U.S. Route 13

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U.S. Route 13 marker

U.S. Route 13
Route information
Length: 517.81 mi[1] (833.33 km)
Existed: 1926 – present
Major junctions
South end: I-95 / I-295 near Fayetteville, NC

I-40 near Newton Grove, NC
US 17 near Williamston, NC
US 58 in Suffolk, VA

I-64 in Norfolk, VA
US 113 in Pocomoke City, MD
US 50 near Salisbury, MD
US 9 in Laurel, DE
I-295 / US 40 near Wilmington, DE
I-76 / US 30 in Philadelphia, PA
I-276 / Penna Turnpike in Bristol, PA
North end: US 1 near Morrisville, PA
Highway system

U.S. Route 13 (US 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 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 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[edit]

  mi[1] km
NC 185.52 298.57
VA 137.45 221.20
MD 42.01 67.60
DE 103.33[2] 166.29
PA 49.50 79.66
Total 517.81 833.33

North Carolina[edit]

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 and crosses U.S Route 158 in Gates.


The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel carries US 13 across the Chesapeake Bay

US 13 continues north, expanding to four lanes near Suffolk and diverges onto the Suffolk Bypass where it joins U.S. Route 58 and U.S Route 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 Hampton Roads area on the Military Highway and continues north to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which the route uses to continue 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.


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 northeastern 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.


Beginning of US 9 eastbound from US 13 northbound near Laurel, 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.


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 after an interchange with US 1 in Falls Township, just west of Morrisville.


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

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 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 by John J. Raskob so as to run from Wilmington, Delaware to the State Capital, Dover. Du Pont wanted a two-laned highway—which were standard at the time, but Raskob suggested, with the growth and development of Northern Delaware, there will 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. Du Pont checked with the U.S. registry of highways to see if any routes were named "13" and so named "Route 13" after the number of children John Raskob had. What was considered an "unlucky" number by most, instead honors the man whose idea for this route being four-laned from its very beginning.

Major intersections[edit]

See also[edit]

Auxiliary routes[edit]

Bannered routes[edit]


Browse numbered routes
NC 12 NC NC 14
SR 12 VA SR 13
MD 12 MD MD 14
DE 12 DE DE 14
PA 12 PA PA 14