Delaware Route 2 5235868 222682770 2008-06-30T16:27:33Z Dough4872 4066845 updated external link {{Infobox road |state=DE |type=DE |route=2 |length_mi=14.91 |length_round=2 |length_ref=<ref>http://www.deldot.gov/information/pubs_forms/manuals/traffic_counts/2006/pdf/rpt_pgs1_38_rev.pdf [[Delaware Department of Transportation|DelDOT]] [[2006]] Traffic Count and Mileage Report</ref> |established=1938 |direction_a=West |direction_b=East |starting_terminus=[[Image:MD Route 279.svg|25px]] [[Maryland Route 279|MD 279]] near [[Elkton, Maryland]] |junction=[[Image:Business plate.svg|20px]]<br>[[Image:Elongated circle 2.svg|20px]] [[Delaware Route 2 Business|DE 2 Business]] near [[Newark, Delaware|Newark]]<br>[[Image:Elongated circle 4.svg|20px]] [[Delaware Route 4|DE 4]] near [[Newark, Delaware|Newark]]<br>[[Image:Elongated circle 896.svg|25px]] [[Delaware Route 896|DE 896]] near [[University of Delaware|University of DE]]<br>[[Image:Elongated circle 72.svg|20px]] [[Delaware Route 72|DE 72]] near [[University of Delaware|University of DE]]<br>[[Image:Business plate.svg|20px]]<br>[[Image:Elongated circle 2.svg|20px]] [[Delaware Route 2 Business|DE 2 Business]] near [[University of Delaware|University of DE]]<br>[[Image:Elongated circle 273.svg|25px]] [[Delaware Route 273|DE 273]] near [[University of Delaware|University of DE]]<br>[[Image:Elongated circle 7.svg|20px]] [[Delaware Route 7|DE 7]] near [[Stanton, Delaware|Stanton]]<br>[[Image:Elongated circle 41.svg|20px]] [[Delaware Route 41|DE 41]] near [[Prices Corner, Delaware|Prices Corner]]<br>[[Image:Elongated circle 141.svg|25px]] [[Delaware Route 141|DE 141]] near [[Prices Corner, Delaware|Prices Corner]]<br>[[Image:Elongated circle 100.svg|25px]] [[Delaware Route 100|DE 100]] in [[Elsmere, Delaware|Elsmere]]<br>[[Image:Elongated circle 48.svg|20px]] [[Delaware Route 48|DE 48]] in [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]]<br>[[Image:Elongated circle 9.svg|20px]] [[Delaware Route 9|DE 9]] in [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]]<br> |ending_terminus=[[Image:Elongated circle 52.svg|20px]] [[Delaware Route 52|DE 52]] in [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]] |previous_type=DE |previous_route=1D |next_type=DE |next_route=3}} '''Delaware Route 2''' is a 14-mile long east-west 4 to 6 lane highway located in northern [[New Castle County, Delaware]]. It begins at the junction of [[Delaware Route 52]] in [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]], and terminates at the [[Maryland]] state line near [[Elkton, Maryland|Elkton]], [[Maryland]]. Route 2 is known variously as Elkton Road, Christina Parkway, Chestnut Hill Road, South Chapel Street, Library Avenue, Capital Trail, Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington Avenue, Lincoln & Union Streets along its 14.91 mile route. Route 2 is a very heavily travelled highway, with an [[Annual Average Daily Traffic|annual average daily traffic]] (AADT) of over 52,509 vehicles in its busiest section from [[Delaware Route 41]] to [[Delaware Route 141]]. ==Route description== Delaware Route 2 begins at the [[Maryland]] state line along [[Maryland Route 279]] (Elkton Road). Elkton Road provides a four-lane surface arterial between the city of [[Elkton, Maryland|Elkton]], [[Maryland]], [[Interstate 95 in Maryland|Interstate 95]] Exit 109, and west Newark. The route then turns east onto the Christina Parkway, forming a concurrency with [[Delaware Route 4]] and [[Delaware Route 896]] with [[Delaware Route 2 Business]] continuing east on Elkton Road toward downtown [[Newark, Delaware|Newark]]. At the intersection with South College Avenue, where Route 896 heads to the south, Routes 2 and 4 continue