Delaware transportation officials are warning motorists to expect major traffic delays during Christmas week at the Newark toll plaza on Interstate 95.

Officials say traffic could back up for miles and take hours to clear because construction has reduced toll lane access and altered traffic patterns.

Travel delays are expected to begin as early as Dec. 23 and last off and on through Jan. 3.

Travelers should consider using alternative routes and alternative modes of travel, or traveling during hours with lower traffic volumes.

Similar delays were experienced during the Thanksgiving holiday.

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The Delaware River is one of the biggest rivers on the Atlantic, flowing about 410 miles from the Catskill Mountains in southeast New York through New Jersey down to Delaware Bay. The river is popular for fishing and other recreational uses, such as canoeing, tubing and kayaking. It is a National Scenic and Recreational River, protected by the National Park Service. Several tour operators offer kayak tours down the Delaware River, some with guides.

Adventure Sports Canoe & Raft trips offers unguided Delaware River kayak tours in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. This part of the river has several islands and beaches. Kayak tours range in length from two hours to multi-day camping tours; rates include kayaks (or canoes or rafts) life jackets, paddles and river maps, as well as shuttle transportation. The company also will help with trip planning and orientation. One- or two-person kayak rental rates, as of April 2010, are $44 per person per day, for groups of up to nine people. For larger groups, the rate drops to as low as $33 per person (groups of 20 or more). For multi-day tours, guests use primitive National Park Service riverside or island campsites. They have fire rings and, in some cases, outhouses. These trips range in length from 14 miles to more than 40 miles. Adventure Sports Canoe & Raft Trips Route 209, Box 175 Marshalls Creek, PA 18335 800-487-2628 adventuresport.com

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Today the State House has been restored, having served as a gymnasium, restaurant and other sundry uses. Some notable judicial proceedings happened in this courthouse. Around 1800 Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court Samuel Chase presided over a grand jury hearing judging the seditious articles written by a local newspaper. The grand jury could find nothing. But Chase badgered them and held them in contempt until they accused the newspaper editor of sedition. For this star quality behavior and other equally outrageous acts while conducting juris prudence, Chase joins the distinguished company of Andrew Johnson and William Clinton as receiving the accolades of the articles of impeachment. Like Clinton and Johnson, he did not leave office.

Another landmark case featured the most revered Supreme Court Justice Taney, who also handed down the Dred Scott decision. This regarded an operator of the Underground Railroad, who was subsequently found guilty and fined a great deal of money: another nail into the coffin for the Civil War.

The final case held in the Courthouse was one of the most notorious, Delaware vs. Neal. In 1880 a black man was charged in raping a white woman; a capital offense. His lawyer, losing the case in New Castle Court, petitioned the Federal Government to hear the case based on the exclusion of blacks in the jury selection. Even though blacks comprised seventeen percent of Delaware’s population, none ever served on grand or petit jury. The Supreme Court declared a mistrial, and the new one took place at the new courthouse in Wilmington where he was acquitted. Interestingly enough, the jury in that second trial was also all white, but it was the beginning of adding African-Americans to the jury selection process. William Penn was very foresighted in that even in the 1600′s disputes between Native Americans were to be settled by a jury composed equally of Indians and whites.

Today New Castle is a quiet town with cobblestone and brick streets and sidewalks. The town still captures the spirit of Colonial days and the early nation with its row houses, the Green, town market and the square in front of the Courthouse and city hall.

The natural scenery here is a reason in and of itself to visit the state. Places such as the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge located in Milton which was established in 1963, the 15,978 acre Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge located in Smyrna, and the 143 acre Edward H. McCabe Nature Preserve also located in Milton delight visitors year round with their beautiful views and vibrant wildlife. For those to like to enjoy the great outdoors by sitting back and relaxing and soaking up the sun there is place such as Bethany Beach where visitors have a one mile stretch to vacation laid back style.

The state of Delaware also has a rich history that many visitors come to explore every year. Visitors can view military aircraft from past years at the Air Mobility Command Museum located in Dover, or get a glimpse of the hidden treasures of the sea at the Treasure of the Sea Exhibit in Georgetown. Curious tourists who visit the state can visit numerous historical properties including the Hendrickson House Museum which was constructed in 1690 in Pennsylvania but since been moved to Wilmington, The Legislative Hall in Dover, or Mispillion Lighthouse built in 1873 and located in Milford.

Culture is another great reason to visit the state of Delaware. Not only are visitors provided with a number of cultural festivals throughout the year but visitors also have the opportunity to visit such places as Wilmington’s “Little Italy”. Here visitors can stroll through a historic Italian urban neighborhood and shop the quaint shops and dine at one of the areas many fine dining restaurants. The cultural possibilities in Delaware are endless and exciting. Whether you want to find that special piece of art for your home décor or dine in authentic Italian restaurant you are sure to find what you’re looking for in Delaware.

At Dewey Beach you can not miss the chance to stop by The Starboard, voted one of the top twenty five bars in American by Men’s Journal Magazine. The bar features an option to build your own Bloody Mary with over 700 ingredients, all the DJ plays your favorite track or a live band plays the latest hits. The bar is also a great place for people to meet up, as they say, “under the shark”. One of the mini malls features a lot of different places to eat including Dagsworthy Deli, Dairy Queen, Franco’s Pizza, Wings to Go, and Nick’s Philadelphia Steaks and Subs. The bay is a great place to go boating. You can take your jet skis, your wave runners, your water skis, your kneeboard, your float tube, your motorboat, or a fishing pole. If you are on the beach in the early summer months, you should keep an eye out on the ocean side for dolphins, which are commonly seen that time of year. The ocean waters of Dewey beach are crystal clear, and the sand is a beautiful shade of gold.

