page_title: U.S. Route 13 in Delaware
section_title: Widening and improvements
hierarchical_section_title: U.S. Route 13 in Delaware / History / Widening and improvements
caption_attribution_description: Northbound U.S. Route 13 (Dupont Highway) past the intersection with Delaware Route 12 (Main Street/Midstate Road) in Felton, Delaware
context_page_description: U.S. Route 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. It traverses the entire 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 Philadelphia Pike in Claymont. Between the Maryland border and Dover, US 13 serves as one of the main north–south routes across the Delmarva Peninsula. From Dover north to the Wilmington area, the route is followed by the limited-access Delaware Route 1 toll road, which crosses the route several 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 and the Delaware River to Claymont. US 13 is the longest numbered highway in the state of Delaware.
context_section_description: The portion of the DuPont Highway between Dover and Wilmington saw increased traffic from connecting interstate roads and summer travelers, prompting the Delaware State Highway Department (DSHD) to consider widening the highway in 1925. A year later, the department suggested the Philadelphia Pike be widened along with the DuPont Highway between State Road and Wilmington. This proposal included widening the bridge over a Pennsylvania Railroad line (now the Jack A. Markell Trail) in Farnhurst that was built in 1902. US 13 was widened to four lanes between State Road and Wilmington and between Shellpot Park and Bellevue Quarry along the Philadelphia Pike in 1927. The same year, the department recommended expanding the road between St. Georges and State Road into a divided highway. In 1928, the widening of Philadelphia Pike was completed. In 1929, the portion of the highway between St. Georges and State Road was widened into a divided highway. The department recommended widening the part of US 13 between Delmar and Dover in 1930 as it was one of the main routes across the Delmarva Peninsula. In addition, plans began to widen the route into a divided highway between Drawyers Creek north of Odessa and St. Georges. The divided highway portion of US 13 between Drawyers Creek and St. Georges was completed in September 1931. Also, work on widening the route to a divided highway between Fieldsboro and Drawyers Creek and from State Road to Wilmington began. The same year, recommendations began to extend the divided highway portion of US 13 south to Dover.
  In 1932, the portion of US 13 between Felton and Dover was widened. In addition, the divided highway between Reynolds' Corner and Drawyers Creek was completed in September and work began on widening US 13 into a divided highway between Smyrna and Reynolds' Corner. The completion of the divided highway between State Road and Wilmington was slated for summer 1933. This widening project included widening the bridge over the Pennsylvania Railroad in Farnhurst. In 1933, the divided highway portion of US 13 was extended south to Smyrna while the portion between Dover and Smyrna was under contract. The same year, the remainder of US 13 south of Dover was widened. The divided highway portion between Dover and Smyrna was finished on September 22, 1934, marking the completion of widening US 13 between Dover and Wilmington into a divided highway. At the time, US 13 between Dover and Wilmington was the best superhighway and the longest stretch of divided highway in the world.
  In 1937, the narrow crossing of Silver Lake along State Street in Dover was replaced with a new, wider bridge. On July 18, 1938, the grade crossing with the Reading Railroad (now abandoned) and the Pennsylvania Railroad (now Norfolk Southern's Shellpot Secondary) on South Market Street in Wilmington was eliminated with the opening of a bridge over the railroad tracks. On January 10, 1939, the S.S. Waukegan struck and destroyed the bridge carrying US 13 over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in St. Georges, killing the bridge tender. The destruction of the bridge led to detours for US 13 along smaller roads. Plans were made to construct a high-level crossing of the canal. Work on acquiring the right-of-way for the new bridge took place in 1940. Construction of the bridge took place in 1941. The replacement steel truss St. Georges Bridge over the canal opened on January 31, 1942. This bridge was the first four-lane crossing of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.
  In 1950, recommendations were made by the chief engineer of the DSHD to widen US 13 into a divided highway between Delmar and Dover. The divided highway was completed from Hearne's Mill north to just south of Greenwood in 1952. The highway bypassed Bridgeville to the east, rerouting US 13 off Main Street in that town. In 1953, the divided highway portion of US 13 was built around Seaford. The divided highway was completed between the Maryland border in Delmar and Hearne's Mill and from Harrington to Dover in 1954. The new alignment of US 13 between Delmar and Hearne's Mi
caption: US 13 northbound past DE 12 in Felton
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