Any DE state route number that does not fit the grid (aligned the same as the US Highway system: odds N-S with 1 to the east, evens E-W with 2 to the north) borrows its number from another state; 273 is from Maryland, and fits with the other MD 27x routes in the northeast corner of the state.


The only photo on this page not from DE 273, but it is on Business DE 2. I bet with a little more thought, this could have been arranged much better.


DE 273/Bus. 2 westbound at the former 896, S. College Ave. DE 896 now uses part of the DE 2 Newark bypass, west to old 2/current Bus. 2, then north to the intersection of the roads on this sign. No part of old 896 is now signed, but this sign certainly dates from when it was.


Two different problems here, on S. College Ave. NB (old 896, remember?). In the first two photos, Business DE 2 is being signed as regular DE 2, and then in the last photo, DE 896 is signed as if it's coming off of College Ave. (to dispel that rumor, the 2 and 273 shields should also be here). Actually, both directions of 896 can be reached to the left, although DE 896 South can also be reached via U-turn. Ahead, and behind, and around, is the University of Delaware.


NJ 273 EB... no. And the TOLL should be yellow, but given my exacting standards, I can't find much else to conclusively fault (I find a lot to sort of point at, though, like the non-centered arrows). Oh, and the corners on the signs are rounded differently, and the spacing of the letters in the directions is different...

7!
Eastbound. Why isn't DE 7 signed to also go north of here, and why is there no US 13 shield?


Eastbound; the holes are for the wind (and the caption is recycled). US 40 should have been represented in the junction signage, and should be an old shield to match the 13 because I say so.


2-digit width shield on Chestnut St. at DE 9, courtesy Lou Corsaro. South DE 9 used to go left, but now follows 273 onto DE 141 to bypass New Castle. Inexplicably, although 141 was terminated at the realigned 9, 273 continues to end where it has always ended, along a useless duplex.

Onto DE 2
Onto DE 896

Onto I-95
Onto US 13
Onto DE 9
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