Delaware Route 7 (DE 7) is a north–south highway in New Castle County, Delaware that connects U.S. Route 13 (US 13) and DE 72 in Wrangle Hill north to the Pennsylvania border near Hockessin, where the road continues into Pennsylvania as State Route 3013 (SR 3013), intersecting Pennsylvania Route 41 (PA 41) at an interchange. Between Wrangle Hill and Christiana, DE 7 runs parallel to the west of the DE 1 freeway through suburban areas, passing through Bear. DE 7 joins DE 1 next to the Christiana Mall and comes to an interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95), where DE 1 reaches its northern terminus, before the freeway ends at the DE 58 interchange. After the freeway segment, DE 7 continues north as an at-grade road concurrent with DE 4 through Stanton. From Stanton to the Pennsylvania border, DE 7 heads northwest through suburban areas, passing through Pike Creek.
What is now DE 7 was built as a state highway during the 1920s and 1930s. By 1936, the route was designated to run along its present alignment between US 13 near Red Lion and the Pennsylvania border. From the 1950s to the 1970s, DE 7 became a divided highway between Christiana and Milltown Road. With the construction of the DE 1 freeway in the 1990s, DE 7 was shifted to a portion of the freeway near the Christiana Mall. The route was also extended south to an intersection with US 13 and DE 72 as a result of the relocation of US 13 onto a portion of the freeway. The road also became a divided highway between Milltown Road and DE 72 in the 1990s. In 1999, an interchange was built at DE 58 as a result of a northward extension of the freeway along DE 7. The interchange with I-95 was reconstructed to include flyover ramps in 2013.
Route description
DE 7 begins at an intersection with US 13 and DE 72 in the community of Wrangle Hill to the west of the city of Delaware City, where the road continues south as part of US 13. From the southern terminus, the route heads north on four-lane divided South Dupont Highway. The road runs between farmland to the west and warehouses to the east, narrowing to two lanes and crossing Norfolk Southern's Reybold Industrial Track railroad line at-grade before passing under the US 13/DE 1 freeway without an interchange. After this, DE 7 becomes an undivided road called Bear-Corbitt Road, with Old South Dupont Highway branching off to the northeast. The route continues north through woodland and homes, crossing Red Lion Creek before reaching an intersection with DE 71 in Red Lion. The road crosses Norfolk Southern's New Castle Secondary railroad line at-grade and heads into Bear. Here, DE 7 widens into a four-lane divided highway as it enters commercial areas and intersects US 40.
After this intersection, the route becomes Bear-Christiana Road and passes through suburban residential development with some farm fields. Farther north, DE 7 narrows into a two-lane undivided road. The highway comes to an intersection with DE 273, where it is briefly a four-lane divided highway. A park and ride lot is located at the northeast corner of this intersection. Following this, DE 7 becomes East Main Street and narrows into a two-lane undivided road, heading through woods and curving to the northwest as it crosses the Christina River. The route enters Christiana and passes homes, intersecting Old Baltimore Pike. At this point, DE 7 turns north onto North Old Baltimore Pike, with the name changing to Stanton-Christiana Road. The route turns east onto four-lane divided Road A and comes to a partial cloverleaf interchange with the DE 1 freeway and Mall Road southwest of the Christiana Mall, a super-regional shopping mall that is the largest in Delaware, and adjacent retail development.