Delaware Route 2 (DE 2) is a east–west state highway located in the northern part of New Castle County in the U.S. state of Delaware. It runs from DE 72 and DE 273 on the eastern edge of Newark east to DE 52 in Wilmington. Between Newark and Wilmington, the route is a four- to six-lane divided highway called Capitol Trail and Kirkwood Highway that passes through suburban areas, running through Marshallton, Prices Corner, and Elsmere. In Wilmington, DE 2 is routed along the one-way pair of Lincoln Street eastbound and Union Street westbound, passing through urban areas.
What would become DE 2 was paved by 1924 and became a state highway in 1927, receiving the DE 2 designation by 1936. At this time, the western terminus of the route was at the Maryland state line southwest of Newark, where the road continued into that state as Maryland Route 279 (MD 279). The road was progressively widened into a divided highway from Wilmington to Newark between 1940 and 1964, bypassing some portions of the road which are now known as Old Capitol Trail. DE 2 was routed to bypass Newark to the south by 1990, with DE 2 Business (DE 2 Bus.) designated on the former route through Newark. In 2013, the western terminus of DE 2 was truncated to its current location and DE 2 Bus. was decommissioned. The westernmost portion of the former route was designated as DE 279, matching the route number just across the Maryland state line.
Route description
DE 2 begins at an intersection with DE 72 and DE 273 in the eastern part of the city of Newark, where DE 72 continues south on Library Avenue and DE 273 runs west along the one-way pair of East Delaware Avenue eastbound and East Main Street westbound and east along Ogletown Road. From here, DE 2 heads north concurrent with DE 72 on Capitol Trail, a four-lane divided highway. The road turns northeast and passes under CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision railroad line before it leaves Newark and continues through residential areas, briefly becoming undivided as it crosses White Clay Creek.
After the road crosses Middle Run, DE 72 splits from DE 2 by heading northwest on Possum Park Road, with DE 2 continuing northeast through suburban areas consisting of homes and businesses as a four-lane divided highway. The road passes to the south of the community of Pike Creek and intersects several roads including Polly Drummond Hill Road/Red Mill Road, North Harmony Road, and Upper Pike Creek Road. After the Upper Pike Creek Road intersection, the route crosses Pike Creek. At the Pike Creek Road junction, the road name becomes Kirkwood Highway. The highway continues through suburbs and reaches an intersection with Delaware Park Drive, an access road that leads south to Delaware Park, which consists of a Thoroughbred horse racetrack, casino, and golf course. Following this, the road has a junction Milltown Road prior to crossing Mill Creek. In Marshallton, the route widens to six lanes and comes to an intersection with DE 7 (Limestone Road).
Past this intersection, DE 2 continues past businesses and passes south of the Delaware State University Wilmington campus, crossing Duncan Road. The road comes to a bridge over Red Clay Creek and the Wilmington and Western Railroad before reaching Prices Corner and an intersection with Newport Gap Pike, which heads northwest as DE 41 and southeast as DE 62. At this point, DE 2 passes to the north of the Prices Corner Shopping Center and has a junction with Albertson Boulevard; this road heads north to provide access to Greenbank Road which in turn leads east to Centerville Road. The road comes to a bridge over Centerville Road and heads north of a park and ride lot along Centerville Road before reaching a partial cloverleaf interchange with the DE 141 freeway. The DE 141 interchange includes a ramp from Centerville Road that merges with the ramp from northbound DE 141 to eastbound DE 2.
Following this interchange, DE 2 narrows to four lanes and continues east through a mix of homes and businesses, crossing Little Mill Creek and passing to the south of the Wilmington VA Medical Center before it heads across Chestnut Run. At this point, the route enters the town of Elsmere and briefly turns southeast before curving back to the east and reaching an intersection with DE 100 (Dupont Road). Past this intersection, the road comes to a bridge over a junction between CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision and an East Penn Railroad line and then CSX's Market Street Industrial Track line and South Grant Avenue before running past homes and businesses as South Union Street.