U.S. Route 13 (US 13) is a north–south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for from

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

(I-95) just north of

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...

to US 1 in the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville. In all, it traverses five states in the

Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

region. It follows the Atlantic coast more closely than does the main north–south U.S. highway of the region, US 1. Due to this, its number is out of place on the general U.S. Route numbering grid, as it should be running east of US 15 but does not. Its routing is largely rural, the notable exceptions being the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

area in Virginia and the northern end of the highway in Delaware and Pennsylvania. It is also notable for being the main thoroughfare for the Delmarva Peninsula and carrying the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel to it in Virginia. US 13's original plan in 1926 had the route serve no further south than the Delmarva Peninsula. However, it has been extended many times, connecting to the mainland via ferry service and eventually reaching North Carolina. This link across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay became fixed in 1964 with a bridge-tunnel. The entire route on the Delmarva peninsula, except for a few sections in Accomack County, Virginia, has been dualized fully with four lanes, and further upgrades continue, such as a freeway section around the east side of Salisbury, Maryland.

Route description

, - , NC , 185.52 , 298.57 , - , VA , 137.45 , 221.20 , - , MD , 42.01 , 67.60 , - , DE , 103.33 , 166.29 , - , PA , 49.50 , 79.66 , - , Total , 517.81 , 833.33

North Carolina

US 13 runs southwest to northeast through the eastern part of North Carolina. It begins at I-95 near Fayetteville as a continuation of I-295 (Fayetteville Outer Loop) and heads northeast, intersecting US 421 in Spivey's Corner and

US 701 U.S. Route 701 (US 701) is an auxiliary route of US 1 in the U.S. states of South Carolina and North Carolina. The U.S. Highway runs from US 17 and US 17 Alternate in Georgetown, South Carolina north to US 301, North Carolina Highway 96 (NC ...

in Newton Grove. It passes over I-40 without an interchange; access is provided via US 701 or NC 50. It then passes through the city of Goldsboro, where it intersects US 70 and

US 117 U.S. Route 117 (US 117) is a north-south United States Highway located completely within the state of North Carolina. A spur route of US 17, the highway runs for from the Port of Wilmington, south of downtown Wilmington, to US ...

. US 13 continues northeast and shares a brief concurrency with US 264 before passing through the city of Greenville. US 13 then heads north from Greenville, following the limited-access US 64 east between

Bethel Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...

and Williamston and US 17 north between Williamston and Windsor. US 13 then heads north from Windsor towards Ahoskie and intersects with NC 11. It then crosses US 158 in Gates before crossing the state line with Virginia.

Virginia

US 13 continues north, expanding to four lanes near

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

and diverges onto the Suffolk Bypass where it joins

US 58 U.S. Route 58 (US 58) is an east–west U.S. Highway that runs for from U.S. Route 25E just northwest of Harrogate, Tennessee, to U.S. Route 60 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Until 1996, when the Cumberland Gap Tunnel opened, US 58 ran only ...

and US 460. Here, one of the many business routes of US 13 passes straight through the city as the bypass passes the city to the west. It continues through the

area on the Military Highway and continues north to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel, which the route uses to continue across the Chesapeake Bay to the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Here, US 13 is the main north–south route of the region, and connects to most cities and towns with four more business routes forming loops off the highway. North of New Church, US 13 crosses the state border into Maryland.

Maryland

US 13 passes through the lower

Eastern Shore Eastern Shore may refer to: * Eastern Shore (Nova Scotia), a region * Eastern Shore (electoral district), a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia * Eastern Shore of Maryland, a region * Eastern Shore of Virginia, a region * Eastern Shore (Al ...

region of Maryland. It runs through

Pocomoke City Pocomoke City, dubbed "the friendliest town on the Eastern Shore", is a city in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Although renamed in a burst of civic enthusiasm in 1878, the city is regularly referred to by its inhabitants simply as P ...

in Worcester County, where it meets the southern terminus of US 113. It continues north into Somerset County, where it passes through the town of Princess Anne. It then enters Wicomico County, where it bypasses the cities of Salisbury and Fruitland to the east on the limited-access Salisbury Bypass, with the former alignment signed as US 13 Business. On the northeastern part of the bypass, US 13 is concurrent with US 50, which bypasses Salisbury to the north. North of Salisbury, US 13 continues to the state line town of Delmar.

