After running through the downtown area, the route becomes East Main Street and heads east through suburban commercial development in the eastern part of Middletown, passing to the north of Middletown High School and becoming Middletown Odessa Road. The roadway heads south of the Christiana Care Middletown Free-standing Emergency Department before it becomes a divided highway, passing south of a park and ride lot and intersecting the DE 1 toll road at a diamond interchange on the eastern border of Middletown.
After traversing through the downtown region, the route shifts to East Main Street and proceeds east through suburban commercial zones in Middletown's eastern sector, bypassing Middletown High School to the north and merging with Middletown Odessa Road. The thoroughfare then heads south of a medical facility before becoming a divided highway, passing near a park-and-ride area and intersecting the DE 1 toll road at an interchange on Middletown's eastern edge.