JFK at Dedication of Maryland-Delaware Turnpike/I-95
Photo courtesy of Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware
I-95 Under Construction
Photo courtesy of Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware
Around that same time, Joseph Frederick added a new truck to his fleet for his rapidly growing business.
On November 14, 1963, President John F. Kennedy dedicated the Delaware-Maryland Turnpike, the first completed section of I-95. The ribbon-cutting event for the 59-mile strip of highway would be Kennedy's last appearance at a public works project, prior to his assassination eight days later. Delaware officials appearing with Kennedy were Governor Elbert N. Carvel and Representative Harris McDowell.
Maryland renamed the expressway the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway on April 7, 1964. On November 22, 1964, one year after the assassination, 49 motorists each received a rose as they passed through the Kennedy Highway toll plaza in honor of the late President who would have been 49 years old that year.
Kennedy's speech also was recorded by WDEL radio, and that tape was discovered in 2006 at the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT). DelDOT combined the audiotape with still pictures from the day to create a video that is now available at the DelDOT's Interstate Highway System - 50th Anniversary Website.
To read Kennedy's complete remarks from the dedication ceremony, Click Here. More than 6.1 million vehicles traveled through the memorial highway's toll plaza in its first full year of operation. Today, more than 30 million vehicles pass through the plaza annually.
The three Interstate routes in Delaware, I-95, I-295, and I-495, comprise a total of 40.61 miles. Nationwide, I-95 stretches for a total of 1,919.74 miles through 15 states and the District of Columbia. Delaware proudly claims 23.43 of those miles. Delaware's portion of I-295 is 5.71 miles long, while the state's portion of I-495 runs 11.47 miles.