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100 years of US routes: 1926-2026
Endpoints of
1934-1959
East: Bangor, ME
South: Wilmington, DE
1959-1984
East: Bangor, ME
South: near Wilmington, DE
1984-present
East: Bangor, ME
South: near New Castle, DE
Mileage: in 1989 AASHTO listed a figure of 627 miles for US 202. That closely matches our own 2020 measurement, which yielded 627.3 miles. Want historic mileages? Our handy reference book includes the mileages that were published in all 13 of AASHO/AASHTO's historic route logs (spanning the years 1927 to 1989).
US 202 was commissioned in 1934, and it has served essentially the same endpoints ever since. Along the entire distance, it runs parallel to US 1... yet unlike US 1, US 202 is not signed north-south, at least not in its entirety. It is considered a north-south route in Delaware, and that carries through PA and NJ. But at the New York line it becomes east-west. That carries across into the western part of CT, but north of Avon US 202 is usually (but inconsistently) signed north-south. It remains north-south in MA, but at the NH line it switches back to east-west, and it remains that way to its terminus in Maine:
c. 1939, Rand McNally
In the opinon of US Ends .com, the entire route should be signed north-south. And, as a matter of fact, consider this: the north terminus of US 301 is only 12 miles away from the south end of US 202 near New Castle (and historically the two routes actually shared a common terminus). So what would be really cool is if the US 301 designation overlapped with DE 1/US 13 northward for 12 miles, and then replaced US 202 in its entirety, with signage all along the way being changed to north-south:
Bangor
Anyway, all of that explains why the "north" end of US 202 in Bangor is actually signed as its "east" end. Most maps suggest that US 202 ends at I-395's interchange 2; that is the logical place to terminate the designation, and in about 2024 Maine DoT changed signage to make that official. However, prior to that US 202 actually ended at its junction with US 1A... in other words, it overlapped with I-395 for one mile to the east, but then ended at exit 3. And prior to that, US 202 was signposted into downtown, overlapping US 1A and terminating at its junction with its implied "parent" route (US 2). We will look through all of those endpoints below. In about 2024 this sign was posted along US 202 in Hampden, just before entering Bangor city limits:
GMSV, Aug. 2025
Prior to that, there was no such sign, and the next sign ahead indicated that US 202 continued by following I-395 to the east...
GMSV, Aug. 2022
...but that sign has since been changed such that the reference to US 202 is covered up:
GMSV, Aug. 2025
Just ahead, at the actual interchange, there was formerly another indication that US 202 continued east...
GMSV, Jul. 2023
...but that reference has also been covered up, and a new "End US 202" panel has been installed:
GMSV, Aug. 2025
We will continue that direction (east on I-395), but we will first back up just a bit to view the signs on I-395 at exit 2. Formerly the sign bridge indicated that eastbound US 202 continued ahead...
GMSV, Jul. 2023
...but in about 2024 that reference was removed, and it now indicates that the east beginning of US 202 is at exit 2:
GMSV, Aug. 2025
Continuing ahead, signage formerly indicated that US 202 traffic should exit at the next interchange, but that reference has since been removed:
Buchanan/Nitzman, Jun. 2005
GMSV, Jul. 2023
GMSV, Aug. 2025
If a driver would have exited there, expecting to follow US 202, they would have been perplexed, because beyond there that route was no longer referenced. But historically US 202 traffic was directed north on Main Street, ending at Hammond Street, where it junctioned its parent route (US 2)...
c. 1950, Maine DOT
...so prior to the mid-1980s, US 202 did need to exit there, because the route then continued to the north on Main Street, and it was signposted that way until about 2009 (presumably by the City, not by Maine DOT). Formerly signage on northbound Main at I-395 indicated that westbound US 202 followed westbound I-395, and that eastbound US 202 was ahead on Main:
GMSV, Jun. 2023
GMSV, Aug. 2025
Continuing ahead (north on Main), these photos show the signs that were formerly posted approaching the junction with US 2:
Buchanan/Nitzman, Jun. 2005
Sanderson, Oct. 2004
The reference to US 202 was removed in about 2009, but a "Jct. US 2" sign is still there. US 202 originally ended at the traffic signal in the distance, which carries US 2; the sign at that intersection is enlarged here (and this still remains as of 2025):
Sanderson, Oct. 2004
That sign is a bit underinformative: it referred to eastbound US 2, via State Street. Westbound is to the left via Hammond Street, but it was not mentioned because traffic heading north on Main may not turn that direction. To the right, State is one-way road over a bridge; so westbound US 2 must leave State, turning to the north on Harlow Street, then loop around back south via Central Street (a movement that was not well-signed). Thus westbound US 2 traffic actually approaches this intersection heading south:
Sanderson, Oct. 2004
That was a strange sign too: traffic there is already on westbound US 2, which continues by taking a right on Hammond. To go left on State would be to go the opposite direction (eastbound) on US 2. At any rate, the historic beginning of US 202 was straight ahead on Main. Next is the original beginning as seen from eastbound Hammond:
Sanderson, Oct. 2004
State is straight ahead, but formerly drivers making that right turn onto Main would immediately see the first westbound US 202 confirming marker...
