Historically, segments of Highway 13 were referred to as Townline, County Line and Howes roads.[4] In 1932, the highway was selected as a "second artery" to connect Yale Road to the U.S. border. and was designated an arterial highway.[5] The official title of "Aldergrove-Bellingham Highway" came with the arterial designation.[6]
In regard to the highway's number. The number 13 was assigned around 1953 to the road between the Lynden–Aldergrove Border Crossing and the present day Fraser Highway (former Highway 1A).[2] The designation was pushed north to Highway 401, the new freeway alignment of the Trans-Canada Highway, by 1965.[7][8]
The southern section of the highway near the U.S. border crossing was widened from 2018 to 2020 at a cost of $25.5 million, with funding from the provincial and national governments. The widened highway features two northbound lanes and three southbound lanes for trucks, NEXUS users, and other vehicles.[9]
^ abLandmark Kilometre Inventory(PDF). British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (Report). Cypher Consulting. July 2016. p. 217. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 11, 2017.
^ abH.M. Gousha Company, Shell Corporation (1953). Shell Map of British Columbia and Western Canada (Map). Shell Maps. Cartography by H.M. Gousha. Shell Corporation. § Vancouver Inset.