Read about my road trip >>>

In my last post >>> when I was leaving Maryland, I promised a huge bridge  – a biggie I called it – coming up in Delaware.  I thought I’d have to go over it because I’ve gone over it countless times in the last 30 years making the trip from Baltimore, where I used to live, to family and friends north, but on this armchair summer road trip, I’m not. Phew!

I thought the Delaware Memorial Bridge was on Route 95.  Since I never actually drove over the bridge I must not have paid attention to when the routes changed.  In my defense, if you travel the East Coast for real, you wouldn’t take Route 95 and go through Philadelphia, you’d take Route 295 and cross this bridge.  Since my mission is to travel route 95 end to end, that’s what I’ll do.

But I can’t move on until I tell you the Delaware Memorial Bridge is a more frightening bridge to me than the Throgs Neck or the Whitestone but on par with the Verrazano Bridge. (All in NYC.)  The drive to the apex is steeper and it seems wide open as if you really could fly off it.

This is also one of the few bridges I know of that has a drive over service if you can’t do it yourself.  According to the Delaware River and Bay Authority Police their Acrophobia Escort service gets 450 requests a year for escorts. (I think they should add Gephyrophobia to the name. It might make me feel better as I can’t yet admit to the possibility that I’m afraid of heights though my experience ziplining makes me think I’m not >>>.)

Only 23 miles of the 1,920 mile long Route 95 are in Delaware, which is also the second smallest state.  Rhode Island being the smallest.  Except for 2 crossings over the Christina River, one I’ve made many times and didn’t even know it and the other looks to be a flat and nothing to worry about either and before you know it I’m in Pennsylvania.

 

Trip Summary

Delaware  Miles: 23

Total Miles Covered:   1183

Uncrossable Bridges:  3

Fuller Warren Bridge, Jacksonville, FL

Francis Scott Key Bridge, Baltimore, MD

Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge, Port Deposit, MD

Questionably Uncrossable: 1

Woodrow Wilson Bridge, VA-DC-MD

 States Travelled:  7

States Remaining:    8