U.S. Route 1 in Virginia
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| U.S. Route 1 |
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| Length: | 198 mi[1] (319 km) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Formed: | 1926 (1918 as SR 1, 1923 as SR 31) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| South end: |  US 1 near Norlina, NC |
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| Major junctions: |
 US 58 in South Hill US 460 in Petersburg US 60 in Richmond US 17 in Fredericksburg |
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| North end: |  I-395/US 1 in Washington, DC |
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U.S. Route 1 in the U.S. state of Virginia runs north-south through South Hill, Petersburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Alexandria on its way from North Carolina to the 14th Street Bridge into the District of Columbia. It is completely paralleled by Interstate Highways in Virginia - Interstate 85 south of Petersburg, Interstate 95 north to Alexandria, and Interstate 395 into the District - and now serves mainly local traffic. At its north end, on the approach to the 14th Street Bridge, US 1 is concurrent with I-395; the rest of US 1 is on surface roads.
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[edit] Route description
From the North Carolina state line to Petersburg, US 1 parallels Interstate 85 and is partly known as Boydton Plank Road. From Petersburg northward, US 1 parallels Interstate 95 and is known in most places as the Jefferson Davis Highway. In Richmond, Route 1 changes from Jefferson Davis Highway to Cowardin Avenue to Belvedere Street to Chamberlayne Avenue and finally Brook Road. There is a portion of Route 1 that changes names to Richmond Highway along portions north of Dale City and ending at the Capital Beltway at Alexandria, becoming Henry/Patrick streets, then changing back to Jefferson Davis Highway beside the high-rise Crystal City office complex in Arlington. In the city of Fredericksburg, between Richmond and the District of Columbia, it borders the western edge of the University of Mary Washington campus. Just before entering the District of Columbia, it runs along the Southwest Freeway at the 14th Street Bridge.
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[edit] History
What is now US 1 was added to the state highway system in 1918 as State Route 1, following the older Jefferson Davis Highway. It was renumbered State Route 31 in the 1923 renumbering, and US 1 was applied to its whole length in 1926. SR 31 was dropped in the 1933 renumbering, and was immediately reused on its current alignment.
Prior to ca. 1924, SR 1/31 crossed the North Carolina state line with State Route 2/State Route 32 south of Clarksville on present U.S. Route 15. On the North Carolina side, it was North Carolina Highway 75. From Clarksville it ran east on present U.S. Route 58 to near South Hill.[2] The route continued east from South Hill to Edgerton on present US 58 and north to near McKenney on present State Route 712 until about the same time.[3] This alignment was defined as the Jefferson Davis Highway on March 17, 1922.[4]
By 1925, SR 31 was moved to the current alignment of US 1 south of McKenney[2] (previously State Route 122 south of South Hill[3] and State Route 314 north of South Hill[5]), but the Jefferson Davis Highway did not follow. This took SR 31 to the border at what was then North Carolina Highway 50. The old alignment remained State Route 32 south of Clarksville and State Route 12 from Boydton to Edgerton, and became State Route 201 from Clarksville to Boydton and a new State Route 122 from Edgerton to near McKenney.[2]
The preliminary plan for United States Numbered Highways was drawn up in 1925, and all of SR 31 was assigned US 1. The former SR 31 west and south from near South Hill into North Carolina became U.S. Route 401.[6] In late 1926, the final plan was adopted, and all of US 401 was renumbered to U.S. Route 15.[7] However, by April 1927, US 15 had been extended north from Clarksville, and the short piece from Clarksville to near South Hill was again U.S. Route 401.[8]
[edit] See also
- Spurs of US 1 in Virginia
- U.S. Route 301
- The 1925 plan for U.S. Route 301 became part of U.S. Route 17 in 1926.
- U.S. Route 401 (now part of U.S. Route 58)
- The 1925 plan for U.S. Route 401 became part of U.S. Route 15 in 1926.
- U.S. Route 501
- Spurs of State Route 31 between 1923 and 1928[9]
- State Route 311, Ashland east and north to Corbin, now State Route 54 and State Route 2
- State Route 3111, short spur from SR 311 east to Hanover
- State Route 312, Gum Tree west, north and northeast to Four Mile Fork, now State Route 738 and part of State Route 208
- State Route 313, Chimney Corner west to Chesterfield, now State Route 145
- State Route 314, South Hill northeast towards McKenney, now U.S. Route 1; later a short spur south to Mt. Vernon, now part of State Route 235
- State Route 315, Woodbridge north to Occoquan, now State Route 906
- State Route 316, Chester east towards Hopewell, now part of State Route 10
[edit] References
- ^ American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, United States Numbered Highways, 1989 Edition
- ^ a b c Virginia Highways Project: VA 31
- ^ a b Virginia Highways Project: VA 122
- ^ Virginia Route Index, revised July 1, 2003 (PDF)
- ^ Virginia Highways Project: VA 314
- ^ Report of Joint Board on Interstate Highways, October 30, 1925
- ^ United States System of Highways, November 11, 1926
- ^ United States Numbered Highways, American Highways, April 1927
- ^ Virginia Highways Project: VA 301 to 320
| U.S. Route 1 |
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| Previous state: North Carolina |
Virginia | Next state: District of Columbia |
| < SR 30 | Two‑digit State Routes 1923-1933 |
SR 32 > |
