U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a US Highway running from Sarasota, Florida, north to Biddles Corner, Delaware.

In 1971, US 301 was rerouted to head north from Middletown to the community of Summit Bridge, where US 301N was then routed over the Summit Bridge and along the north side of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal while US 301S stayed south of the canal before rejoining US 301N near the Farnhurst terminus.

US 301 was rerouted again in 1985 at Mount Pleasant to follow DE 896 east to Boyds Corner and US 13 north to Farnhurst, eliminating the split routing.

The road passes through a mix of farms and woods, coming to a northbound weigh station.

The route runs through rural areas with some nearby development and DE 299 becomes parallel to the west.

US 301 reaches a mainline toll gantry before it enters the town of Middletown and comes to a diamond interchange with DE 299.

The route leaves Middletown and continues northeast through a mix of farmland and woodland with some development.

The road comes to a dogbone interchange with Connector Road, which leads east to DE 71 north of Middletown and west to a park and ride lot; the interchange features toll gantries on the southbound exit and northbound entrance.

The road has a mainline toll gantry north of the Maryland state line and ramp toll gantries on the southbound exits and northbound entrances at the DE 299, DE 71, and Jamison Corner Road interchanges.

From Tybouts Corner, US 301 continued north concurrent with US 13 to State Road, where it ended at an intersection with US 13, US 40, and the southern terminus of US 202.

[3][14] In 1964, US 301 was extended northeast along US 13/US 40 to an interchange with I-295 in Farnhurst, where US 13/US 202 continued north to Wilmington and US 40 headed east along I-295 towards the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

[15] In 1971, the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO, now the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials or AASHTO) approved realigning US 301 to head north from Middletown to Summit Bridge along DE 71/DE 896, where it would split.

US 301N was realigned to follow DE 896 north to Glasgow and US 40 east from Glasgow to US 13 at State Road while US 301S continued to follow DE 71 from Summit Bridge to Tybouts Corner and US 13 from Tybouts Corner to State Road.

[16][17] In 1983, AASHTO approved for the realignment of US 301 to follow a newly-aligned DE 896 east from Mount Pleasant to Boyds Corner, where it would continue north along US 13 to the I-295/US 40 interchange in Farnhurst; this change was implemented in 1985.

From here, the highway was to follow US 40 northeast to State Road and then run to the east of US 13 in the New Castle area before reaching the bridge approach.

The freeway would bypass Middletown to the west and continue north to Glasgow, where it would head northeast to an interchange with I-95 (Delaware Turnpike).

[29] In 1994, plans resurfaced for capacity improvements to the US 301 corridor, with options for a new freeway, widening the current route, or adding interchanges along DE 896.

[35] In 2008, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approved the selected alternative and allowed for right-of-way acquisition to begin.

[36] Right-of-way acquisition, completing the final design of the freeway, construction contracts, and utility relocations for the project occurred.

[38] A groundbreaking ceremony was held on February 5, 2016, near the Maryland state line, with Governor Jack Markell, FHWA administrator Gregory G. Nadeau, and DelDOT secretary Jennifer Cohan in attendance.

[42] With the opening of the US 301 toll road, restrictions on non-local truck traffic were put into place on the former alignment of US 301.

Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Middletown Mayor Ken Branner in attendance.

DelDOT has been monitoring traffic levels on the former surface alignment of US 301 and DE 896 annually to determine when the spur road will be needed.