Another big Delaware attractions is that this state is centrally located to Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia. You can be in Manhattan, N.Y. in 1.5 hours by Amtrak train or 4 hours by driving. Really, when you are in Delaware you are near major cities: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Manhattan, Atlantic City, Ocean City, Hampton, Virginia Beach, and more. That is one of the benefits to this state. People will chose to stay in Delaware and take advantage of it’s location by making trips to other tourist areas. This state is cheaper to live in than its surrounding states. So with that in mind, many people end up moving here into its rural or suburb areas to live and make trips to the surrounding states. This usually gives Delaware residents the best of both worlds due to the low cost of living here. With the low cost of living combined with the tax-free shopping… Delaware has been idea for couples looking to start a family or for people looking to retire to a state that has a low cost of living. You will find the best seafood in any state near Delaware on the east coast, along with some of the best fishing in the United States. Most of the seafood comes in fresh from either the Atlantic Ocean or the Chesapeake Bay. So rather you are looking for a place to take a vacation or a new area to settle down in, Delaware can be the idea place for you!

If you are looking for a truly luxurious yet relaxing and intimate place to stay, try the Inn at Montchanin, located right outside of Wilmington, Delaware. This resort is far more than just a place to stay at night. Montchanin is actually a village that exists as a historical monument to times gone by. The 11 houses and other buildings in the Montchanin Village have been restored and, where needed, recreated to their original forms. These buildings date from between the year 1799 to the year 1910. The entire village was once part of the Winarthur estate.

Another big Delaware attractions is that this state is centrally located to Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia. You can be in Manhattan, N.Y. in 1.5 hours by Amtrak train or 4 hours by driving. You will find the best seafood in any state near Delaware on the east coast, along with some of the best fishing in the United States. Most of the seafood comes in fresh from either the Atlantic Ocean or the Chesapeake Bay. So rather you are looking for a place to take a vacation or a new area to settle down in, Delaware can be the idea place for you!

One major branch of the U.S. Interstate Highway System, Interstate 95, crosses Delaware southwest-to-northeast across New Castle County. In addition to I-95, there are six U.S. highways that serve Delaware: U.S. Route 9, U.S. Route 13, U.S. Route 40, U.S. Route 113, U.S. Route 202, and U.S. Route 301. There are also several state highways that cross the state of Delaware; a few of them include Delaware Route 1, Delaware Route 9, and Delaware Route 404. U.S. 13 and DE Rt. 1 are primary north-south highways connecting Wilmington and Pennsylvania with Maryland, with DE 1 serving as the main route between Wilmington and the Delaware beaches. DE Rt. 9 is a north-south highway connecting Dover and Wilmington via a scenic route along the Delaware Bay. U.S. 40, is a primary east-west route, connecting Maryland with New Jersey. DE Rt. 404 is another primary east-west highway connecting the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland with the Delaware beaches. The state also operates two toll highways, the Delaware Turnpike, which is Interstate 95 between Maryland and New Castle and the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway, which is DE Rt. 1 between Dover and Interstate 95 between Wilmington and Newark.

A bicycle route, Delaware Bicycle Route 1, spans the north-south length of the state from the Maryland border in Fenwick Island to the Pennsylvania border north of Montchanin. It is the first of several signed bike routes planned in Delaware.

Delaware has around 1,450 bridges, of which ninety-five percent are under the supervision of DelDOT. About thirty percent of all Delaware bridges were built prior to 1950 and about sixty percent of the number are included in the National Bridge Inventory. Some bridges not under DelDOT supervision includes the four bridges on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, which is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which is under the bi-state Delaware River and Bay Authority.

The public transportation system, DART First State, was named “Most Outstanding Public Transportation System” in 2003 by the American Public Transportation Association. Coverage of the system is broad within northern New Castle County with close association to major highways in Kent and Sussex Counties. The system includes bus, subsidized passenger rail operated by Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA, subsidized taxi and paratransit modes, the latter consisting of a state-wide door-to-door bus service for the elderly and disabled. Passenger rail service on SEPTA’s R2 Regional Rail line is limited to a single southwest-to-northeast line on the Northeast Corridor in New Castle County serving Claymont, Wilmington, Churchmans Crossing, and Newark.

There are two ferries that opeate in the state of Delaware. The Cape May-Lewes Ferry crosses the mouth of the Delaware Bay between Lewes, Delaware and Cape May, New Jersey. The Woodland Ferry is a cable ferry that crosses the Nanticoke River southwest of Seaford.

Amtrak has two stations in Delaware along the Northeast Corridor; the relatively quiet Newark Rail Station in Newark, and the busier Wilmington Rail Station in Wilmington. The major freight railroad in Delaware is the Class 1 Norfolk Southern, which provides service to most of Delaware. It connects with two shortline railroads, the Delaware Coast Line Railway and the Maryland & Delaware Railroad. These two shortlines serve local customers in Sussex County. Another Class 1 railroad, CSX, passes through northern New Castle County parallel to the Amtrak Northeast Corridor.

Delaware has lacked air service from major carriers since 2000. On June 29, 2006, Atlantic Southeast Airline, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, began two-a-day flights between Atlanta’s Hartsfield International to New Castle Airport.