Delaware Route 72
Encyclopedia
Delaware Route 72 is a state highway located in New Castle County
, Delaware
. The route runs from Delaware Route 9
near Delaware City
to Delaware Route 7 in Pike Creek
. Parts of DE 72 were built as a state highway during the 1940s. By the 1940s, the route was designated between DE 2 and DE 7 along Paper Mill Road. The route was extended south to DE 9 in the 1960s. In 1980, the alignment was shifted to the east through Newark to bypass a railroad crossing on Chapel Street.
. It then heads through farmland and intersects U.S. Route 13
and the southern terminus of Delaware Route 7. US 13 heads west for a short concurrency with DE 72 to a diamond interchange
with Delaware Route 1, where US 13 heads north on DE 1. This concurrency was created as a result of the construction of DE 1 in the area during the 1990s, which resulted in a relocation of US 13 to the new DE 1 alignment between Tybouts Corner
and DE 72. (The northern part of the former US 13 alignment was partly abandoned, being converted to a two-lane frontage road, and the southern part became a southern extension of DE 7.)
From DE 1 to US 40, DE 72 curves from west to north. It intersects Delaware Route 71
, then passes through suburban development, then intersects U.S. Route 40
near Glasgow
. DE 72 continues to the north on Sunset Lake Road, closely following a Norfolk Southern rail line which crosses it in that stretch, and intersects Old Baltimore Pike
, where the name changes to South Chapel Street. It continues north into a light industrial area and passes under Interstate 95
(Delaware Turnpike
).
It continues north to an intersection with Delaware Route 2 and Delaware Route 4
(Chestnut Hill Road) in the southeastern corner of Newark
. At this intersection, DE 2, which bypasses Newark to the south and east, makes a left turn from DE 4 onto DE 72 northbound. The two routes head north on South Chapel Street, which then becomes Library Avenue as S. Chapel Street heads toward the now-blocked railroad grade crossing. The road passes over the Amtrak
Northeast Corridor
and continues north to an intersection with Delaware Route 273, which also marks the eastern terminus of Delaware Route 2 Business that heads to the west along with DE 273 through downtown Newark. After a one-block concurrency with eastbound DE 273, DE 2 and DE 72 then turn to the east on the Kirkwood Highway (Capitol Trail), and DE 72 splits from DE 2 by heading north on Possum Park Road.
DE 72 heads north through suburban neighborhoods and, in Milford Crossroads, makes a right turn onto Paper Mill Road and heads to the northeast and then to the north. It enters the Pike Creek
area, which consists of a mix of farmland and suburban neighborhoods, and heads toward its northern terminus at Delaware Route 7, the second time these two highways intersect.
.
{| class=wikitable
!Location
!Mile
!Road
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=3|Delaware City
|0.00
|
|Southern terminus
|-
|1.50
|
|South end of US 13 overlap
|-
|
|
|Interchange, north end of US 13 overlap
|-
|Wrangle Hill
|2.98
|
|
|-
|Glasgow
|5.35
|
|
|-
|rowspan =4|Newark
|9.22
|
|South end of DE 2 overlap
|-
|10.65
|
|Eastern terminus of DE 2 Bus., south end of DE 273 eastbound overlap
|-
|10.85
|
|North end of DE 273 eastbound overlap
|-
|12.08
|
|
|-
|Pike Creek
|17.45
|
|Northern terminus
|-
New Castle County, Delaware
New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 its population was 538,479, an increase of 7.6% over the previous decade. The county seat is Wilmington. The center of population of Delaware is located in New Castle County, in the town of...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
. The route runs from Delaware Route 9
Delaware Route 9
Delaware Route 9 is a state highway that connects with Delaware Route 1 at the Dover Air Force Base to Interstate 95 in the City of Wilmington. Much like their U.S...
near Delaware City
Delaware City, Delaware
Delaware City is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 1,695 at the 2010 census. It is a small port town on the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and is the location of the ferry to Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island.-Geography:Delaware City is...
to Delaware Route 7 in Pike Creek
Pike Creek, Delaware
Pike Creek is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 19,751 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Pike Creek is located at ....
. Parts of DE 72 were built as a state highway during the 1940s. By the 1940s, the route was designated between DE 2 and DE 7 along Paper Mill Road. The route was extended south to DE 9 in the 1960s. In 1980, the alignment was shifted to the east through Newark to bypass a railroad crossing on Chapel Street.
Route description
Delaware Route 72 heads west from DE 9 on Wrangle Hill Road adjacent to the Valero Delaware City RefineryDelaware City Refinery
The Delaware City Refinery, currently owned by Delaware City Refining Corporation, is an oil refinery in Delaware City, Delaware. When operational it has a total throughput capacity of , and employs around 570 individuals....
. It then heads through farmland and intersects U.S. Route 13
U.S. Route 13
U.S. Route 13 is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from Interstate 95 just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville. In all, it traverses five states in the Atlantic coastal plain region,...
and the southern terminus of Delaware Route 7. US 13 heads west for a short concurrency with DE 72 to a diamond interchange
Diamond interchange
A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a freeway crosses a minor road. The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge...
with Delaware Route 1, where US 13 heads north on DE 1. This concurrency was created as a result of the construction of DE 1 in the area during the 1990s, which resulted in a relocation of US 13 to the new DE 1 alignment between Tybouts Corner
Tybouts Corner, Delaware
Tybouts Corner is an unincorporated populated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located at the intersection of US Route 13 and Hamburg Road/Bear Tybouts Road at and has an elevation of 55 feet....
and DE 72. (The northern part of the former US 13 alignment was partly abandoned, being converted to a two-lane frontage road, and the southern part became a southern extension of DE 7.)
