U.S. Route 13 in Virginia

U.S. Route 13
Route information
	Maintained by VDOT
Length:	129.06 mi (207.70 km)
Existed:	1926 (1918 as SR 4, 1923 as SR 34) – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 13 at North Carolina state line near Somerton
	US 58 in Suffolk; I-464 in Chesapeake; I-64 in Norfolk; US 60 in Virginia Beach; SR 175 near Chincoteague
North end:	US 13 at Maryland state line near New Church
Highway system

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 13 in Virginia. For the entire length of the highway, see U.S. Route 13.

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 the U.S. state of Virginia, US 13 runs north–south through the Hampton Roads and Eastern Shore regions of the state, using the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to get between the two. In the Hampton Roads area, it uses Military Highway to bypass the city centers. It is most usually a four-lane highway, sometimes up to freeway or expressway standards with controlled access.

[edit] Route description

U.S. Route 13 enters the state from North Carolina on a two-lane alignment without shoulders, carrying the name Whaleyville Road. It passes through the small communities of Somerton and Whaleyville, intersecting a few non-state level roads along the way. Just south of Suffolk, the route intersects Virginia State Route 32, merging with it as it passes by Suffolk Municipal Airport. Just north of this intersection, US 13 separates from the roadway at a trumpet interchange and upgrades to a freeway as it prepares to bypass the city on the Southwest Suffolk Bypass. The straight alignment carries the former US 13 as US 13 Business.

Around the west side of the city, US 13 lands on the main Suffolk Bypass, which carries U.S. Route 58, and the two routes begin to travel to the north. As it turns east, the route interchanges with U.S. Route 460 as well, forming a three-route overlap. Around the north side of the city, the bypass interchanges with SR 32 once again before the freeway ends at the former alignment of US 13, still carrying the other two routes. This interchange features several unfinished ghost ramps which aim toward US 13 Business.

US 13, US 58, and US 460 then travel northeast on a six-lane expressway-style highway, carrying the name Portsmouth Boulevard, through forest and slight development until it nears Interstate 664, part of the Hampton Roads Beltway. US 460 leaves the overlap at South Military Highway before the interchange, while US 13 and US 58 continue across, US 13 leaving shortly after to rejoin US 460. The two route bear eastward on Military Highway, interchanging with Interstate 64. A railroad alignment begins to parallel Military Highway, and they then cross a drawbridge, shortly after encountering Virginia State Route 166. Within this interchange, US 460 bears north on SR 166, while US 13 continues on the Military Highway, featuring a diamond interchange with Interstate 464 not too long after. It turns northeast as it passes through the city, with Interstate 64 beginning to parallel the route to the south. US 13 then interchanges I-264 once again, and then US 58. US 13 then leaves Military Highway at a large at-grade intersection, turning east on Northampton Boulevard along with SR 166.

US 13 once again meets Interstate 64 shortly after entering Northampton Boulevard, entering the independent city of Virginia Beach just beyond the interchange. SR 166 leaves at Diamond Springs Road, leaving US 13 to bear north alone toward the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The route bridges the Little Creek Reservoir on a causeway and turns to the north, interchanging with Virginia State Route 225 at a cloverleaf interchange and U.S. Route 60 at a diamond. US 60 is the last exit from US 13 before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel toll plaza, after which point the highway raises over the beach and passes across the 17.4-mile (28.0 km) span over and under the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Along the bridge, the mile markers change to reflect the length of the bridge, not the miles along US 13. The Bridge-Tunnel drops the route on the Delmarva Peninsula's Eastern Shore of Virginia.

On the Eastern Shore, US 13 is the main north–south highway in the region, and carries the name Charles M. Lankford, Jr. Highway (usually shortened to Lankford Highway). The Eastern Shore routing is a divided highway, passing through mostly farmland and small communities, though US 13 does have bypasses of most of the communities, such as Exmore and Onley. Near Oak Hall, Virginia State Route 175 leaves the route to the east, bearing toward Chincoteague. From there, the route curves slightly to the west and passes into Maryland between New Church and Pocomoke City, Maryland.

[edit] History

Salem Methodist Church historical marker near Cheriton, Virginia.

What is now US 13 on the Eastern Shore was added to the state highway system in 1918 as State Route 4. It was renumbered State Route 34 in the 1923 renumbering, and US 13 was applied to its whole length in 1926. SR 34 was dropped in the 1933 renumbering, and was immediately reused on a route through Lawrenceville. That was renumbered to State Route 46 in the 1940 renumbering, and the current State Route 34 was designated in the late 1940s.

