Upon leaving Port Penn, DE 9 heads through marshland with some fields and woods within the Augustine Wildlife Area. The route rises onto the Reedy Point Bridge, a cantilever truss bridge which carries it over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. After heading over the canal, the road crosses over Fort DuPont State Park, curving northwest and passing to the southwest of Fort DuPont and the Governor Bacon Health Center. DE 9 continues into the city of Delaware City and becomes 5th Street, crossing the Delaware City Channel on a bridge before intersecting the eastern terminus of the Michael N. Castle Trail. Past the bridge, the road heads through residential areas of the city and intersects Clinton Street, which leads northeast to the Forts Ferry Crossing which provides access to Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island, part of Fort Delaware State Park.