page_title: Interstate 95 in Delaware
section_title: Planning and construction
hierarchical_section_title: Interstate 95 in Delaware / History / Planning and construction
caption_attribution_description: English: View south along Interstate 95 entering Wilmington, Delaware
context_page_description: Interstate 95 is an Interstate highway running along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida north to the Canadian border in Houlton, Maine. In the state of Delaware, the route runs for 23.43 mi across the Wilmington area in northern New Castle County from the Maryland state line near Newark northeast to the Pennsylvania state line in Claymont. I-95 is the only primary Interstate highway that enters Delaware, although it also has two auxiliary routes within the state. Between the Maryland border and Newport, I-95 follows the Delaware Turnpike or John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway, a toll road with a toll plaza near the state line. Near Newport, the interstate has a large interchange with Delaware Route 141 and the southern termini of I-295 and I-495, the latter interstate providing a bypass of Wilmington. I-95 heads north through the heart of Wilmington concurrent with U.S. Route 202 on the Wilmington Expressway. Past Wilmington, I-95 continues northeast to Claymont, where I-495 rejoins the route right before the Pennsylvania state line.
  Plans for a road along the I-95 corridor through Wilmington to the Pennsylvania border predate the Interstate Highway System.
context_section_description: In 1948, the Wilmington Transportation Study proposed two new roads running between the southern end of Wilmington and the Pennsylvania border to improve traffic flow in the Wilmington area. Route A followed the current alignment of I-95 while Route B bypassed the city to the east along the current alignment of I-495. Plans for building Route A were made in 1950 but were deferred a year later due to opposition.
  Following the completion of the Delaware Memorial Bridge connecting to the New Jersey Turnpike in 1951, through traffic coming from the bridge led to significant congestion on US 13 and US 40. As a result of this, suggestions were made in 1954 for a limited-access road to be constructed leading to the bridge that would alleviate congestion on US 40. In 1956, the Interstate Highway System was created, with two routes proposed along the current alignment of I-95. FAI-1 was proposed to run from the Maryland state line east to an interchange west of Farnhurst while FAI-2 was proposed between this interchange and the Pennsylvania border through the western part of Wilmington. The corridor following FAI-1 and FAI-2 would become designated as part of I-95, an Interstate Highway running along the East Coast of the United States. FAI-1 was originally planned as a free Interstate Highway using federal funds; however, the road would not have been completed until 1967 under this plan. As a result, the state of Delaware financed the road with bond issues and would build it as a toll road called the Delaware Turnpike.
  The first construction contracts for the Delaware Turnpike were awarded in 1957, with construction soon following that year. Construction began on building a new bridge over US 13/US 40 at the Farnhurst interchange in 1958 that would connect the Delaware Turnpike to the I-295/US 40 approach to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The same year, plans were made for several bridges along I-95. In 1959, work began on rebuilding the Farnhurst interchange to Interstate Highway standards. The same year, recommendations were made for the design and right-of-way acquisition along the planned route of I-95 as well as the construction of several contracts between the Maryland border and Farnhurst along the Delaware Turnpike, including the interchange with DE 41/DE 141 and between I-95, I-295, and I-495 near the Christina River. The proposed routing for I-95 through Wilmington would take it through the central core between Adams and Jackson streets. Locals tried to fight routing I-95 through the central core and instead suggested routing it along Bancroft Parkway to the west or the present-day route of I-495 to the east. However, the lame-duck Republican-controlled city council approved routing I-95 along Adams and Jackson streets in 1957. The demolition of homes began in January 1959.
  A year later, construction began on overpasses and ramps at the Farnhurst interchange. The same year, suggestions were made to build I-95 across the Christina Marsh as well as construct the bridges over the Christina River and the Pennsylvania Railroad in Wilmington. A contract was awarded for the Christina River interchange in 1961. By 1961, all construction contracts along the Delaware Turnpike had been completed except for the DE 41/DE 141 interchange and the Christina River interchange. In 1962, the I-95 bridges over the Christina River, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and Little Mill Creek were finished while plans were made for the South Wilmington Viaduct that would cross over several railroad tracks belonging to the Pennsylvania Railroad, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Reading Railroad. The same year, the roadway was built between the Christina River interchange and the South Wilmington Viaduct. The new northbound lanes of DE 41/DE 141 through the I-95 interchange opened in November 1962. The southbound lanes of DE 41/DE 141 opened in June 1964, enabling directional flow of DE 41/DE 141 through the interchange. In September 1963, construction work on the turnpike was halted by picketing workers.
  The Delaware Turnpike, along with the connecti
caption: I-95/US 202 southbound at DE 52 interchange in Wilmington
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