Interstate 95 (I-95) is an Interstate Highway running along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canada–United States border in Houlton, Maine. In the state of Delaware, the route runs for 23.43 miles (37.71 km) across the Wilmington area in northern New Castle County from the Maryland state line near Newark northeast to the Pennsylvania state line in Claymont. I-95 is the only primary Interstate Highway that enters Delaware, although it also has two auxiliary routes within the state. Between the Maryland state line and Newport, I-95 follows the Delaware Turnpike, a toll road with a mainline toll plaza near the state line. Near Newport, the Interstate has a large interchange with Delaware Route 141 (DE 141) and the southern termini of I-295 and I-495. I-95 becomes the Wilmington Expressway from here to the Pennsylvania state line and heads north through Wilmington concurrent with U.S. Route 202 (US 202). Past Wilmington, I-95 continues northeast to Claymont, where I-495 rejoins the route right before the Pennsylvania state line.

Wilmington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Wilmington was named by Proprietor Thomas Penn after his friend Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, who was prime minister during the reign of George II of Great Britain.