. The school offers grades six through twelve and each student chooses a particular focus in t ...

and Charter School of Wilmington. DE 48 continues into the city of Wilmington as Lancaster Avenue and heads into urban areas of homes and businesses, with the eastbound direction narrowing to one lane at an intersection with Greenhill Avenue. Following this intersection, the route crosses over

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

Philadelphia Subdivision The Philadelphia Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. The line runs from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, southwest to Baltimore, Maryland, along a forme ...

railroad line on a bridge. The road narrows to two lanes and passes to the north of another cemetery. The route intersects DE 2, which follows the

of Lincoln Street northbound and Union Street southbound, in the Union Park Gardens neighborhood. DE 48 WB at Bancroft Parkway

At this point, DE 48 itself splits into a one-way pair that follows Lancaster Avenue eastbound and West Second Street westbound, with westbound DE 48 using westbound DE 2 (North Union Street) to get from West Second Street to Lancaster Avenue. The one-way pair carries two lanes in each direction. DE 48 continues into downtown Wilmington, where it crosses under a viaduct carrying

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

/ US 202, with ramp connections to and from the southbound direction of I-95/US 202 via Jackson Street, which parallels I-95/US 202 to the west. Upon crossing under I-95/US 202, a westbound ramp to I-95/US 202 complements the eastbound direction of DE 48, with the road becoming Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a six-lane divided highway. Westbound DE 48 remains along one-way West Second Street, which carries three lanes. DE 48 intersects the eastern terminus of DE 4, which provides access to DE 48 from the northbound direction of I-95/US 202. The one-way pair continues further into the downtown, passing to the south of the Orlando J. George, Jr. Campus of Delaware Technical Community College, and runs a short distance to the north of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

railroad line. The route intersects the southbound direction of US 13 Bus., which shifts west from North King Street to South Market Street where it intersects DE 48. At this point, the westbound direction of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard ends. Following the intersection with US 13 Bus. southbound, DE 48 follows the one-way pair of Front Street eastbound and East Second Street westbound. Along this stretch, the route passes to the north of Wilmington Station along the Northeast Corridor that serves Amtrak and

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

Wilmington/Newark Line The Wilmington/Newark Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system in the Philadelphia area. The line serves southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, with stations in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, and ...

, with the train station's parking garage and the Wilmington Bus Station serving

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...

buses located between Front Street and East Second Street west of the French Street intersection. DE 48 reaches its eastern terminus at an intersection with the northbound direction of US 13 Bus., which follows Walnut Street, west of the

Wilmington Transit Center The Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Railroad Station, also known as Wilmington station, is a passenger rail station in Wilmington, Delaware. It serves nine Amtrak train routes and is part of the Northeast Corridor. It also serves SEPTA Regional Rail commut ...

serving

DART First State The Delaware Transit Corporation, operating as DART First State, is the only public transportation system that operates throughout the U.S. state of Delaware. DART First State provides local and inter-county bus service throughout the state and ...

buses. DE 48 has an

annual average daily traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a y ...

count ranging from a high of 38,923 vehicles at the DE 4 intersection to a low of 11,223 vehicles at the Loveville Road intersection near Hockessin. The entire length of DE 48 is part of the National Highway System.

History

The Wilmington Turnpike Company was founded on October 23, 1809 to build a

turnpike Turnpike often refers to: * A type of gate, another word for a turnstile * In the United States, a toll road Turnpike may also refer to: Roads United Kingdom * A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...

from Wilmington to the Pennsylvania border, connecting to the Gap and Newport Turnpike. The turnpike was completed in 1817 at a cost of $39,549.97. The turnpike became known as the Lancaster Pike and was surfaced with stone. The Wilmington Turnpike Company operated the Lancaster Pike until 1877 when they abandoned the road. The turnpike's charter was repealed and the road was then under the control of the county levy court. The road leading from Wilmington to the Wilmington-Penns Grove Ferry across the

Penns Grove, New Jersey Penns Grove is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Salem County, New Jersey, Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 5,147, By 1936, the Lancaster Pike became a part of DE 48. In addition, the route continued through Wilmington on Lincoln Street, Fourth Street, and Christiana Avenue to the ferry across the Delaware River to Penns Grove, New Jersey, which linked DE 48 to Route 48 in New Jersey. In 1939, DE 48 was rebuilt between DE 41 and Centre Road, eliminating curves and grades. In 1949, the Wilmington-Penns Grove Ferry was discontinued. DE 48 was realigned onto Lancaster Avenue to continue to US 13/US 202 (now US 13 Bus.), its current eastern terminus, by 1952. By 1990, DE 100 was realigned to follow a portion of DE 48, bypassing a part of Dupont Road. DE 48 was widened into a divided highway at the DE 141 intersection by 1996. The divided highway was extended west to Centerville Road a year later.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{commons category
DE 48 at AARoads.com

Delaware Roads - DE 48
048 Transportation in New Castle County, Delaware Turnpikes in Delaware

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links