[edit] Junction list

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
North Carolina state line
City of Suffolk		0.94	SR 643 – Somerton
		4.75	SR 616 (Mineral Springs Road) – Whaleyville
		8.61	SR 759 west (West Liberty Spring Road)	Begin VA 759 overlap
		9.61	SR 759 east (Babbtown Road) – Babbtown	End of VA 759 overlap
		9.86	SR 647 (Copeland Road)
		11.80	SR 32 (Carolina Road)	Begin VA 32 overlap
		11.91	SR 646 (Old Somerton Road / Airport Road)	To Suffolk Municipal Airport
		13.16	US 13 Bus. / SR 32 (Carolina Road)	Interchange
		15.41	US 58 west / US 58 Bus. (Holland Road)	South end of US 58 overlap
		15.41	South end of freeway
		16.91	SR 604 (Pitchkette Road)
		18.35	US 460 / US 460 Bus. (Pruden Boulevard)	South end of US 460 overlap
		19.23	SR 32 (Godwin Boulevard)
		20.85	SR 642 (Wilroy Road)
		20.85	North end of freeway
		22.53	US 13 Bus. / US 460 Bus. – Downtown Suffolk	Interchange
City of Chesapeake		27.97	US 58 to I-664 – Newport News, Hampton	Interchange; north end of US 58 overlap
		30.97	I-64	Interchange
		32.03	US 17 (George Washington Highway) to I-64
		34.84	US 460 east / SR 166	Interchange; east end of US 460 overlap
		35.64	I-464	Interchange
		36.70	SR 168 (Butterfield Boulevard)	Interchange
City of Virginia Beach		39.39	SR 409 (Providence Road)
City of Virginia Beach		39.82	SR 407 (Indian River Road)
City of Norfolk		41.44	I-264 to I-64 – Downtown Norfolk, Portsmouth, Richmond, Virginia Beach	Interchange
		42.19	US 58 (Virginia Beach Boulevard)	Interchange
		43.51	SR 165 north (Military Highway) / SR 166 west (Princess Anne Road)	US 13 turns onto Northampton Boulevard VA 165 and 166 join US 13
		43.76	SR 165 south (Kempsville Road) to I-64 west	SR 165 leaves concurrency
		44.26	I-64 – Downtown Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton, Richmond	Interchange
City of Virginia Beach		45.44	SR 166 north (Diamond Springs Road)	SR 166 leaves concurrency
		47.32	SR 225 (Independence Boulevard) – Amphib Base	Interchange
		48.20	US 60 (Shore Drive) – Beaches	Interchange
		49.26	Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel over Chesapeake Bay
Northampton	Kiptopeke	49.26	Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel over Chesapeake Bay
	Kiptopeke	69.42	Kiptopeke Drive – Kiptopeke State Park
	Cape Junction	75.53	US 13 Bus. north (Bayside Road) / SR 184 west (Stone Road) – Bayview, Cape Charles
	Cheriton	77.09	US 13 Bus. south (Bayside Road) – Oyster
	Stumptown	80.00	US 13 Bus. north (Courthouse Road) – Eastville
	Eastville	81.30	SR 631 south (Willow Oak Road) – Eastville	Formerly State Route 343, east to the Eastern Shore Railroad. May've been a spur of US 13.
	Kendall Grove	82.11	US 13 Bus. south (Courthouse Road) – Eastville
	Exmore	92.97	US 13 Bus. north (Main Street)
		94.47	SR 183 (Occohannock Neck Road) – Wardtown, Jamesville, Silver Beach
		94.91	SR 178 – Belle Haven
		95.22	US 13 Bus. south (Lincoln Avenue)
Accomack	Onley	105.71	US 13 Bus. north to SR 316	Southern terminus of BUS US 13
	Onley	106.33	SR 179 (Market Street / Main Street) – Onancock
	Accomac	108.14	US 13 Bus. (Tasley Road / Front Street)
	Accomac	110.42	US 13 Bus. south (Front Street)	Northern terminus of BUS US 13
	Metompkin	112.36	SR 176 west (Parksley Road) – Parksley
	Nelsonia	116.66	SR 187 (Nelsonia Road) to SR 316 – Bloxom
	Temperanceville	122.07	SR 695 west (Saxis Road) – Saxis
	Nash Corner	125.38	SR 175 east (Chincoteague Road) – Wallops Island, Chincoteague, Assateague
	New Church	127.56	Horntown Road – Horntown
Maryland state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi