Delaware Route 14 (DE 14) is a state highway in the southern part of Kent County, Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland state line near Burrsville, Maryland, where the road continues as Maryland Route 317 (MD 317), east to DE 1 in Milford. The route passes through Harrington, where it intersects U.S. Route 13 (US 13), and heads to the north of Houston before coming to Milford, where it intersects DE 15, US 113, and DE 1 Business (DE 1 Bus.). DE 14 has a truck bypass of Harrington known as DE 14 Truck.
DE 14 was first designated by 1936 to run from the Maryland state line near Burrsville east to DE 26 in Bethany Beach. The road was extended south to Fenwick Island in 1939. In the 1940s, the road was realigned to bypass Rehoboth Beach. The route between Nassau and Rehoboth Beach was widened into a divided highway in the 1950s, with all of DE 14 southeast of Milford being upgraded to a divided highway by the 1970s. In 1977, most of DE 14 east of Milford was replaced with DE 1, with the eastern terminus being realigned to its current location by 1984. The DE 1 intersection became an interchange in 2019.
Route description
DE 14 begins at the Maryland state line near Burrsville, Maryland, where the road continues west into that state as MD 317. From the state line, the route heads east on two-lane undivided Vernon Road, passing through a mix of farmland and woodland with occasional homes and crossing Marshyhope Creek in the community of Vernon. The road curves to the northeast before bending east at the Whiteleysburg Road intersection. The route becomes Walt Messick Road and enters the city of Harrington. DE 14 runs past homes and some businesses before intersecting the western terminus of DE 14 Truck, which bypasses Harrington to the south. At this point, DE 14 heads northeast on Commerce Street into the downtown area. Here, the route turns east onto Clark Street and passes north of the Harrington Tower Railroad Museum before it crosses the Delmarva Central Railroad's Delmarva Subdivision line at-grade adjacent to the Harrington Yard. On the eastern edge of Harrington, DE 14 intersects US 13 and the eastern terminus of DE 14 Truck in a commercial area.
Past this intersection, the route leaves Harrington and becomes Milford Harrington Highway, heading through a mix of farms and woods with some residential development and crossing Browns Branch. The road continues east through more rural areas, intersecting Killens Pond Road/Deep Grass Lane before passing to the north of the town of Houston. Broad Street heads south from the route to provide access to Houston. Farther east, DE 14 bends southeast and intersects the southern terminus of DE 15, crossing into the city of Milford. The road enters commercial areas, passing south of the Milford Solar Farm, and gains a center left-turn lane, coming to an intersection with US 113. Past this intersection, the route becomes Northwest Front Street and runs past homes and businesses a short distance to the north of the Delmarva Central Railroad's Indian River Subdivision line and Silver Lake along the Mispillion River, narrowing back to two lanes. The road curves to the east, passing to the south of the Parson Thorne Mansion, and heads through the downtown of Milford, becoming Northeast Front Street at the junction with North Walnut Street. DE 14 passes a short distance to the north of the Mispillion River, curving northeast and coming to an intersection with DE 1 Bus. Past this intersection, the route runs through areas of farmland with some commercial development, ending at an interchange with the DE 1 bypass of Milford. At this interchange, access to and from southbound DE 1 is provided by South Silicato Parkway. The road continues as New Wharf Road past the interchange.
The section of DE 14 west of US 113 serves as part of a secondary hurricane evacuation route from coastal areas in southern Delaware. The section of the route between Maple Avenue and DE 1 in Milford is designated as part of the Delaware Bayshore Byway, a Delaware Byway and National Scenic Byway. DE 14 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 15,509 vehicles at the US 113 intersection to a low of 2,358 vehicles at the eastern terminus at DE 1.