and Summit Bridge became US 301 in 1971, with US 301N being designated along DE 896 between Summit Bridge and US 40 in Glasgow. The Christiana Parkway around the southern edge of Newark was completed in September 1983. By 1984, DE 896 was realigned to run from Mount Pleasant to US 13 in Boyds Corner along its current alignment. The former alignment south of Middletown became unnumbered at the time but would become part of DE 71 again by 1990. A year later, US 301 was rerouted to follow DE 896 between Mount Pleasant and Boyds Corner, with US 301N being removed from the route between Summit Bridge and Glasgow and US 301 removed from the route between Mount Pleasant and Summit Bridge. In 1988, DE 896 was routed to bypass the University of Delaware campus by heading west along the Christiana Parkway with DE 4 and then northeast on DE 2 before continuing along New London Road. By 1990, DE 2 was routed to follow DE 4 and DE 896 on the Christiana Parkway and DE 2 Bus. was designated along with DE 896 on Elkton Road. In 1992, US 301 was realigned to follow DE 896 between Mount Pleasant and Glasgow. By 1996, DE 896 was rerouted to bypass Glasgow to the east, with the former alignment becoming DE 896 Bus. In 2012, the Newark city council voted in favor of renaming the portion of Elkton Road carrying DE 2 Bus./DE 896 between West Park Place and West Main Street to South Main Street in order to promote businesses along this stretch of road. The change went into effect January 1, 2013. In 2013, the DE 2 and DE 2 Bus. concurrencies were removed from DE 896 in order to simplify the route designations through Newark. The concurrency with US 301 between Mount Pleasant and Glasgow was removed when the US 301 toll road opened on January 10, 2019. There are plans to reconstruct the interchange with I-95 by adding two flyovers and realigning ramps in order to improve safety and congestion at the interchange. The reconstruction project, which is projected to cost $143 million, is planned to begin in 2022. The project received a $57 million grant from the United States Department of Transportation which allowed construction to begin two years earlier than originally planned. Major intersections Special routes DE 896 Business Delaware Route 896 Business (DE