Delaware Route 26
East end | Dead end on Atlantic Ocean in Bethany Beach | |
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Location | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Delaware | |
Counties | Sussex | |
Highway system | ||
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Delaware Route 26 (DE 26) is a state highway in
west of Millville. The road was built as a state highway in various stages during the 1920s and 1930s. By 1936, DE 26 was assigned onto its current alignment.Route description
DE 26 begins at the Maryland border at an intersection where DE/MD 54 runs west along the state line and MD 353 continues south into Maryland. From the state line, DE 26 heads northeast on two-lane undivided Millsboro Highway concurrent with DE 54. The two routes pass through agricultural areas with some woods and homes, intersecting Whitesville Road. The road curves north and heads into the residential community of Gumboro, where DE 54 turns to the east. DE 26 leaves Gumboro and continues back into areas of farms and forests with occasional residences.[3][4]
In Shaft Ox Corner, DE 26 splits from Millsboro Highway by turning east onto Nine Foot Road. The route continues east through rural land, crossing Whartons Branch twice and Pepper Creek before reaching an intersection with US 113. Past this intersection, the road becomes Clayton Street and enters the town of Dagsboro, passing homes and businesses and crossing the Delmarva Central Railroad's Indian River Subdivision line at-grade. In the center of Dagsboro, DE 26 comes to an intersection with DE 20, at which point it turns south to form a concurrency with DE 20 on Main Street. 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 26 east of US 113 in Dagsboro serves as a main route to Bethany Beach and sees congestion in the summer months.
History
By 1920, what is now DE 26 existed as an unimproved county road.[8] The route was upgraded to a state highway between present-day US 113 and Dagsboro and from Millville to just west of the Assawoman Canal by 1924.[9] A year later, the road was completed as a state highway between Gumboro and Mission and between Dagsboro and Vines Creek, with the route between the Maryland border and Gumboro and the incomplete sections between Dagsboro and Bethany Beach proposed as a state highway.[10] The proposed segments were completed by 1931.[11] In 1932, the state highway between Shaft Ox Corner and Dagsboro was completed.[12] DE 26 was assigned to its current alignment between the Maryland border south of Gumboro and Bethany Beach, where it intersected the southern terminus of DE 14 (now part of DE 1), by 1936.[2] In 2014, work began to widen DE 26 between Clarksville and the Assawoman Canal from a two-lane road to a three-lane road with a center left-turn lane, bike lanes, and new sidewalks in order to reduce traffic congestion. The widening project cost $57 million.[6] On September 19, 2016, a ribbon-cutting ceremony took place to mark the completion of the project, with Governor Jack Markell, U.S. Senator Tom Carper, DelDOT Secretary Jennifer Cohan, State Senator Gerald Hocker, State Representative Ronald E. Gray, and Federal Highway Administration Division Administrator Mary Ridgeway in attendance.[13]
Major intersections
The entire route is in Sussex County.
Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
south (Gumboro Road) | Maryland state line; western terminus; west end of DE 54 overlap | ||||
2.12 | 3.41 | DE 54 east (Cypress Road) | East end of DE 54 overlap | ||
US 113 (Dupont Boulevard) – Millsboro, Selbyville | |||||
12.03 | 19.36 | US 113 north – Bay Bridge, Wilmington | West end of DE 20 overlap | ||
12.62 | 20.31 | DE 20 east (Armory Road) – Fenwick Island | East end of DE 20 overlap | ||
Millville | 18.68 | 30.06 | DE 17 south (Roxana Road) – Selbyville | Northern terminus of DE 17 | |
DE 54 Alt. west (Kent Avenue) – Camp Barnes | Eastern terminus of DE 54 Alt. | ||||
22.71 | 36.55 | DE 1 (Delaware Avenue) – Rehoboth Beach, Fenwick Island | Eastern terminus of DE 26 signage | ||
22.96 | 36.95 | Dead end at Atlantic Ocean | 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 Delaware Department of Transportation (2017). Official Travel & Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
- ^ a b c Google (August 25, 2010). "overview of Delaware Route 26" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
- ^ Nann Burke, Melissa; Fisher, James (July 3, 2014). "Handling the horde to get to the beach". The News Journal. Wilmington, DE. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
- ^ a b "Construction Underway on Three-Year SR 26 Improvements Project". State of Delaware. March 13, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- ^ Delmarva Peninsula Evacuation Route Map (PDF) (Map). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Annual Report of the State Highway Department" (PDF) (1932 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. December 31, 1932: 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 7, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
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(help) - ^ "Completion of Significant Improvements to Route 26 Celebrated" (Press release). Delaware Department of Transportation. September 19, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2017.