Virginia State Route 143

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For former State Routes numbered 143, see State Route 143 (Virginia 1923-1928) and State Route 143 (Virginia 1933-1942).

State Route 143

Length:

35 mi^{[citation needed]} (56 km)

Formed:

mid-1940s

West end:

I-64 at Camp Peary

Major
junctions:

SR 5 in Williamsburg

SR 238 near Lee Hall

US 258 in Newport News

I-64 in Hampton

East end:

US 258 on Fort Monroe

Virginia Routes
< SR 142		SR 144 >
Primary - Secondary - History

State Route 143 is a primary state highway in the Virginia Peninsula region of Hampton Roads, Virginia, United States. It runs from a junction with Interstate 64 (exit 238) near Camp Peary in York County to U.S. Route 258 on Fort Monroe in the Phoebus area of the independent city of Hampton.

Route 143 very generally parallels Interstate 64 from Williamsburg to the Chesapeake Bay. Known through much of York County as Merrimac Trail, for a large portion of the highway in the independent city of Newport News, the roadway is known as Jefferson Avenue, and it intersects Interstate 64 again near the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (exit 255).

Most of the current Route 143 was formerly part of State Route 168, which was built with state funds after World War II before creation of the Interstate Highway System. In the Peninsula area, Route 168 provided much-needed relief for older, heavily traveled U.S. Route 60.

In Newport News, from downtown on westward to just past Denbigh Blvd, Jefferson Avenue is a 6-lane road divided by a median. From that point, the road narrows to a 4-lane road all the way until it intersects with Second St. in Williamsburg. There, Merrimac Trail goes off to the right as a 2-lane road. When it meets with the beginning of State Route 5, the road is four lanes wide to its intersection with Interstate 64 and the entrance to Camp Peary.