Sanderson, Oct. 2004
...even though, according to MDoT, they were not actually on US 202 yet. Continuing ahead, US 202 traffic was formerly instructed to use I-395 westbound...
GMSV, Jun. 2023
Buchanan/Nitzman, Jun. 2005
GMSV, Jun. 2023
...but there too all references to US 202 have since been removed:
GMSV, Aug. 2025
GMSV, Aug. 2025
These photos were taken from westbound I-395. After US 202 was truncated out of downtown, it was absurd to direct US 202 traffic to exit at this interchange, because US 202 went only one way from here, and that was straight ahead on I-395! All references to US 202 have since been removed:
Kaiser, Jul. 2006
GMSV, May 2019
GMSV, Aug. 2025
The east beginning of US 202 is now about a mile ahead, at exit 2. These next photos show signage at that exit, as well as the first westbound US 202 trailblazer:
GMSV, Aug. 2022
GMSV, Aug. 2025
New Castle
For several years now (and possibly since 1970), as one approaches Wilmington from the north on US 202, there has been an "End" sign at I-95 (interchange 8)...
Nitzman/Field, Oct. 2001
Nitzman/Field, Oct. 2001
Nitzman, Dec. 2016
...but that is not the south end of US 202. Historically US 202 continued straight ahead, ending at various junctions in Wilmington or New Castle. Then from 1970-1984 that actually was the terminus of US 202. Today it is DE state hwy. 202 that begins straight ahead on the Concord Pike. But instead of an "End US 202" sign, there should be a sign routing US 202 traffic to the right on southbound I-95 (that on-ramp is just behind the camera; the "North I-95" sign refers to the cloverleaf ahead, on the far side of the overpass). US 202 is actually routed further south with I-95 about five miles. At exit 5 traffic is directed south on Basin Road; the designation ends just outside New Castle, at its junction with US 13-40, which the state highway map labels "Basin Corner". DelDOT has posted an "End" assembly there, too:
Nitzman, Dec. 2004
Karners, Dec. 2016
That was looking south on Basin Road (US 202) at the Dupont Highway (US 13-40). The "End" assembly has since been removed from the lightpole and posted on a separate pole. These next shots were taken heading north out of downtown New Castle on Basin Road (DE hwy. 141) at its interchange with Dupont. This is the point where the US 202 designation begins; DE 141 is overlapped with it a couple miles straight ahead, to the I-95 interchange:
Nitzman, 2000
Nitzman, Aug. 2004
Karners, Dec. 2016
The sign assembly just barely visible on the overpass is shown close-up here; this was supposed to be the first US 202 sign at its south beginning...
Nitzman, 2000
...but in 2000 the shield types were reversed: a state highway blank was used for US 202, and a US highway blank was used for DE 141. By 2016 that assembly had been changed to reflect the correct designations (and this assembly too has since been moved to its own pole):
Karners, Dec. 2016
And the signage shown here was done correctly:
Nitzman, 2000
That was taken from Dupont Hwy, heading north on US 13/east on US 40. The overpass in the distance is the same one shown in the photos above; it marks the south terminus of US 202. The signage in the distance is shown close-up in these photos:
Nitzman/Field, Mar. 2004
Nitzman, Dec. 2016
Next is a view of the south beginning of US 202, as seen from the opposite direction (southbound US 13/westbound US 40):
Nitzman/Field, Mar. 2004
Research and/or image credits: Eric Bryant; Carter Buchanan; Andy Field; Cameron Kaiser; Karin and Martin Karner; Alex Nitzman; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa
Page originally created 2000;last updated Jan. 7, 2026.
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