Delaware

US 13 runs through the entire north–south length of Delaware. It enters the state in Delmar and runs through western Sussex County, intersecting the western terminus of

US 9 U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the Northeastern United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection (the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, between ...

in Laurel and passing through the city of Seaford. It continues into Kent County and heads north towards the state capital of

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

. US 13 forms the commercial district of the city of Dover. Between Dover and Wilmington in New Castle County, US 13 is paralleled by the

Delaware Route 1 Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) is the longest numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland state line in Fenwick Island, Sussex County, where the road continues south into that state as Maryland R ...

freeway, portions of which are a toll road. It crosses the

Chesapeake & Delaware Canal The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (C&D Canal) is a -long, -wide and -deep ship canal that connects the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay in the states of Delaware and Maryland in the United States. In the mid‑17th century, mapmaker Augus ...

on the St. Georges Bridge. US 13 continues towards Wilmington, sharing a concurrency with US 40 in the New Castle area. It bypasses the heart of Wilmington to the east, with US 13 Business passing through the downtown area. US 13 parallels I-495 between Wilmington and the Pennsylvania border.

Pennsylvania

Upon entering the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from Delaware, US 13 runs along the banks of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

parallel to I-95 through Delaware County. It then runs a southwest to northeast path through the city of Philadelphia. It traverses West Philadelphia on many one-way pairs and then passes by the Philadelphia Zoo. US 13 then runs through North Philadelphia and Northeast Philadelphia by following Hunting Park Avenue, the Roosevelt Boulevard (which is also US 1), and Frankford Avenue, where it crosses the Pennypack Creek on the oldest bridge in the United States. US 13 then enters Bucks County, again closely following I-95, the Delaware River and US 1. US 13 ends after an interchange with US 1 near Morrisville in Falls Township. The road continues north toward Yardley as Pine Grove Road.

History

US 13 crosses the Pennypack Creek via the Frankford Avenue Bridge, the oldest bridge in the United States, built 1697. The original 1925 U.S. highway plan, which never came to fruition, had provision for a US 13 in North Carolina. It would have started in Wilmington and run at least as far north as Elizabeth City, following what would become US 17. Although US 13 was signed in most northern states by the late 1920s, it would not reach North Carolina until the early 1950s. The route was proposed as one of the first four-laned highways in the United States of America to

Pierre S. du Pont Pierre Samuel du Pont (; January 15, 1870 – April 4, 1954) was an American entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and member of the prominent du Pont family. He was president of DuPont from 1915 to 1919, and served on its board of director ...

by John J. Raskob so as to run from Wilmington, Delaware, to the state capital, Dover. Du Pont wanted a two-laned highway—the standard at the time, but Raskob suggested that with the growth and development of northern Delaware, there would be a future need for a four-laned one. Du Pont agreed and, to honor Raskob for his insight, sought to name the route after him. However, Raskob declined.

Major intersections

;North Carolina : in Eastover : in Eastover : in Spivey's Corner : in Newton Grove : in Mar-Mac. The highways travel concurrently to Goldsboro. : in Goldsboro. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : north of Snow Hill. The highways travel concurrently to south-southwest of Farmville. : in Greenville : north of

. The highways travel concurrently to south-southeast of Williamston. : south of Williamston. The highways travel concurrently to Windsor. : northwest of Winton. The highways travel concurrently to northeast of Winton. ;Virginia : in

. The highways travel concurrently to Chesapeake. : in Suffolk. The highways travel concurrently to Chesapeake. : in Chesapeake. The highways travel concurrently for approximately . : in Chesapeake : in Chesapeake : in Chesapeake : in Norfolk : in Norfolk : in Norfolk : in Virginia Beach ;Maryland : in

: in Salisbury. The highways travel concurrently through the city. ;Delaware : northeast of Laurel : in

State Road A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

. The highways travel concurrently to Wilmington Manor. : in Wilmington Manor : in Wilmington Manor : south of Wilmington : in Claymont ;Pennsylvania : in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

: in Philadelphia : in Philadelphia. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Bristol Township : in Falls Township :Pine Grove Road in Falls Township

References

External links

Endpoints of U.S. Highway 13
{{Authority control 13 Interstate 95