 71 heads north on Summit Bridge Road, leaving Middletown. The road runs a short distance to the west of the Delmarva Central Railroad line as it continues through farmland with some scattered residential and commercial development. DE 71 comes to an interchange with the US 301 toll road, where it widens to a four-lane divided highway as it intersects the ramp before it briefly gains a center left-turn lane. The route becomes a divided highway again as it passes under US 301 before it narrows back to a two-lane undivided road. In Mount Pleasant, DE 896 joins DE 71 in a concurrency and the road widens to a four-lane divided highway. The road heads between the Summit Airport to the west and housing developments to the east. DE 71/DE 896 heads to the northwest through farm fields before turning to the west and passing a residential subdivision to the south. In the unincorporated community of Summit Bridge, the road intersects the northern terminus of DE 15. Past this intersection, DE 71/DE 896 turns north and crosses over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal and the Michael N. Castle Trail on the north bank of the canal on the Summit Bridge, a cantilever truss bridge.