Interstate 13 is a major North-South interstate highway in the United States. Interstate 13 runs for about 4,400 miles (7,081.114 kilometers). Making it the longest interstate highway and the longest road in America. Interstate 13 acts as a thruway in America and is often nicknamed The Mother of All American Highways.
Interstate 13 also has an extension that stretches the interstate all the way to North Key Largo. The extension is called the Largo Extension. I-13 passes through the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California.
Interstate 13 follows a route unique to the average Interstate Highway, as it has a wobbly, inconsistent route in comparison to the straight, smooth route that most, if not all interstates follow. Due to this, it is usually called The Messiest Interstate in the US.
Route Description[]
Florida[]
This is part of The Largo Extension.
Interstate 13 begins with CR 905 in Key Largo. It heads towards Homestead and makes its way towards U.S. Route 1 and runs alongside it. It makes exits with U.S. Route 1 periodically. But it also makes other exits such as Interstate 306, FL-826, and a few county and state roads along the way. It moves towards Aventura as it ditches U.S. Route 1 and becomes independent. Interstate 13 now moves independently, making its own exits such as the Golden Glades Interchange and Interstate 495. It runs alongside Interstate 95 soon after. Interstate 13 merges with Interstate 95 and become Interstate 13 x Interstate 95. They stay like this until Vero Beach. In which Interstate 13 moves independently once again towards Orlando. Interstate 13 makes a ton of exits in Orlando. It makes exits with Interstate 31, Interstate 231, Interstate 404, Interstate 4, U.S. Route 501, and more. Interstate 13 moves toward Jacksonville where it exits off more highways. It then moves west towards Tallahassee and is named: "The Capital Highway". It exits off Interstate 10, U.S. Route 27, and others and enters Georgia a couple of miles later.
Georgia[]
This is part of The Largo Extension.
Interstate 13 moves to Columbus and exits off Interstate 185, U.S. Route 280, U.S. Route 27, and U.S. Route 80. It heads towards Atlanta next. But before that, Interstate 13 exits off Interstate 75, Interstate 675, and Interstate 20. In Atlanta, Interstate 13 exits off the same highways again but with more thrown into the mix. Especially Interstate 85 and Interstate 306. It heads towards Savannah as it exits U.S. Route 221, Interstate 20, and others. In Savannah, Interstate 13 heads back north to South Carolina as it crosses its border.
South Carolina[]
This is a part of the Largo Extension.
In South Carolina, Interstate 13 passes through the coast of South Carolina as it turns into an east-west highway in Charleston, South Carolina. It then heads west towards Interstate 95 and Columbia, South Carolina. In Columbia, Interstate 13 has a business route, Interstate 13 Business. It is the only business route to have a full-on freeway. It will be resigned as Interstate 213 in the future. Later, it merges with the town square and Interstate 77, Interstate 20, and others. It heads towards Greenville. When Interstate 13 enters Greenville, It is called "The Main Freeway". It intersects with Interstate 85, Interstate 185, and Interstate 385. Along with others. After this, it enters North Carolina. The actual beginning of Interstate 13 is in Charleston from Interstate 26. However, it was reclassified as a normal exit, not the southern terminus when The Largo Extension was made.
North Carolina[]
The Largo Extension begins/ends here.
In North Carolina, Interstate 13 heads North through Wilmington, Then it heads Northeast to Raleigh where it meets I-40. It heads west to Greensboro and then it continues Northwest to Asheville, then it goes west to Tennessee. Prior to 2026, The Largo Extension used to end at South Carolina.
Tennessee[]
In Tennessee, Interstate 13 heads towards Chattanooga, TN and in said city, It intersects with Interstate 75, Interstate 24, alongside many others. It merges with Interstate 24 and heads towards Nashville. In Nashville, Interstate 13 is called "Broadway Freeway". It heads off from Interstate 24 and intersects with Interstate 65, Interstate 440, and others. It heads Southwest towards Memphis. In Memphis, Interstate 13 merges with Interstate 40, Interstate 240, Interstate 69, and more roads as it heads to Arkansas and crosses the border.
Arkansas[]
In Arkansas, Interstate 13 merges with Interstate 40 and head toward Little Rock. In Little Rock, Interstate 13 separates with Interstate 40 and intersects with Interstate 30, Interstate 430, and others. Interstate 13 runs alongside Interstate 30 towards Texarkana and in said city, Interstate 13 moves independently towards the Oklahoma - Arkansas border.
Oklahoma[]
I-13 heads to Elk City, Then continuing to Oklahoma City. Then it goes to Del City, Then It Continues To Midwest City. It Then Heads All The Way To Texas.
Texas[]
In Texas, Interstate 13 heads towards Dallas and Ft. Worth. In the remainder of Texarkana, Interstate 13 intersects with Interstate 301. After that, it heads south towards Houston and Interstate 10 as well. In Houston, Interstate 13 merges with Interstate 10 to head towards San Antonio. In San Antonio, Interstate 13 separates with Interstate 10 and makes a new auxiliary route for Interstate 13, Interstate 713, which connects San Antonio with Fort Worth. Later, Interstate 13 enters the deserted area and soon after, El Paso. But before that, Interstate 13 heads right next to the Mexican Border and Rio Grande. It later enters El Paso. Where it intersects with Interstate 10 and soon runs alongside it towards the New Mexico Border.
This is the longest part of the Interstate as it spans for around 1,130 miles, the longest an interstate has traveled a single state in the United States.
New Mexico[]
In New Mexico, Interstate 13 moves independently towards Las Cruces. It intersects with Interstate 25 and swarms through the Gila National Forest towards Arizona.
Arizona[]
Arizona is pretty barren. It only swerves through the Gila National Forest as it enters Nevada shortly after.
Nevada[]
In Nevada, Interstate 13 follows the route U.S. Route 95 takes and turns north towards Las Vegas. In Las Vegas, Interstate 13 is called "The Casino Freeway". It swerves through the city and exits off Interstate 515, Interstate 15, Interstate 215, and others. After that, it swerves northwest towards California.
California[]
In California, Interstate 13 heads towards San Jose and San Francisco later on. The interstate highway ends on the Presidio Parkway in San Francisco, CA.
Trivia[]
- Interstate 13 is the 5th longest highway in the world, which is also longer than the entire Trans-Canada Highway System.
- Interstate 13 was going to be much shorter. (From Charleston, S.C. to Memphis, TN.)
- Due to the number 13 apparently meaning "bad luck" to most Americans, drivers opt to take different routes, which explains why I-13, despite it being a major Interstate, serves little to no traffic.
- The United States Turnpike originally resided with I-13 but was removed in 2045 due to those toll booths being an annoyance throughout those ~4,400 miles. With each toll both being 40 miles apart, that'd equal to about 110 toll booths throughout!