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Delaware Route 299

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Delaware Route 299 marker
Delaware Route 299
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT
Length9.77 mi[1] (15.72 km)
Existed1957[2][3]–present
Tourist
routes		 Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway
Delaware Bayshore Byway
Major junctions
West end MD 282 near Warwick, Maryland
Major intersections
East end DE 9 in Mathews Corners
Location
CountryUnited States
StateDelaware
CountiesNew Castle
Highway system
← I-295→ DE 300

Delaware Route 299 (DE 299) is a 9.77-mile-long (15.72 km) state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. It runs from Maryland Route 282 (MD 282) at the Maryland state line east of Warwick, Maryland to DE 9 in Mathews Corners, traveling through Middletown and Odessa. The route intersects the U.S. Route 301 (US 301) toll road, DE 15, and DE 71 in Middletown, the DE 1 toll road east of Middletown, and US 13 in Odessa. The highway travels through a mix of suburban development and some farmland.

DE 299 was originally designated as DE 4 in 1938, traveling as far east as US 13 in Odessa. By 1957, DE 4 became DE 299 to match MD 299 (now MD 282) and was extended east to DE 9 in 1959. Over the years, several different highways had followed the DE 299 alignment including DE 71 west of Middletown between 1959 and 1987, US 301N between Middletown and Odessa from 1959 to 1971, and US 301 west of Middletown between 1959 and 2019. In 2008, a widening of DE 299 in the western part of Middletown began; it was completed in November 2010. A portion of the route west of Middletown was realigned in 2017 as a result of the construction of the US 301 toll road.

Route description

DE 299 westbound past DE 15 in Middletown

DE 299 heads east from the Maryland state line on two-lane undivided Warwick Road, passing through farmland.[4][5] At the state line, the road continues west into Maryland as MD 282.[5] Shortly after the state line, the route curves north, with US 301 toll road parallel to the east. The road enters the town of Middletown and turns southeast, widening to a four-lane divided highway as it comes to a diamond interchange with US 301, where the name changes to Levels Road, before reaching an intersection with DE 15. At this point, DE 15 and DE 299 become concurrent and head northeast on four-lane divided Middletown Warwick Road. From here, the roadway enters the commercial western part of Middletown. At an intersection, the two routes split, with DE 15 heading northwest on Bunker Hill Road, DE 299 turning east onto West Main Street, and Middletown Warwick Road continuing north. The route narrows to a two-lane undivided road and heads east across the Delmarva Central Railroad's Delmarva Subdivision line at-grade into the downtown area of Middletown. In the center of town, DE 299 intersects DE 71 (Broad Street).[4][5]

DE 299 eastbound past the DE 1 interchange near Odessa
Eastern terminus at DE 9 in Mathews Corners

After running through the downtown area, the route becomes East Main Street and heads east through suburban commercial development in the eastern part of Middletown, passing to the north of Middletown High School and becoming Middletown Odessa Road. The roadway heads south of the Christiana Care Middletown Free-standing Emergency Department before it becomes a divided highway, passing south of a park and ride lot and intersecting the DE 1 toll road at a diamond interchange. Following this interchange, DE 299 becomes undivided again and heads east through a mix of farms and homes into the town of Odessa, where it is called Main Street and curves southeast. In Odessa, the route is lined with homes and intersects US 13, which is split onto 5th Street northbound and 6th Street southbound. Following this intersection, the road runs through the Odessa Historic District.[4][5] DE 299 crosses the Appoquinimink River out of Odessa and heads to the southeast on Old State Road into housing developments.[5] The route curves south before makes a turn southeast onto Taylors Bridge Road and ends a short distance later at DE 9 in the community of Mathews Corners. At this intersection, DE 9 heads northeast on Thomas Landing Road and southeast along Taylors Bridge Road.[4][5]

Portions of DE 299 are designated as part of the Delaware Byways system. The section between Silver Lake Road in Middletown and DE 9 is part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway while the section between US 13 in Odessa and DE 9 is a spur of the Delaware Bayshore Byway, which is also a National Scenic Byway.[6][7][8] DE 299 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 18,470 vehicles along Main Street in Middletown to a low of 727 vehicles at the eastern terminus at DE 9.[1] The portion of DE 299 concurrent with DE 15 is part of the National Highway System.[9]

History

Delaware Route 4 marker
Delaware Route 4
LocationNear Warwick, Maryland–Odessa
Length8.08 mi[1] (13.00 km)
Existed1938[10]–1957[2][3]

