Interstate 95 (I-95) is an Interstate Highway running along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canada–United States border in Houlton, Maine. In the state of Delaware, the route runs for 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 concurrent 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.
Route description
Delaware Turnpike
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.