 In 1983 , studies began for a " Relief Route " of US 13 between Dover and Wilmington . The new highway was proposed in order to relieve US 13 of traffic heading to the Delaware Beaches in the summer . The Relief Route for US 13 was planned as a toll road in order to help pay for the cost of the construction of the highway . Prior to the beginning of construction , an archaeological survey was conducted along the proposed route of the freeway in 1986 . The same year , plans were unveiled for the route , which would begin at US 113 south of Dover and head north to US 13 in Tybouts Corner . The Relief Route would cross US 13 several times , passing to the east of Dover and Smyrna and to the west of Odessa . The section of DE 1 between Tybouts Corner and Christiana had originally been planned as relief route for DE 7 , a two @-@ lane road that connected US 13 to I @-@ 95 that saw a lot of congestion . 
