Highway 13 is an long two-lane route through the eastern part of Langley, British Columbia. Highway 13 connects

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

state (via

Washington State Route 539 State Route 539 (SR 539, named the Guide Meridian) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway travels through northwestern Whatcom County and connects Interstate 5 (I-5) in Bellingham with Ly ...

) to the central

Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...

Route description

Highway 13 begins at the

Lynden–Aldergrove Border Crossing The Lynden–Aldergrove Border Crossing connects the town of Lynden, Washington and Aldergrove, British Columbia on the Canada–US border. Washington State Route 539 on the American side joins British Columbia Highway 13 on the Canadian side. ...

on the United States border as a continuation of

, which travels south to

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...

. The four-lane

undivided highway A single carriageway (British English) or Undivided highway (American English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road has a s ...

brifely runs northwest before turning onto 264 Street, which it follows due north for through a rural area of the

. Highway 13 then travels through the western outskirts of Aldergrove, a residential area within

Langley Township The Township of Langley is a district municipality immediately east of the City of Surrey in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It extends south from the Fraser River to the Canada–United States border, and west of the City of Abbotsford. ...

, where it intersects the

Fraser Highway Fraser Highway is a major arterial road in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Connecting the cities of Surrey and Abbotsford, the highway formerly constituted a major portion of British Columbia Highway 1A until the latter was decommissi ...

. The highway continues north, passing

Naval Radio Section Aldergrove Naval Radio Section Aldergrove, or NRS Aldergrove, is a Canadian Forces base, Canadian Forces naval radio communications facility located in both Aldergrove, British Columbia, Aldergrove and Matsqui, British Columbia, Matsqui, British Columbia. ...

and the Greater Vancouver Zoo, before reaching its northern terminus at an interchange with Highway 1 (part of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

History

Historically, segments of Highway 13 were referred to as Townline, County Line and Howes roads. In 1932, the highway was selected as a "second artery" to connect

Yale Road The Old Yale Road is a historic early wagon road between New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada and Yale, British Columbia, and servicing the Fraser Valley of the British Columbia Lower Mainland in the late 19th century and into the early 20th. ...

to the U.S. border. and was designated an arterial highway. The official title of "Aldergrove-Bellingham Highway" came with the arterial designation. In regard to the highway's number. The number 13 was assigned around 1953 to the road between the

and the present day

(former Highway 1A). The designation was pushed north to Highway 401, the new freeway alignment of the Trans-Canada Highway, by 1965. The southern section of the highway near the U.S. border crossing was widened from 2018 to 2020 at a cost of $25.5 million, with funding from the provincial and national governments. The widened highway features two northbound lanes and three southbound lanes for trucks,

NEXUS NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and Border control#Expedited border controls, expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members ...

users, and other vehicles.

Major intersections

The entire route is in the

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...

References

External links

Official Numbered Routes in British Columbia
{{BCHighways 013 1958 establishments in British Columbia