2050 Regional Transportation Plan 2023 Update
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to get around in New Castle County, Delaware or Cecil County, Maryland in the next twenty years? How congested will it be? Will you be able to walk or bike safely, and use public transportation? What types of transportation improvements should be the priority? These are the types of questions that are at the heart of the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) 2023 Update, which was approved by WILMAPCO’s Council on March 12, 2023.
What’s New
July 2025: WILMAPCO, in coordination with DelDOT and New Castle County Land Use developed the Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for New Castle County. Its purpose is to better align the NCC Comprehensive Plan with the goals of the WILMAPCO 2050 Regional Transportation Plan.
- Full Document: 2025 NCC Strategic Action Plan
- SAP Presentation: WILMAPCO Council (May 2025)
What is an RTP?
The Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) is one of our fundamental transportation planning documents. It identifies the region’s long-term transportation needs, and the projects and activities that seek to address them. The RTP extends through at least two decades, and the projects it calls for must be financially reasonable (based on anticipated revenues) and meet air quality standards. Only transportation projects found in the RTP are eligible for federal funding. It is a living Plan, subject to continual revision (at least every four years) and a tool for informed transportation and policy decisions that reflect public views.
What’s new in this version?
Several tweaks to the RTP’s policy section are proposed as part of this update. Given the recent rise in crashes and fatalities, one new action will support the development of a “Vision Zero Plan” for New Castle County. Vision Zero seeks to eliminate all traffic-related deaths and severe injuries, while increasing safety, health, and mobility for all. Increased emphasis in the RTP will also be given to supporting national defense preparedness and data sharing, both in step with fresh federal guidance. And stronger emphasis will be placed on reducing carbon emissions via a new performance target for lower vehicle miles traveled by 2030.
A financial forecast was made to help identify which of the hundreds of possible transportation projects could be pursued through 2050. Some $4.7 billion is expected to be available for transportation projects in New Castle County through 2050 and $172.3 million in Cecil County. While that is a great deal of funding, most of it will go towards the funding of projects identified in the current RTP. We do anticipate some new projects will be pursued, however, through competitive grants and innovative funding sources.
There are more than 100 projects on the draft “fiscally constrained” (or financially reasonable given the forecasted funding) project list in New Castle County and about a dozen in Cecil County. They range in size from a $26,000 effort to make interim traffic improvements at the US 40/DE 7 intersection in 2028 to a $1.2 billion project to widen I-95 through the whole of Cecil County by 2050. Nearly half of the available funding is pinned to major expansion projects, such as this I-95 widening, as well as to capacity along SR 1 and other arterials and major interchanges.
- 2050 Regional Transportation Plan 2023 Update
- Appendix A – Glossary
- Appendix B – Public Opinion Survey
- Appendix C – Public Comments, Responses and Outreach
- Appendix D – 2022 Regional Progress Report
- Appendix E – Financial Analysis
- Appendix F – Demographics
- Appendix G – Air Quality Conformity
- Appendix H – WILMAPCO Prioritization Process
- Appendix I – Congestion Management Systems
- Appendix J – 2018 Inter-Regional Report
- Appendix K – 2019 Transportation Justice Report
- Appendix L – 2020 Public Participation Plan
- Appendix M – Sea Level Rise, Cultural and Natural Resource Impacts
- Appendix N – Transportation Investment Areas
- Appendix O – National Performance Measures
Sign up to stay informed!
Previous Versions
2050 Regional Transportation Plan adopted March 7, 2019 (4.6 MB)
- Appendix A – Glossary
- Appendix B – Public Opinion Survey
- Appendix C – Public Comments, Responses and Outreach
- Appendix D – 2017 Regional Progress Report
- Appendix E – Financial Analysis
- Appendix F – Demographics
- Appendix G – Air Quality Conformity
- Appendix H – WILMAPCO Prioritization Process
- Appendix I – Congestion Management Systems
- Appendix J – 2018 Inter-Regional Report
- Appendix K – 2007 Transportation Justice Report
- Appendix L – 2013 Environmental Justice Report
- Appendix M – 2010 Public Participation Plan
- Appendix N – Sea Level Rise, Cultural and Natural Resource Impacts
- Appendix O – Transportation Investment Area Matri
- Appendix P – National Performance Measures
2040 Regional Transportation Plan adopted April 2015.
- Appendix A – Glossary
- Appendix B – Public Opinion Survey, Comments, Responses and Outreach
- Appendix C – 2014 Regional Progress Report
- Appendix D – Financial Analyses
- Appendix E – Demographics
- Appendix F – Scenario Analyses
- Appendix G – Air Quality Conformity (Cecil County)
- Appendix G – Air Quality Conformity (New Castle County)
- Appendix H – Federal Requirement Checklist
- Appendix I – WILMAPCO Project Prioritization Processes
- Appendix J – 2007 Freight Plan
- Appendix K – 2012 Congestion Management Systems Report
- Appendix L – 2014 New Castle County Intersection Operations Analysis
- Appendix M – 2012 Interregional Report
- Appendix N – 2011 Top Pedestrian Priority Segments
- Appendix O – 2007 Transportation Justice Report
- Appendix P – 2013 Environmental Justice Report
- Appendix Q – 2010 Public Participation Plan
- Appendix R – 2014 Public Participation Plan Evaluation
- Appendix S – 2011 Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Rise Assessment
- Appendix T – Updated Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Analysis & Natural and Cultural Resources
Additional Information
- Prioritization Process – to help analyze the most effective projects to be undertaken