From DE 1 to US 40, DE 72 curves from west to north. It intersects Delaware Route 71
Delaware Route 71
Delaware Route 71 is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route loops off U.S. Route 13 from south of Townsend to Tybouts Corner, traveling to the west of US 13 by way of Townsend, Middletown, and the Summit Bridge...
, then passes through suburban development, then intersects U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40 is an east–west United States highway. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, U.S. 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the original 1920s U.S. Highways, and its first termini were San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey...
near Glasgow
Glasgow, Delaware
Glasgow is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 12,840 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Glasgow is located at ....
. DE 72 continues to the north on Sunset Lake Road, closely following a Norfolk Southern rail line which crosses it in that stretch, and intersects Old Baltimore Pike
Old Baltimore Pike
Old Baltimore Pike is an unsigned highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The road, known as New Castle County Road 26, runs from the Maryland state line near Newark, Delaware east to Christiana, ending near Delaware Route 1 . The road is mainly paralleled by Interstate 95 to the north and U.S...
, where the name changes to South Chapel Street. It continues north into a light industrial area and passes under Interstate 95
Interstate 95 in Delaware
In Delaware, Interstate 95 runs diagonally from the border with Maryland northeast to the border with Pennsylvania. Between the Maryland state line and exit 5, I-95 is also designated as the Delaware Turnpike and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway. Along with its auxiliaries, I-95 is the only...
(Delaware Turnpike
Delaware Turnpike
The Delaware Turnpike, also known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway, is an tolled highway that lies entirely within the state of Delaware. Running in a general southwest to northeast direction, paralleling nearby U.S...
).
It continues north to an intersection with Delaware Route 2 and Delaware Route 4
Delaware Route 4
Delaware Route 4 is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. The route runs from Delaware Route 2 and Delaware Route 896 in Newark east to Delaware Route 48 in downtown Wilmington. What is now DE 4 was originally a county road that was paved in the 1930s...
(Chestnut Hill Road) in the southeastern corner of Newark
Newark, Delaware
Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :...
. At this intersection, DE 2, which bypasses Newark to the south and east, makes a left turn from DE 4 onto DE 72 northbound. The two routes head north on South Chapel Street, which then becomes Library Avenue as S. Chapel Street heads toward the now-blocked railroad grade crossing. The road passes over the Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
and continues north to an intersection with Delaware Route 273, which also marks the eastern terminus of Delaware Route 2 Business that heads to the west along with DE 273 through downtown Newark. After a one-block concurrency with eastbound DE 273, DE 2 and DE 72 then turn to the east on the Kirkwood Highway (Capitol Trail), and DE 72 splits from DE 2 by heading north on Possum Park Road.
DE 72 heads north through suburban neighborhoods and, in Milford Crossroads, makes a right turn onto Paper Mill Road and heads to the northeast and then to the north. It enters the Pike Creek
Pike Creek, Delaware
Pike Creek is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 19,751 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Pike Creek is located at ....
area, which consists of a mix of farmland and suburban neighborhoods, and heads toward its northern terminus at Delaware Route 7, the second time these two highways intersect.
History
What is now DE 72 originally existed as a county road by 1920. By 1931, the road was proposed as a state highway between present-day DE 9 and US 13 while what would become DE 72 north of Milford Crossroads was completed as a state highway. The road from present-day DE 9 and US 13 became a state highway by 1932. When Delaware first assigned state route numbers by 1936, the state highway was built between US 13 and US 40 was finished. At this time, the road was not assigned a route number. By 1938, the road between Newark and Milford Crossroads became a state highway. DE 72 was designated by 1942 to run from DE 2 in Newark north to DE 7, following Chapel Street and Paper Mill Road. The route was extended to its present southern terminus at DE 9 by 1967, following Chapel Street, Sunset Lake Road, and Wrangle Hill Road. In 1980, the Chapel Street crossing of the Northeast Corridor rail line in Newark was permanently blocked, and DE 72 was realigned farther to the east to follow Library Avenue across the railroad tracks before continuing north on DE 2 and Possum Park Road to Paper Mill Road in Milford Crossroads. DE 2 was realigned to follow DE 72 around the eastern part of Newark on Library Avenue by 1990.Major intersections
The entire route is in New Castle CountyNew Castle County, Delaware
New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 its population was 538,479, an increase of 7.6% over the previous decade. The county seat is Wilmington. The center of population of Delaware is located in New Castle County, in the town of...
.
{| class=wikitable
!Location
!Mile
!Road
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=3|Delaware City
Delaware City, Delaware
Delaware City is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 1,695 at the 2010 census. It is a small port town on the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and is the location of the ferry to Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island.-Geography:Delaware City is...
|0.00
|
|Southern terminus
|-
|1.50
|
|South end of US 13 overlap
|-
|
|
|Interchange, north end of US 13 overlap
|-
|Wrangle Hill
|2.98
|
|
|-
|Glasgow
Glasgow, Delaware
Glasgow is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 12,840 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Glasgow is located at ....
|5.35
|
|
|-
|rowspan =4|Newark
Newark, Delaware
Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :...
|9.22
|
|South end of DE 2 overlap
|-
|10.65
|
|Eastern terminus of DE 2 Bus., south end of DE 273 eastbound overlap
|-
|10.85
|
|North end of DE 273 eastbound overlap
|-
|12.08
|
|
|-
|Pike Creek
Pike Creek, Delaware
Pike Creek is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 19,751 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Pike Creek is located at ....
|17.45
|
|Northern terminus
|-