Delaware Route 299

Delaware Route 299
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT
Length:	9.77 mi[1] (15.72 km)
Existed:	1957 – present
Tourist routes:	Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Delaware's Bayshore Byway
Major junctions
West end:	MD 282 east of Warwick, Maryland
	US 301 east of Warwick, Maryland DE 15 west of Middletown US 301 / DE 15 in Middletown DE 71 in Middletown DE 1 west of Odessa US 13 in Odessa
East end:	DE 9 in Mathews Corners
Location
Counties:	New Castle
Highway system
Delaware State Route System List Byways ← I‑295 DE 300 →

Delaware Route 299 (DE 299) is a state highway in New Castle County, Delaware. It runs 9.77 mi (15.72 km) from Maryland Route 282 (MD 282) at the Maryland border east of Warwick, Maryland to DE 9 in Mathews Corners, passing through Middletown and Odessa. It overlaps U.S. Route 301 (US 301) from just east of the Maryland border to the west end of Middletown. It is also concurrent with DE 15 along the eastern part of the US 301 concurrency. The road runs through a mix of suburban development.

Delaware Route 299 was originally designated as DE 4 in 1938, running as far east as US 13 in Odessa. By 1957, DE 4 became DE 299 to match MD 299 (now MD 282) and was extended east to DE 9 in 1959. Over the years, several different routes had followed the DE 299 alignment including DE 71 west of Middletown between 1959 and 1987 and US 301N between Middletown and Odessa from 1959 to 1971. In 2008, a widening of DE 299 in the western part of Middletown began; it was completed in November 2010.

Route description

DE 299 in Middletown at northern terminus of concurrency with US 301 and DE 15.

DE 299 heads east from the Maryland border on Warwick Road, passing through farmland.^[2][3] At the state line, the road continues west into Maryland as MD 282.^[3] Shortly after the state line, it merges onto US 301 and heads to the northeast on Middletown Warwick Road. DE 15 joins with the two routes, heading from the south on Levels Road, and they head into the commercial western part of Middletown. At the point DE 15 makes a left onto Bunker Hill Road, US 301 continues straight and DE 299 makes a right onto Main Street, heading east across Norfolk Southern's Delmarva Secondary rail line into the downtown area of Middletown. In the center of Middletown, DE 299 intersects DE 71 (Broad Street).^[2][3]

After running through the downtown area, the route heads east through suburban commercial development in the eastern part of Middletown and becomes Middletown Odessa Road.^[3] It intersects the DE 1 toll road at a diamond interchange and heads east through a mix of farms and homes into Odessa, becoming Main Street. In Odessa, the route is lined with homes and intersects US 13, which is split onto 5th Street northbound and 6th Street southbound.^[2][3] Past Odessa, DE 299 crosses the Appoquinimink River and heads to the southeast on Old State Road into housing developments.^[3] The route makes a left turn onto Taylors Bridge Road briefly and ends at DE 9 in Mathews Corners.^[2][3]

Portions of DE 299 are designated as part of the Delaware Byways system. The section between Silver Lake Road in Middletown and DE 9 is part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway while the section between US 13 in Odessa and DE 9 is a spur of the Delaware's Bayshore Byway.^[4][5] DE 299 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 16,456 vehicles at the west end of the DE 15 concurrency to a low of 433 vehicles at the Old State Road intersection.^[1] The portion of DE 299 concurrent with US 301 is part of the National Highway System.^[6]

History

Delaware Route 4
Location:	Near Warwick, Maryland-Odessa
Length:	8.08 mi[1] (13.00 km)
Existed:	1938–1957

By 1920, what is now DE 299 existed as an unimproved county road.^[7] This county road was paved by 1924.^[8] The present-day alignment of DE 299 became a state highway by 1935.^[9][10] The current DE 299 was originally designated as DE 4 in 1938, running between the Maryland border and US 13 in Odessa.^[11] By 1957, DE 4 was renumbered to DE 299 to match MD 299 (now MD 282) across the border and DE 71 was designated concurrent with most of the route west of Middletown.^[12][13] US 301 was designated along the DE 71/DE 299 concurrency in 1959 while US 301N was designated between DE 71 and US 13. Also at this time, DE 299 was extended east to DE 9.^[14] The US 301N designation was removed between Middletown and Odessa in 1971.^[15][16] DE 71 was rerouted off US 301/DE 299 by 1987.^[17] By 1994, DE 15 was designated to follow a portion of US 301/DE 299 west of Middletown.^[18] In July 2008, a widening project began on US 301/DE 299 between United Drive and the east end of the concurrency.^[19] This widening to four lanes was completed in November 2010.^[20]

Major intersections

The entire route is in New Castle County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
	0.00	0.00	MD 282 west (Main Street) – Warwick, Cecilton	Maryland state line, western terminus
	0.52	0.84	US 301 south (Middletown Warwick Road) – Bay Bridge	West end of US 301 overlap
Middletown	3.13	5.04	DE 15 south (Levels Road)	West end of DE 15 overlap
	4.35	7.00	US 301 north (Middletown Warwick Road) – Wilmington DE 15 north (Bunker Hill Road)	East end of US 301/DE 15 overlap
	4.68	7.53	DE 71 (Broad Street)
Odessa			DE 1 – Wilmington, Smyrna, Dover, Beaches	DE 1 exit 136
	7.99	12.86	US 13 south (Dupont Parkway/6th Street) – Townsend, Blackbird
	8.08	13.00	US 13 north (Dupont Parkway/5th Street) – New Jersey, Wilmington
Mathews Corners	9.77	15.72	DE 9 (Taylors Bridge Road/Thomas Corner Road)	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• Delaware portal

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 (2010-04-29). "overview of Delaware Route 299" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
4. "Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway". Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
5. "Delaware's Bayshore Byway". Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
6. National Highway System: Delaware (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
7. Delaware State Highway Department (1920). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
8. Delaware State Highway Department (1924). Official Road Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
9. "Delaware State Highway Department Annual Report" (PDF) (1958 ed.). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Highway Department. 1958: 4–13. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
10. Delaware State Highway Department; The National Survey Co. (1936). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1936–37 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
11. Delaware State Highway Department; The National Survey Co. (1938). Official Road Map of the State of Delaware (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
12. Delaware State Highway Department (1954). Official Highway Map of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1954–55 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
13. Delaware State Highway Department (1957). Official Highway Map of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1957–58 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
14. Delaware State Highway Department (1959). Official Highway Map of Delaware (PDF) (Map) (1959–60 ed.). Dover: Delaware State Highway Department. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
15. Delaware Department of Highways and Transportation (1971). Delaware Highways Official Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Highways and Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
16. U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee (December 3, 1971). "U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee Agenda" (PDF) (Report). Miami Beach, FL: American Association of State Highway Officials. p. 415. Retrieved October 11, 2014 – via Wikimedia Commons.
17. Delaware Department of Transportation (1987). Official State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
18. 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.
19. "Existing Route 301 Widening to Begin". Delaware Department of Transportation. July 20, 2008. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
20. "Traffic Alert – Sections of Route 301 Closed for Construction". Delaware Department of Transportation. September 30, 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-29.

Route map: Bing / Google