By 1920, what is now DE 299 existed as an unimproved county road.[11] This county road was paved by 1924.[12] The present-day alignment of DE 299 became a state highway by 1935.[13][14] The current DE 299 was originally designated as DE 4 in 1938, running between the Maryland state line and US 13 in Odessa.[10] By 1957, DE 4 was renumbered to DE 299 to match MD 299 (now MD 282) across the state line and DE 71 was designated concurrent with most of the route west of Middletown.[2][3] US 301 was designated along the DE 71/DE 299 concurrency in 1959 while US 301N was designated between DE 71 and US 13. Also at this time, DE 299 was extended east to DE 9.[15] The US 301N designation was removed between Middletown and Odessa in 1971.[16][17] DE 71 was rerouted off US 301/DE 299 by 1987.[18] By 1994, DE 15 was designated to follow a portion of US 301/DE 299 west of Middletown.[19]

In July 2008, a widening project began on US 301/DE 299 between United Drive and the east end of the concurrency.[20] This widening to four lanes was completed in November 2010.[21] On July 15, 2017, DE 299 was realigned near the Maryland border as a result of construction of the US 301 toll road.[22] The concurrency with US 301 west of Middletown was removed when the US 301 toll road opened on January 10, 2019.[23][24] There are plans to reconstruct and widen DE 299 between Catherine Street and DE 1 in Middletown, with the section between Catherine Street and Cleaver Farms Road/Dickenson Boulevard to be widened into a three-lane road with a center left-turn lane and the section between Cleaver Farms Road/Dickenson Boulevard and DE 1 to be widened into a four-lane divided highway. Construction on the widening project began on July 6, 2021 and is expected be completed in the later part of 2023.[25][26]

Major intersections

The entire route is in New Castle County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
​0.000.00
 MD 282 west (Main Street) – Warwick, Cecilton		Maryland state line; western terminus
Middletown
 US 301 Toll – Wilmington, Annapolis		US 301 exit 2; E-ZPass or toll-by-plate
3.135.04
 DE 15 south (Levels Road)		West end of DE 15 overlap
4.357.00
 DE 15 north (Bunker Hill Road)		East end of DE 15 overlap
4.687.53 DE 71 (Broad Street)
Odessa
 DE 1 Toll – Wilmington, Smyrna, Dover, Beaches		DE 1 exit 136
7.9912.86
 US 13 south (Dupont Parkway/6th Street) – Townsend, Smyrna
8.0813.00
 US 13 north (Dupont Parkway/5th Street) – New Jersey, Wilmington
Mathews Corners9.7715.72 DE 9 (Taylors Bridge Road/Thomas Landing Road) – WilmingtonEastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Staff (2018). "Traffic Count and Mileage Report: Interstate, Delaware, and US Routes" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Delaware State Highway Department (1954). Official Highway Map of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1954–1955 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Delaware State Highway Department (1957). Official Highway Map of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1957–1958 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d Delaware Department of Transportation (2017). Official Travel & Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "overview of Delaware Route 299" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  6. ^ "Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway". Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  7. ^ "Delaware Bayshore Byway". Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  8. ^ "2021 Summary of Designated Byways" (PDF). National Scenic Byways Program. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  9. ^ National Highway System: Delaware (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Delaware State Highway Department; The National Survey Co. (1938). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  11. ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1920). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  12. ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1924). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  13. ^ "Delaware State Highway Department Annual Report" (PDF) (1958 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. 1958: 4–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ^ Delaware State Highway Department; The National Survey Co. (1936). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1936–1937 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  15. ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1959). Official Highway Map of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1959–1960 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  16. ^ Delaware Department of Highways and Transportation (1971). Delaware Highways Official Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Highways and Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  17. ^ U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee (December 3, 1971). "U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee Agenda" (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway Officials. p. 415. Retrieved October 11, 2014 – via Wikisource.
  18. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (1987). Official State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  19. ^ Delaware Department of Transportation Division of Planning Cartographic Information Section (1994). Delaware Official State Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  20. ^ "Existing Route 301 Widening to Begin" (Press release). Delaware Department of Transportation. July 20, 2008. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  21. ^ "Traffic Alert – Sections of Route 301 Closed for Construction" (Press release). Delaware Department of Transportation. September 30, 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  22. ^ "Traffic Alert - Middletown/Warwick Road Reopened July 15, As Part of the U.S. 301 Mainline Project" (Press release). Delaware Department of Transportation. July 10, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  23. ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (May 2, 2011). "Report to the Standing Committee on Highways" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  24. ^ Smith, Jerry (January 10, 2019). "U.S. 301 Mainline toll road opens Thursday to cheers and jeers". The News Journal. Wilmington, DE. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  25. ^ "Traffic Alert - Route 299, Route 1 to Catherine Street Project" (Press release). Delaware Department of Transportation. June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  26. ^ "Projects - SR299, SR 1 to Catherine Street". Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
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