Delaware Route 20
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East end | DE 54 near Fenwick Island | |
Location | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Delaware | |
Counties | Sussex | |
Highway system | ||
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Delaware Route 20 (DE 20) is an east–west state highway in
Route description
DE 20 begins at the
At this point, DE 20 turns south for a concurrency with US 13 on the four-lane divided Sussex Highway. The road crosses Williams Pond along Clear Brook before passing through commercial areas and coming to a bridge over the Nanticoke River. Near the town of Blades, DE 20 splits from US 13 by turning east on two-lane undivided Concord Road. The road passes through wooded residential neighborhoods, reaching the community of Concord. The route continues southeast through a mix of farmland and woodland with some homes, curving to the east. DE 20 reaches the community of Hardscrabble and intersects US 9, at which point it is briefly a divided highway. Past this intersection, the name changes to Hardscrabble Road and the road becomes undivided again, crossing Asketum Branch. The road heads southeast before it makes a turn to the east. The route comes to an intersection with US 113 northwest of the town of Millsboro.[3][4]
DE 20 turns southeast to form a concurrency with US 113 on four-lane divided Dupont Boulevard, entering Millsboro. The road passes through commercial areas, intersecting DE 24. The two routes run past more businesses and a few homes, crossing Iron Branch before leaving Millsboro. DE 20 splits from US 113 by turning southeast on two-lane undivided Dagsboro Road. The road crosses Whartons Branch and continues through wooded areas with some homes before heading into farmland and crossing the Delmarva Central Railroad's Indian River Subdivision line at-grade. The route enters the town of Dagsboro and becomes Main Street, passing homes and a few businesses. DE 20 comes to an intersection with DE 26, at which point that route becomes concurrent with DE 20. The two routes cross Pepper Creek, curving east and leaving town on Vines Creek Road.[3][4]
Upon leaving Dagsboro, the road passes to the south of
The section of DE 20 east of DE 26 serves as part of a primary
History
What would become DE 20 was originally an unimproved county road in 1920, with the portion between Seaford and Concord under contract as a state highway.[8] By 1924, the road was completed as a state highway from the Maryland border east to Concord.[9] The portion of road between Concord and Hardscrabble was proposed as a state highway a year later.[10] By 1931, the state highway was extended from Concord to Hardscrabble.[11] A portion of what would become DE 20 west of Millsboro was built as a state road the following year.[12]
DE 20 was designated to run from the Maryland border in Reliance east to US 113 in Millsboro by 1936, following its current alignment to Seaford before heading south along what was then US 13 (Front Street) to Blades, where it turned east onto High Street and picked up its current alignment to Millsboro.[2] In 1939, plans were made to eliminate the grade crossing with the Pennsylvania Railroad (now the Delmarva Central Railroad's Delmarva Subdivision) in Seaford by replacing it with a bridge over the tracks.[13] Construction on this bridge began a year later.[14] On September 2, 1941, the DE 20 bridge over the railroad tracks in Seaford opened to traffic.[15]
By 1970, the Norman Eskridge Highway was built between Front Street and US 13 in Seaford, and DE 20 was moved to its current alignment bypassing Seaford and Blades to the north and northeast along the Norman Eskridge Highway and US 13.[16] In 1985, the highway was widened into a four-lane road through Seaford, with a parallel bridge built over Conrail's Delmarva Secondary (now the Delmarva Central Railroad's Delmarva Subdivision).[17][18] The route was extended east to DE 1 in Fenwick Island by 1994, following its current alignment between Millsboro and DE 54 before overlapping with DE 54 (Lighthouse Road) for the easternmost portion of the route.[19] In 2005, DE 20 was removed from the DE 54 concurrency after it was determined unnecessary for there to be two route numbers for that stretch of road.[20][21] Despite this, some DE 20 shields are posted along DE 54 between the eastern terminus and Fenwick Island.[4]
Major intersections
The entire route is in Sussex County.
Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reliance | 0.00 | 0.00 | MD 392 west (Finchville Reliance Road) – Hurlock, Cambridge | Maryland state line; western terminus | |
Seaford | 6.34 | 10.20 | US 13 north (Sussex Highway) – Dover, Wilmington | West end of US 13 overlap | |
Blades | 7.18 | 11.56 | US 13 south (Sussex Highway) – Laurel | East end of US 13 overlap | |
Hardscrabble | 13.69 | 22.03 | US 9 (County Seat Highway) – Georgetown, Laurel | ||
US 113 north (Dupont Boulevard) – Georgetown | West end of US 113 overlap | ||||
25.32 | 40.75 | DE 24 (Laurel Road/South Washington Street) – Millsboro, Rehoboth Beach, Oak Orchard, Laurel, Gumboro | |||
26.91 | 43.31 | US 113 south (Dupont Boulevard) – Selbyville | East end of US 113 overlap | ||
US 113 south – Laurel | West end of DE 26 overlap | ||||
29.90 | 48.12 | DE 26 east (Vines Creek Road) – Bethany Beach | East end of DE 26 overlap | ||
Roxana | DE 17 (Roxana Road) | ||||
| 38.79 | 62.43 | DE 54 Alt. (Johnson Road/Bayard Road) | ||
DE 54 (Lighthouse Road) – Fenwick Island, Selbyville | Eastern terminus | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
- U.S. Roads portal
References
- ^ a b c Staff (2018). "Traffic Count and Mileage Report: Interstate, Delaware, and US Routes" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ a b 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 November 24, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Delaware Department of Transportation (2017). Official Travel & Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Google (November 17, 2011). "overview of Delaware Route 20" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
- ^ Delmarva Peninsula Evacuation Route Map (PDF) (Map). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
- ^ "Nanticoke Heritage Byway". Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- ^ National Highway System: Delaware (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1920). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1924). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1925). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1931). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1932). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1939 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. January 1, 1940: 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
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(help) - ^ "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1940 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. January 1, 1941: 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
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(help) - ^ "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1941-42 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. July 1, 1942: 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
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(help) - ^ Delaware State Highway Department (1970). Official Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (1985). Official State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
- ^ Federal Highway Administration (2012). "NBI Structure Number: 3257W021". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Public Workshop – SR 54/SR 20 Route Numbering Study". Delaware Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on January 4, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
- ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (2006). Delaware Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.