Delaware Route 23

Delaware Route 23
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT
Length:	14.76 mi[1] (23.75 km)
Existed:	1994 – present
Major junctions
South end:	Dead end in Long Neck
	DE 5 / DE 24 in Long Neck DE 1D in Five Points US 9 / DE 404 in Five Points
North end:	US 9 / DE 1 / US 9 Bus. in Five Points
Location
Counties:	Sussex
Highway system
Delaware State Route System List Byways ← DE 20 DE 24 →

Delaware Route 23 (DE 23) is a 14.76-mile-long (23.75 km) state highway in Sussex County, Delaware. Its southern terminus is at Massey's Landing in Long Neck, near the confluence of Rehoboth Bay and Indian River Bay and its northern terminus is at the Five Points intersection, where it ends at U.S. Route 9 (US 9), DE 1, and DE 404. From the southern terminus, route runs west through residential areas of Long Neck before heading north through rural areas with some development. DE 23 is concurrent with DE 5 between the DE 24 intersection in Long Neck and Fairmount . It is also concurrent with DE 24 Alternate (DE 24 Alt.) between Hollymount and the DE 1D intersection in Five Points. The road originally existed as an unnumbered road except along the DE 5 concurrency, becoming fully paved by 1970. The DE 23 designation was assigned by 1994.

Route description

A view of DE 23 heading south from the intersection with DE 1D in Five Points

DE 23 begins at a boat ramp parking lot at Massey's Landing in Long Neck, near the confluence of the Rehoboth Bay and the Indian River Bay. From here, the route heads west on two-lane undivided Long Neck Road, passing through a mix of residential areas and marshland between Rehoboth Bay to the north and Indian River Bay to the south. The road winds west through homes, commercial development, and a few farms. Farther west, DE 23 comes to an intersection with DE 5/DE 24. At this intersection, the name changes to Indian Mission Road, and DE 23 begins a concurrency with DE 5. The two routes head northwest through a mix of farmland and woodland with some housing subdivisions.^[2][3]

In Fairmount, DE 5 splits to the northwest and DE 23 continues north on Beaver Dam Road. In Hollymount, DE 23 intersects DE 24 Alt. and forms a concurrency with that route, with the road curving northeast. In Five Points, DE 23 intersects DE 1D and turns to the north, with DE 1D/DE 24 Alt. continuing straight and curving to the southeast. A short distance later, DE 23 intersects US 9/DE 404 and turns east-northeast to join those two routes on the four-lane divided Lewes Georgetown Highway. DE 23 reaches its northern terminus at an intersection with DE 1, at which point DE 404 also ends and US 9 turns east to join DE 1. Past this intersection, the road becomes US 9 Business (US 9 Bus.).^[2][3]

DE 23 has a total length of 14.76 mi (23.75 km). The route has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 13,167 vehicles at the northern terminus at DE 1 to a low of 1,671 vehicles at the south end of the DE 24 Alt. concurrency.^[1] The small portion of DE 23 that is concurrent with US 9/DE 404 is part of the National Highway System.^[4]

History

By 1920, what is now DE 23 existed as an unimproved county road.^[5] The portion of the present route that is concurrent with DE 5 was upgraded to a state highway by 1931 and became a part of DE 5 by 1938.^[6][7] By 1970, the road was paved.^[8] DE 23 was assigned onto its current alignment by 1994.^[9] DE 24 Alternate was designated to run along DE 23 between Hollymount Road and Plantation Road by 2006.^[10]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Sussex County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Long Neck	0.00	0.00	Massey's Landing Boat Ramp
	5.47	8.80	DE 5 south / DE 24 (John J. Williams Highway) – Oak Orchard, Rehoboth Beach	South end of DE 5 overlap
Fairmount	8.01	12.89	DE 5 north (Indian Mission Road)	North end of DE 5 overlap
Hollymount	8.85	14.24	DE 24 Alt. west (Hollyville Road)	South end of DE 24 Alt. overlap
Five Points	14.59	23.48	DE 1D south / DE 24 Alt. east (Plantation Road)	North end of DE 24 Alt. overlap
	14.62	23.53	US 9 west / DE 404 west (Lewes Georgetown Highway) – Georgetown	West end of US 9/DE 404 overlap
	14.76	23.75	US 9 east / DE 1 (Coastal Highway) – Rehoboth Beach US 9 Bus. east (Savannah Road) – Lewes DE 404 ends
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. Staff (2011). "Traffic Count and Mileage Report: Interstate, Delaware, and US Routes" (PDF). Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
2. Delaware Department of Transportation (2008). Delaware Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
3. Google (August 24, 2010). "overview of Delaware Route 23" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
4. National Highway System: Delaware (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
5. Delaware State Highway Department (1920). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
6. Delaware State Highway Department (1931). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
7. Delaware State Highway Department; The National Survey Co. (1938). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department.
8. Delaware State Highway Department (1970). Official Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
9. 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.
10. Delaware Department of Transportation (2006). Delaware Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Media related to Delaware Route 23 at Wikimedia Commons