| US 13 | |||
| Get started | Winton | ||
| End | New Church | ||
| Length | 138 mi | ||
| Length | 222 km | ||
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According to foodezine, US 13 is a US Highway in the US state of Virginia. The road forms a north-south route through the southeast of the state, running from Winton on the North Carolina border through the Hampton Roads conurbation to the Maryland border at Pocomoke City. The main artwork on the route is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The route is 222 kilometers long.
Travel directions
US 13 on the Delmarva Peninsula.
US 13 in North Carolina comes from Greenville and runs west of a large swamp area. US 13 is initially a simple single carriageway until reaching the town of Suffolk, a satellite town of the Hampton Roads conurbation. Suffolk has a freeway bypass of US 58, but US 13 continues through downtown. US 13 then forms a 2×2 divided highway between Suffolk and Interstate 64 in the west of the city of Chesapeake. US 13 then curves south and east along Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and Norfolk, roughly paralleling I-64 as an urban arterial. The large lifting bridge Gilmerton Bridge crosses the Elizabeth River. US 13 is a major city highway ranging from 2×2 to 2×4 lanes with major intersections and occasional grade separations. The road here forms the Military Highway around Norfolk.
From Norfolk, the road heads east through built-up areas to Chesapeake Bay. This is followed by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a 28-kilometer river crossing consisting of long bridges and two tunnels. US 13 crosses the mouth of Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic Ocean here and then enters the Delmarva Peninsula. US 13 is a 2×2 divided highway on this peninsula. This route is more than 100 kilometers long but does not open up larger places. After the village of New Church, the border with Maryland follows, after which US 13 in Maryland continues to Salisbury.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) is a 37-kilometer-long link connecting the Delmarva Peninsula to Virginia Beach. The bridge crosses the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, and consists of two parallel bridges interrupted by two tunnels. It is a toll road that opened in 1964. From 1995 to 1999, the above water section was widened to 2×2 lanes for $200 million. There are also plans to double the tunnels, but no funds are available yet. The toll is $12 per direction.
History
According to bittranslators, US 13 was one of the original US Highways of 1926. Its southern starting point was Cape Charles, a village on the Delmarva Peninsula, at the time. In 1943, US 13 was extended via a ferry service across the Chesapeake Bay and the route then began in the town of Chesapeake. In 1952 the route was extended further into North Carolina, creating the entire route of US 13 in Virginia.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is open in two phases. The current northbound carriageway opened to traffic on April 15, 1964. On April 19, 1999, the current southbound carriageway opened, since then the connection on the bridges consists of 2×2 lanes. The tunnel is still two lanes with oncoming traffic.
Military Highway
The Military Highway.
The historic Military Highway was the original highway connecting all major cities in the Hampton Roads (also known as Tidewater) region. Due to the importance of the naval base in Norfolk, the 15-mile Military Highway was built from 1943 onwards. The Military Highway was the first multi-lane road in the Tidewater region. The Virginia Beach Boulevard cloverleaf was the first in the state. After the Second World War, a lot of retail settled around the Military Highway because of the high traffic and therefore the many potential customers. In 1970, the Military Circle Mall, Norfolk’s first indoor shopping center, opened. In the 1980s, the Military Highway was reconstructed and further widened to 2×3 and even 2×4 lanes.
Suffolk Bypass
In 1952 the section between Suffolk and Chesapeake was widened to 2×2 lanes. The original Suffolk bypass was only part of US 58. In 2003, the southern portion of the bypass opened to allow US 13 to run all the way around Suffolk, rather than through the city.
Gilmerton Bridge
The Gilmerton Bridge is a large vertical lift bridge on US 13 on the Portsmouth and Chesapeake border. The original bridge was built in 1938 and was replaced by a new, larger lifting bridge between 2009 and 2013. This bridge opened to traffic on November 15, 2013. The bridge has a movable section 250 ft long and 85 ft wide, with space reserved for 2×3 lanes. The height when closed is 35 ft and 85 ft open. The bridge pylons are 207 ft high. The replacement cost $140 million.
Traffic intensities
There are 70,000 vehicles per day around Suffolk. The Military Highway has a maximum of 48,000 vehicles per day. About 8,900 vehicles use the Chesapeake Bay Bridge daily. About 14,000 vehicles drive north of it.
