Delaware Route 279 is a long state highway located in northern New Castle County, Delaware. It runs from the Marylandstate line southwest of Newark, where it continues as Maryland Route 279, northeast to DE 4 and DE 896 in Newark. DE 279 follows a four-lane divided highway called Elkton Road and serves as part of the route connecting Elkton, Maryland with Newark. The roadway is maintained by the Delaware Department of Transportation. DE 279 was originally the westernmost portion of DE 2, designated in the 1930s. This portion of road was widened into a divided highway in 1972. In 2013, DE 2 was truncated from the Maryland border to east of Newark to simplify the route designations through Newark, resulting in DE 279 being designated to its current alignment.
Route description
DE 279 begins at the Maryland border southwest of the city of Newark. The road continues southwest into that state as MD 279, which heads towards the town of Elkton. From the state line, the route heads northeast on Elkton Road, a four-lane divided highway. DE 279 heads through commercial areas of Newark, where it crosses the West Branch Christina River and comes to an intersection with Otts Chapel Road. The road continues past more commercial development and comes to an intersection with the western terminus of DE 4 and DE 896. Here, DE 279 ends and Elkton Road continues northeast as part of DE 896 towards downtown Newark. The entire length of the route is located in New Castle County. The route passes through flat to gently rolling terrain at an elevation of about. DE 279 has an annual average daily traffic count of 30,155 vehicles west of Otts Chapel Road and 14,214 vehicles east of Otts Chapel Road. The entire length of DE 279 is part of the National Highway System.
History
What is now DE 279 was originally an unimproved county road. From the 1910s to the 1938, it was the westernmost part of Lincoln Highway, which ran from the Maryland border through Newark east to Wilmington and Claymont. By 1924, the road was paved. In 1925, suggestions were made for the state to take over maintenance of the highway connecting the Maryland border to Newark. In 1927, the state took over maintenance of the highway between the Maryland border and Newark. When Delaware designated its state highways by 1936, the current alignment of DE 279 was designated as the westernmost part of DE 2, which ran from the Maryland border through Newark and continued east to Wilmington. The portion of DE 2 along Elkton Road between the Maryland border and Newark was widened into a divided highway in 1972. In 2013, DelDOT proposed the renumbering of routes in and around Newark, which involved truncating DE 2 from the Maryland border to the eastern edge of Newark and the removal of DE 2 Bus. through downtown Newark. As a result of these changes, the portion of Elkton Road between the Maryland border and the Christiana Parkway was to be designated as DE 279, matching the route number across the Maryland border. The goal of the project was to "simplify the route designations in Newark, reduce sign clutter, and reduce sign maintenance costs." The changes were completed in the middle part of 2013.
