Upon reaching Edgemoor, I-495 runs between the Delaware River to the east and U.S. Route 13 (US 13) to the west, continuing to Claymont.

In Claymont, I-495 turns north and merges into northbound I-95 at an interchange with Delaware Route 92 (DE 92) just south of the Pennsylvania state line.

Plans for a bypass of Wilmington to the east date back to 1948 and were incorporated into the Interstate Highway System in 1956.

I-495 begins at an interchange with I-95/US 202 and I-295 near the town of Newport, heading to the east on a six-lane freeway called the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway.

The route passes over the Jack A. Markell Trail and runs between the Christina River to the north and a landfill to the south prior to reaching an interchange with US 13 and the southern terminus of US 13 Business (US 13 Bus.)

Past this, the highway enters industrial areas and reaches the DE 9A exit near the Port of Wilmington, turning to the northeast.

I-495 comes to a bridge that crosses over Norfolk Southern Railway's New Castle Secondary and Christiana Avenue Industrial Track railroad lines, DE 9A, and the Christina River.

Following this interchange, I-495 crosses over Norfolk Southern Railway's Shellpot Secondary and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor railroad lines before it runs between US 13 and suburban areas to the west and the Northeast Corridor and the Delaware River to the east, passing northwest of Fox Point State Park and crossing Stoney Creek and Perkins Run.

US 13 heads farther west from the freeway and I-495 makes a turn to the north away from the railroad tracks and the river near Claymont station along SEPTA's Wilmington/Newark Line that uses the Northeast Corridor.

The road comes to another exit for US 13 before merging into northbound I-95 at the DE 92 interchange near the former Tri-State Mall and the Pennsylvania state line.

[15] The following year, construction contracts were awarded to build I-495 south of the Christina River and to stabilize the road near Cherry Island.

[4] On June 28, 1978, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved rerouting I-95 along the I-495 alignment.

[26][27] In February 1988, a tanker drove off the Christina River bridge and exploded, with the truck driver killed.