Delaware Route 30

DE 30 northbound past US 9/DE 404 in Gravel Hill

DE 30 begins at an intersection with Bi-State Boulevard in southwestern Sussex County between the towns of Laurel and Delmar, heading east on two-lane undivided Whitesville Road. A short distance later, the road crosses US 13 at a superstreet intersection, in which DE 30 traffic must turn right, use U-turn ramps along US 13, and turn right again to continue on DE 30. Following this, the road through a mix of farmland and woodland with some homes to the south of Trap Pond State Park, crossing James Branch. The route turns southeast before it curves to the east again. Farther east, DE 30 comes to an intersection with DE 26/DE 54.[3][4]

At this point, DE 30 turns northeast to form a concurrency with DE 26/DE 54 on Millsboro Highway. The road curves north and heads into the residential community Gumboro, where DE 54 splits to the east. DE 26/DE 30 leaves Gumboro and continues back into areas of farms and forests with occasional residences. In Shaft Ox Corner, DE 26 splits to the east and DE 30 heads north to an intersection with DE 24 in Mission.[3][4]

Here, DE 24 turns north to join DE 30, with the road running northeast. Farther along, residential development increases as the road heads into the town of Millsboro. At this point, the road names becomes Laurel Road and it reaches an intersection with US 113/DE 20. Past this intersection, DE 24/DE 30 turns north-northeast on Washington Street. The two routes split into a one-way pair that heads north, following Main Street eastbound and Washington Street westbound. The road crosses the Delmarva Central Railroad's Indian River Subdivision line at-grade. The one-way pair runs through the downtown area of Millsboro, rejoining along two-way Main Street and crossing Indian River to the east of Millsboro Pond. A short distance later, DE 24 and DE 30 split at an intersection.[3][4]

Upon splitting from DE 24, DE 30 signage changes from east-west to north-south and the route leaves Millsboro. It continues north on Gravel Hill Road, passing to the east of Millsboro Pond. The road heads through a mix of farmland and woodland with some homes, coming to a junction with Morris Mill Road/Mt. Joy Road. In the community of Zoar, the route intersects DE 24 Alt. Farther north, DE 30 has a junction with Springfield Road/Johnson Road before it reaches the community of Gravel Hill. In Gravel Hill, the road crosses the Delmarva Central Railroad's Lewes Industrial Track line at-grade and comes to an intersection with US 9/DE 404. From this point, the route curves northwest before bending north again. DE 30 intersects DE 5 Alt., which serves as a western bypass of the town of Milton for DE 5. Here, DE 5 Alt. turns north to form a concurrency with DE 30, with the road crossing an abandoned railroad grade just east of the terminus of the Delmarva Central Railroad's Milton Industrial Track line. At an intersection with DE 16, DE 5 Alt. heads east along with that route and DE 30 continues north on Isaacs Road.[3][4]

The route heads away from Milton and crosses Sowbridge Branch as it passes to the east of Reynolds Pond. DE 30 intersects Cedar Creek Road and turns northwest onto that road, curving north and back to the northwest. The road heads through the Cedar Creek area and crosses Cedar Creek to the east of Swiggets Pond before it intersects Johnson Road. DE 30 continues north-northwest and comes to ramps providing access to and from the southbound lanes of DE 1. At this point, the route gains a center left-turn lane and passes east of Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus before it reaches an intersection with Wilkins Road, which provides access to and from the northbound lanes of DE 1 at an interchange. Past this intersection, DE 30 turns northwest and passes between residential subdivisions to the southwest and DE 1 to the northeast as a two-lane road, coming to its northern terminus at an intersection with DE 1 Bus. at the point that route merges into DE 1 at an interchange southeast of the city of Milford. DE 30 has access to northbound DE 1 Bus. and access from southbound DE 1 Bus.[3][4]

The section of DE 30 between DE 24 and DE 1 serves as part of a primary hurricane evacuation route from areas along the inland bays in eastern Sussex County to points inland while the sections of DE 30 concurrent with DE 54 and between DE 26 and DE 24 serve as part of a secondary hurricane evacuation route from the coastal areas.[5] The section of the route between DE 16 near Milton and DE 1 Bus. in Milford is designated as part of the Delaware's Bayshore Byway, a Delaware Byway.[6] DE 30 has an annual average daily traffic count ranging from a high of 34,023 vehicles at the east end of the DE 24 concurrency to a low of 1,087 vehicles at the intersection with DE 26/DE 54.[1] None of DE 30 is part of the National Highway System.[7]