east on Chestnut Hill Road to the intersection with [[Delaware Route 72]] (South Chapel Street). Route 2 then turns north onto Route 72 and runs along the east side of Newark on South Chapel Street and Library Road. At the intersection with [[Delaware Route 273]], Route 2 meets the eastern terminus of Delaware Route 2 Business and Route 2 continues east, along with Route 72, onto the '''Robert W Kirkwood Highway''', a road named for [[Revolutionary War]] hero [[Major Robert W. Kirkwood]] that serves as a major commercial thoroughfare between Newark and [[Elsmere, Delaware|Elsmere]]. Route 72 splits from Route 2 at the south end of Possum Park Road. Route 72, Polly Drummond Hill Road, Upper Pike Creek Road, Milltown Road, [[Delaware Route 7]] (Limestone Road), and Duncan Road all provide north-south routes from the Kirkwood Highway into the [[Pike Creek]] Valley. Almost all of Kirkwood Highway is developed with commercial strip malls and shopping centers, as well as numerous residential subdivisions and apartment complexes such as Woodmill Village, Woodmill Townhomes, Meadowood, & Green Valley. A six lane bridge replaced a four-lane span over the [[Red Clay Creek]] in the late 1980s. At the east end of the bridge is the intersection with the [[Newport Gap Pike]], which heads north as [[Delaware Route 41]] and south as [[Delaware Route 62]]. From this intersection, Route 41 shares a half-mile overlap with State Route 2 through [[Prices Corner]] to the Exit 6 partial-cloverleaf interchange of [[Delaware Route 141]], which joins the Kirkwood Highway with [[Interstate 95 in Delaware|Interstate 95]] and [[New Castle, Delaware|New Castle]] via [[U.S. Route 202]] and Delaware Route 141 (Basin Road). Delaware Route 2 continues east on the four-lane divided Kirkwood Highway to the Little Mill Creek crossing adjacent to the [[Veterans Health Administration|V.A. Hospital]], where it crosses into Elsmere and becomes Wilmington Avenue. In Elsmere, Route 2 crosses [[Delaware Route 100]] (Dupont Road) and then over a [[CSX]] railroad line between Route 100 and Prospect Road on a four lane bridge Route 2 then enters the city of [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]] in the Canby Park neighborhood where it splits onto the [[one-way pair]] of Union Street westbound and Lincoln Street eastbound. It passes through the Hill Top and [[Little Italy, Wilmington|Little Italy]] neighborhoods before ending at [[Delaware Route 52]] (Pennsylvania Avenue). ==History== The highway first came into existence as early as [[1938]]. Route 2 was widened between Delaware 41 ([[Newport Gap Pike]]) and [[Elsmere, Delaware|Elsmere]] by [[1944]]. Expansion of the roadway westward occurred by [[1964]] to the city of [[Newark, Delaware|Newark]]. In Elsmere, Delaware Route 2 originally followed New Road, crossing a [[CSX]] railroad line at-grade. It was eventually moved to the current alignment on Wilmington Avenue that crosses over the railroad tracks. The bridge was originally two lanes, but was replaced by a four lane bridge in the late 1980's. Until about [[1990]] Delaware Route 2 ran through [[Newark, Delaware|Newark]] via Elkton Road and the one-way couplet of Main Street (westbound) and Delaware Avenue (eastbound). It was relocated to the south and east of Newark onto the Christina Parkway, Chestnut Hill Road, South Chapel Street, and Library Road in an effort to reroute through traffic away from the central business district and [[University of Delaware]] campus. [[Delaware Route 2 Business]] now takes the place of the original mainline through downtown Newark. ==References== {{reflist}} {{Philadelphia Road Transportation}} [[Category:State highways in Delaware|002]]