Delaware Route10 (DE10) is a state highway in Kent County, Delaware. It runs from Maryland Route 287 (MD287) at the Maryland border in Sandtown east to an interchange with the DE 1 freeway at the North Gate of Dover Air Force Base in the southeastern part of the city of Dover. The route passes through the towns of Camden and Wyoming along the way. From the Maryland border to Camden, it is a two-lane undivided road that passes through rural areas. DE10 is a four-lane divided highway called Lebanon Road between U.S. Route 13 (US13) in Camden and DE1. DE10 has one alternate route, DE 10 Alternate (DE10 Alt.), which runs between Willow Grove and Highland Acres along an alignment further to the south, passing through Woodside and Rising Sun.

What is now DE10 between the Maryland border and Camden was constructed as a state highway in stages in the 1920s and early 1930s. The route was first designated by 1936 to follow its current alignment between the Maryland border and Camden and current Rising Sun Road to US 113 Alt. in Rising Sun. By 1969, DE10 was rerouted to follow Lebanon Road, a road completed by 1966, to US 113 (now DE1) at Dover Air Force Base. Lebanon Road was improved into a divided highway by 1981.

Route description

DE10 begins at the Maryland border west of the community of Sandtown, where the road continues west into that state as MD 287. From the state line, the route heads east on two-lane undivided Willow Grove Road through a mix of farmland and woodland with some homes. DE10 passes through Sandtown, where it intersects Sandtown Road. The road curves northeast and runs through the community of Petersburg before coming to an intersection with the western terminus of DE 10 Alt. DE10 passes to the southeast of the community of Willow Grove and continues northeast. The route heads through rural areas with increasing residential development and intersects DE 15 at a roundabout, where the route briefly becomes a divided highway, before crossing the Delmarva Central Railroad's Delmarva Subdivision line at-grade.

The road continues northeast into the town of Camden and passes homes along with some businesses, becoming Caesar Rodney Avenue at the South Street intersection. DE10 forms the border between the town of Wyoming to the west and Camden to the east and curves north before turning east onto Camden Wyoming Avenue and fully entering Camden. The route continues through residential areas, passing north of the Camden Friends Meetinghouse and crossing US 13 Alt. in the center of town. On the eastern edge of Camden, the road turns into a divided highway and comes to an intersection with US 13.

Past the intersection with US13, DE10 becomes West Lebanon Road, a four-lane divided highway, and intersects Rising Sun Road, which leads southeast to the community of Rising Sun. The road heads east-northeast and passes through areas of suburban residential development to the south of the city of Dover in Highland Acres. The route comes to an intersection with South State Street, where DE10 Alt. returns to the route. DE10 becomes East Lebanon Road and runs east through a mix of residential and commercial development. The route intersects Sorghum Mill Road, which leads south to the community of Lebanon, and curves to the northeast. The road crosses the St. Jones River in marshland and continues into a business area, reaching an interchange with access to and from the southbound direction the DE 1 freeway. DE10 comes to its eastern terminus within this interchange at an intersection with Bay Road at the North Gate of Dover Air Force Base. Bay Road heads north to provide access to and from the northbound direction of DE1.

The portion of the route between the Maryland border and US13 Alt. in Camden and between DE10 Alt. and Gateway South Boulevard near Lebanon is part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, a Delaware Byway. DE10 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 23,644vehicles at the eastern terminus at Bay Road to a low of 2,774vehicles at the Sandtown Road intersection.

History

By 1920 what is now DE10 existed as an unimproved county road. The portion of the current route through Camden, as well as the road between Camden and Rising Sun, was upgraded to a state highway by 1924. By 1925 the road was completed as a state highway between Willow Grove and Camden, while the portion between the Maryland border near Sandtown and Willow Grove was under proposal as a state highway. The portion of road west of Willow Grove became a state highway by 1931. DE10 was assigned to run from the Maryland border near Sandtown to US 113 Alt. (South State Street) in Rising Sun by 1936, following its current alignment between the Maryland border and Camden and Rising Sun Road between Camden and Rising Sun. By 1964, the route was realigned to bypass Willow Grove to the southeast, with the former alignment now Willow Tree Circle. The Lebanon Road portion of DE10 was constructed by 1966, connecting the route east of Camden to US 113 (Bay Road) at Dover Air Force Base. DE10 was rerouted to follow Lebanon Road to US113 by 1969.

The Lebanon Road portion of the route between US13 and US113 was completely widened into a divided highway by 1981. In 1993, the DE1 freeway was completed in the area of the eastern terminus, with an interchange to that road built that incorporated ramps to both DE10 and the existing US113, which merged with DE1 at this point. The US113 designation was removed from the area in 2004, leaving DE10 terminating only with DE1. On June5,2017, construction began for a roundabout at the junction with DE15 west of Camden in order to improve safety at the intersection. The roundabout was completed by September2017.

There are plans to build a bypass of the section of DE10 through Camden in order to improve safety and reduce congestion on the alignment through the town. The bypass is proposed to run to the south of Camden, running from DE10 at the western end of Camden east to a roundabout with DE10 and Rising Sun Road east of the town. Construction of the bypass is planned to begin in 2024 and be completed in 2026. On July 10, 2024, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the eastern portion of the bypass east of the US13 intersection, with Delaware Department of Transportation secretary Nicole Majeski and state and local officials in attendance.

Major intersections

Delaware Route 10 Alternate

Delaware Route10 Alternate (DE10 Alt.) is an alternate route of DE10 between Willow Grove and Highland Acres. The route heads east from DE10 on two-lane undivided Henry Cowgill Road, passing through a mix of farmland and woodland with some homes and crossing Tidbury Creek. DE10 Alt. reaches the town of Woodside and intersects DE15, with that route becoming concurrent with DE10 Alt. on Main Street. The road crosses the Delmarva Central Railroad's Delmarva Subdivision line at-grade and becomes lined with homes. At an intersection with US13 Alt., DE15 splits from DE10 Alt. by heading south of US13 Alt. DE10 Alt. becomes Walnut Shade Road and comes to an intersection with US13 on the eastern edge of Woodside. Past this intersection the route passes to the south of Polytech High School and enters a mix of farms, woods, and residential development to the north of the community of Woodside East, curving to the northeast and reaching an intersection with Peachtree Run before heading north-northeast. DE10 Alt. reaches the community of Rising Sun, turning northeast onto Sorghum Mill Road at the Voshells Mill Star Hill Road/Rising Sun Road intersection before making a turn to the north onto South State Street. The route passes through woods, crossing Tidbury Creek, and runs through residential development before ending at another intersection with DE10, with South State Street continuing north toward Dover.

The portion of the route between Voshells Mill Star Hill Road/Rising Sun Road and South State Street/Sorghum Mill Road in Rising Sun is part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, a Delaware Byway. DE10 Alt. has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 11,746vehicles at the eastern terminus at DE 10 to a low of 1,341vehicles at the western border of Woodside.

The road was constructed as a state highway between Woodside and Rising Sun in 1931 and between Willow Grove and Woodside the following year. DE10 Alt. was designated by 1988 onto its current alignment. Prior to 2004, the South State Street portion of DE10 Alt. was concurrent with US113 Alt., which was decommissioned when US113 was truncated from Dover to Milford. There are plans to construct a roundabout at the intersection with Peachtree Run east of Woodside. Construction is planned to begin in the later part of 2024 and be completed in 2025.

1. Major intersections

See also

References

External links

• DE

• Delaware Roads - DE