U.S. Route 13 in Delaware

U.S. Route 13
US 13 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by DelDOT and USACE
Length	103.33 mi[1] (166.29 km)
Existed	1926[2]–present
Tourist routes	Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route
Major junctions
South end	US 13 at Maryland border in Delmar
Major intersections	US 9 in Laurel DE 404 in Bridgeville DE 1 Toll in Dover DE 896 in Boyds Corner DE 1 in Tybouts Corner US 40 in State Road US 202 / DE 141 in Wilmington Manor I-295 / US 40 in Wilmington Manor I-495 near Wilmington I-495 in Claymont
North end	US 13 at Pennsylvania border near Claymont
Location
Country	United States
State	Delaware
Counties	Sussex, Kent, New Castle
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Delaware State Route System List Byways
← DE 12 → DE 14

U.S. Route 13 (US 13) is a U.S. highway running from Fayetteville, North Carolina, north to Morrisville, Pennsylvania. In the U.S. state of Delaware, the route runs for 103.33 mi (166.29 km). It traverses the entire north–south length of the state from the Maryland state line in Delmar, Sussex County, north to the Pennsylvania state line in Claymont, New Castle County. US 13 connects many important cities and towns in Delaware, including Seaford, Dover, and Wilmington. The entire length of US 13 in Delaware is a multilane divided highway with the exceptions of the segment through Wilmington and parts of the route in Claymont. Between the Maryland state line and Dover, US 13 serves as one of the main north–south routes across the Delmarva Peninsula. From Dover north to Tybouts Corner, the route is followed by the controlled-access Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) toll road, which crosses the route multiple times and has multiple interchanges with it. US 13 bypasses downtown Wilmington to the east before it heads northeast of the city parallel to Interstate 495 (I-495) and the Delaware River to Claymont. US 13 is the longest numbered highway in the state of Delaware.

The portion of US 13 between Delmar and Dover was constructed as a state highway during the 1920s. Between Dover and Wilmington, the route was built as part of the cross-state DuPont Highway, which was completed in 1923 and improved transportation between northern and southern Delaware. North of Wilmington, what would become US 13 was originally built as the Philadelphia Pike in the 1820s and improved to a state highway by 1920. US 13 was designated through Delaware when the U.S. Highway System was created in 1926. The route was widened into a divided highway between Dover and Wilmington in the 1930s and between Delmar and Dover in the 1950s. US 13 was routed to bypass Dover in the 1950s. In 1970, US 13 was moved to its current alignment between Wilmington and Claymont on a bypass built in the 1930s. The portion of US 13 between Dover and Wilmington saw heavy traffic heading to the Delaware Beaches in the summer, which led to the construction of a freeway "Relief Route" parallel to US 13. This freeway was built as DE 1, which was completed in 2003. The construction of DE 1 necessitated the realignment of US 13 in two places.