Delaware Route72 (DE72) is a state highway located in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from DE 9 near Delaware City north to DE 7 in Pike Creek. The highway runs through suburban areas of northern New Castle County, passing through the eastern part of Newark. DE72 intersects U.S. Route 13 (US13), DE7, and DE 1 near Delaware City, DE 71 in Williamsburg, US 40 east of Glasgow, and DE 4, DE 2, and DE 273 in Newark. Parts of DE72 were built as a state highway during the 1930s. By the 1940s, the route was designated from DE2 in Newark north to DE7 in Pike Creek along Paper Mill Road. The route was extended south to DE9 in the 1960s. In 1980, the alignment was shifted to the east through Newark to bypass an at-grade railroad crossing on Chapel Street.

Route description

DE72 begins at an intersection with DE 9 adjacent to PBF Energy's Delaware City Refinery west of the city of Delaware City, heading west on two-lane undivided Wrangle Hill Road. The road continues between the oil refinery to the north and farmland to the south before passing south of warehouses and coming to an intersection with US 13 and the southern terminus of DE 7 in Wrangle Hill, where it widens into a four-lane divided highway. At this point, US13 turns west for a short concurrency with DE72 to a diverging diamond interchange with the DE 1 freeway, where US13 splits north onto DE1.

Past this interchange, DE72 narrows back into a two-lane undivided road and passes through residential areas, heading to the south of an industrial plant before coming to an intersection with DE 71 in Williamsburg. Following this, the road curves to the northwest through a mix of homes and commercial establishments, crossing the Delmarva Central Railroad's Delmarva Subdivision line at-grade. The route passes northeast of the Caravel Academy before it turns north and comes to an intersection with US 40 in a commercial area to the east of Glasgow.

Past the US40 intersection, DE72 continues to the north on Sunset Lake Road, heading into wooded areas with some fields and residential development and crossing Belltown Run before closely running to the west of Norfolk Southern's Delmarva Secondary railroad line, heading across Muddy Run. The route crosses the railroad tracks at-grade to run along east side of the railroad tracks and heads across the Christina River before it widens into a five-lane road with a center left-turn lane as it comes to an intersection with Old Baltimore Pike. At this intersection, the route name changes to South Chapel Street and it passes through fields with some development, crossing under Interstate 95 (Delaware Turnpike) without an interchange. DE72 enters the eastern part of the city of Newark and passes industrial parks before heading past businesses and residential neighborhoods as it comes to an intersection with DE 4. A park and ride lot is located at the southeast corner of this intersection.

Following this intersection, the road narrows to two lanes as it heads through agricultural areas to the east of the University of Delaware campus. The route continues northeast onto Library Avenue and runs through woods as it comes to a bridge over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor railroad line. The road bends north into commercial areas, passing to the east of Newark High School and widening into a four-lane divided highway as it comes to an intersection with Delaware Avenue, which carries the eastbound direction of DE 273. Here, eastbound DE273 turns north to join DE72 and the road reaches an intersection where westbound DE273 runs west on Main Street and DE273 continues east as Ogletown Road. Past this intersection, DE72 becomes concurrent with DE 2 and the name changes to Capitol Trail as it turns northeast and passes under CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision railroad line. The road leaves Newark and heads northeast through residential areas, briefly becoming undivided as it crosses White Clay Creek.

After the road crosses Middle Run, DE72 splits from DE2 by heading northwest on two-lane undivided Possum Park Road, crossing the stream again and running through a mix of fields, woods, and housing developments. In Milford Crossroads, the route turns northeast onto Paper Mill Road and curves north to pass between White Clay Creek State Park to the west and the Middle Run Valley Natural Area to the east, crossing Middle Run a third time. The road continues northeast into the suburban Pike Creek area, where it crosses Pike Creek. DE72 turns east and becomes a four-lane divided highway immediately before it reaches its northern terminus at an intersection with DE7.

DE72 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 40,800vehicles at the north end of the DE2 concurrency to a low of 5,397vehicles at the US13 intersection. The portion of DE72 concurrent with DE2 is part of the National Highway System.

History

What is now DE72 originally existed as a county road by 1920. By 1931, the road was proposed as a state highway between present-day DE9 and US13 while what would become DE72 north of Milford Crossroads was completed as a state highway. The road from present-day DE9 to US13 became a state highway a year later. On July1,1935, the remaining sections of the present-day route were transferred from the county to the state. The portion of the road between US13 and US40 was improved by the state in 1937, providing a better route to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. for residents in the Delaware City, Port Penn, and Odessa areas.

DE72 was designated by 1942 to run from DE2 (Main Street) in Newark north to DE7, following Chapel Street and Paper Mill Road. In 1939, suggestions were made to replace the bridge over the White Clay Creek along Paper Mill Road in Newark. Plans were completed for this bridge by 1942 but construction was postponed due to World War II. The concrete bridge carrying Paper Mill Road over the White Clay Creek was completed in 1947, with final work on the project finished in August1949. By 1954, Sunset Lake Road was improved from a dirt road to a low-type bituminous road. The roadway between US40 and Newark was paved by 1966.

DE72 was extended to its present southern terminus at DE9 the next year, following Chapel Street, Sunset Lake Road, and Wrangle Hill Road. In 1980, the Chapel Street grade crossing of the Northeast Corridor rail line in Newark was removed, and DE72 was realigned farther to the east to follow Library Avenue across the railroad tracks before continuing north on DE2 and Possum Park Road to Paper Mill Road in Milford Crossroads. DE2 was realigned to follow DE72 around the eastern part of Newark on Library Avenue by 1990. In 2013, the DE2 concurrency between DE4 and DE273 was removed due to the truncation of DE2 to the DE273 intersection. On April29,2016, Governor Jack Markell, DelDOT secretary Jennifer Cohan, and local officials attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a $7million project that rebuilt the interchange with DE1 into a diverging diamond interchange, the first such interchange in Delaware. The diverging diamond interchange configuration was put into place on November19,2016.

Major intersections

See also

References

External links

• DE

• Delaware Roads - DE