U.S. Route 13

U.S. Route 13
Length:	517.81 mi[1] (833.33 km)
Formed:	1926
South end:	I-95 / I-295 near Fayetteville, NC
Major junctions:	I-40 near Newton Grove, NC US 17 near Williamston, NC I-64 in Norfolk, VA SR 175 near Chincoteague, VA US 50 near Salisbury, MD US 9 near Seaford, DE I-295 / US 40 near Wilmington, DE I-76 / US 30 in Philadelphia, PA I-276 / Penna. Tpk. in Bristol, PA
North end:	US 1 / US 1 Bus. near Morrisville, PA
United States Numbered Highways List – Bannered – Divided – Replaced

U.S. Route 13 is a north-south U.S. highway established in 1926 that runs for 517 miles (832 km) from Interstate 95 just north of Fayetteville, North Carolina to the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Morrisville. In all, it traverses five states in the Atlantic coastal plain region, following the Atlantic coast more closely than does the main north-south U.S. highway of the region, U.S. Route 1. Its routing is largely rural, the notable exceptions being the Hampton Roads area and 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 having 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. The entire route on the Delmarva Peninsula save a few sections in Accomack County, Virginia have been dualized fully with four lanes, and further upgrades continue, such as a freeway section around the east side of Salisbury, Maryland.

Route description

North Carolina

US 13 runs southwest to northeast through the eastern part of North Carolina. It begins at Interstate 95 near Fayetteville as a continuation of the Fayetteville Outer Loop and heads northeast, intersecting U.S. Route 421 in Spivey's Corner and Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 701 in Newton Grove. It then passes through the city of Goldsboro, where it intersects U.S. Route 70 and U.S. Route 117. US 13 continues northeast and shares a brief concurrency with U.S. Route 264 before passing through the city of Greenville. US 13 then heads north from Greenville, following the limited-access U.S. Route 64 east between Bethel and Williamston and U.S. Route 17 north between Williamston and Windsor. US 13 then heads north from Windsor towards the Virginia border.

Virginia

US 13 crosses the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a 17-mile (27 km) long combination facility that connects the South Hampton Roads subregion and the cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake, Virginia, with Virginia's Eastern Shore, which is part of the Delmarva Peninsula. The facility opened in 1964 and was originally two lanes. At that time, the new bridge-tunnel replaced a cross-bay vehicle and passenger ferry service which had been operated by the Virginia Ferry Company.

A major improvement project in the 1990s expanded the approaches and non-tunnel sections to four lanes, retaining the two-lane capacity for each of the two tunnels. That construction has added separated trestle and bridge sections for the over-water-spans to create two lanes in each direction, with the spans merging and diverging at the tunnels. Total vehicle capacity is still limited by the two lane tunnel sections. However, adding the new sections facilitated a repair cycle for those portions subject to wind and weather factors, and reduced the likelihood that a collision with a ship would sever the traffic capacity completely, as did occur in 1970 when a section near the south end was struck by a U.S. Navy attack cargo ship, the USS Yancey. During inclement weather, the Yancey had been anchored in the bay about a mile from the bridge-tunnel. She dragged her anchors in a snowy gale. Driven by the winds that gusted up to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), the ship drifted inexorably toward the span. The collision between the attack cargo ship and the bridge put the later out of service "for at least three weeks." The Navy started up a free shuttle service for commuters that normally utilized the bridge-tunnel, using helicopters and LCUs. Fortunately, there were no vehicles on the bridge, and no one was injured.

Maryland

US 13 passes through the lower Eastern Shore region of Maryland. It runs through Pocomoke City in Worcester County, where it meets the southern terminus of U.S. Route 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 city of Salisbury and the town of Fruitland to the east on the limited-access Salisbury Bypass with the former alignment signed as U.S. Route 13 Business. On the northern part of the bypass, US 13 is concurrent with U.S. Route 50, which bypasses Salisbury to the north. North of Salisbury, US 13 continues to the state line town of Delmar.

Salem Methodist Church historical marker near Cheriton, Virginia.

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 U.S. Route 9 in Laurel and passing through the city of Seaford. It continues into Kent County and heads north towards the state capital of Dover. 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 turnpike. It crosses the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on the St. Georges Bridge. US 13 continues towards Wilmington, sharing a concurrency with U.S. Route 40 in the New Castle area. It bypasses the heart of Wilmington to the east, with U.S. Route 13 Business passing through the downtown area. US 13 parallels Interstate 495 between Wilmington and the Pennsylvania border.

Pennsylvania

Upon entering the state of Pennsylvania from Delaware, US 13 runs along the banks of the Delaware River parallel to Interstate 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 U.S. Route 1), and Frankford Avenue, where it crosses the oldest bridge in the United States. US 13 then enters Bucks County, again closely following I-95 and the Delaware River. It ends at an interchange with US 1 in Falls Township, just west of Morrisville.

History

The intersection of U.S. 13 (Frankford Avenue) and PA 73 (Cottman Avenue) in Northeast Philadelphia.

This section requires expansion.

The original 1925 U.S. highway plan, which never came to fruition, had provision for a U.S. Route 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 1920's, it would not reach North Carolina until the early 1950s.

See also

Related U.S. Routes

• U.S. Route 113
• U.S. Route 213

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: U.S. Route 13

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