DE 30 eastbound concurrent with DE 26 and DE 54 in Gumboro

By 1920, what is now DE 30 existed as a state highway between Mission and Phillips Hill and was proposed as one between Phillips Hill and Millsboro, with the remainder of the route existing as a county road.[8] The state highway between Phillips Hill and Millsboro was completed by 1924.[9] The state highway portion of the present-day route was extended from Mission to Gumboro a year later, with a section in the Gumboro area under proposal as a state highway.[10] By 1931, the road was completed as a state highway between US 13 and Jones Branch and from James Branch to Gumboro. In addition, the state highway was completed from Millsboro to north of Gravel Hill as an unpaved road, with a portion north of Gravel Hill becoming a paved county road.[11] The state highway between US 13 and Gumboro was fully complete the following year.[12] By 1936, the road between Millsboro and Gravel Hill was paved.[13]

DE 30 was first designated in 1936 to run from DE 20 in Seaford north and east to DE 404 northwest of Bridgeville, heading north and crossing DE 18 in Atlanta before turning east to reach DE 404.[14] This was eliminated by 1938, and is now Atlanta Road and Dublin Hill Road. By 1938, DE 30 was designated to run from DE 24 in Millsboro north to DE 5 in Milton, following its current alignment to north of Gravel Hill and then running along Shingle Point Road north into Milton.[2] A portion of current DE 30 south of the DE 16 intersection was paved a year later.[15] By 1952, the current route of DE 30 north of Gravel Hill was paved.[16] DE 30 was rerouted to follow its present alignment north to DE 14 (now DE 1) south of Milford by 1971.[17] By 1994, DE 30 was extended from Millsboro to its current terminus at Bi-State Boulevard.[18] The northern terminus of DE 30 was moved to its current location at DE 1 Bus. by 2003 when a road connecting DE 30 to DE 1 Bus. was completed.[19] In November 2012, construction began on an interchange at DE 1 southeast of Milford. The interchange between DE 1 and DE 30 was completed in July 2014.[20] On February 29, 2016, construction began on a superstreet intersection at US 13; this project was completed on May 19 of that year.[21]

The entire route is in Sussex County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
​	0.00	0.00	Bi-State Boulevard	Western terminus
​	0.54	0.87	US 13 (Sussex Highway)	Superstreet intersection
Gumboro	10.73	17.27	DE 26 west / DE 54 west (Millsboro Highway)	West end of DE 26/DE 54 overlap
	12.27	19.75	DE 54 east (Cypress Road)	East end of DE 54 overlap
Shaft Ox Corner	15.58	25.07	DE 26 east (Nine Foot Road) – Dagsboro, Frankford	East end of DE 26 overlap
Mission	16.50	26.55	DE 24 west (Laurel Road) – Laurel	West end of DE 24 overlap
Millsboro	21.52	34.63	US 113 / DE 20 (Dupont Boulevard) – Georgetown, Dagsboro
	22.31	35.90	DE 24 east (John J. Williams Highway)	East end of DE 24 overlap
Zoar	25.91	41.70	DE 24 Alt. (Zoar Road)
Gravel Hill	30.77	49.52	US 9 / DE 404 (Lewes Georgetown Highway) – Georgetown, Harbeson, Lewes, Rehoboth Beach
Milton	35.11	56.50	DE 5 Alt. south (Sand Hill Road)	South end of DE 5 Alt. overlap
	36.23	58.31	DE 16 / DE 5 Alt. north (Milton Ellendale Highway) – Ellendale, Milton	North end of DE 5 Alt. overlap
Milford	44.79	72.08	DE 1 (Coastal Highway) – Lewes, Dover	Interchange; access to and from northbound DE 1 via Wilkins Road
	44.94	72.32	DE 1 Bus. north (South Rehoboth Boulevard)	Northern terminus; access to northbound DE 1 Bus. and from southbound DE 1 Bus.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Delaware Route 30 Alternate
Location	Cedar Creek
Length	0.74 mi[22] (1.19 km)
Existed	1999[23]–2017[3]

Delaware Route 30 Alternate (DE 30 Alt.) was a 0.74 mi (1.19 km)[22] alternate route of DE 30 south of the city of Milford in the Cedar Creek area. It ran from DE 30 northeast to DE 1 along two-lane undivided Johnson Road, passing through a mix of farmland, woodland, and residential development.[24][25] The route was created by 1999.[23] DE 30 Alt. originally had full access to and from DE 1, but the median crossover was modified in 2011 to only allow access from DE 30 Alt. to southbound DE 1 while retaining access to DE 30 Alt. from both directions of DE 1.[25][26] The DE 30 Alt. designation was removed from the road by 2017.[3]

•  U.S. Roads portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Delaware Route 30.

• DE 30 at AARoads.com
• Delaware Roads - DE 30