Virginia State Route 76 (1933-1970)

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State Route 76
Existed:	1933 – 1970
Virginia Routes Primary - Secondary - History - Turnpikes

State Route 76 was a primary state highway in Washington County, Virginia, United States and the independent city of Bristol. It ran northeast from downtown Bristol on King Mill Pike and Old Airport Road to a junction with U.S. Route 11/U.S. Route 19 south of Wallace. The former SR 76 now lies entirely within the Bristol city limits and is locally maintained.^[1]

SR 76 was added to the state highway system in 1928 and 1934 (for 3.24 mi/5.21 km and the remaining 0.76 mi/1.22 km respectively); it was numbered State Route 109 before 1933.^[2][3] The piece inside Bristol was added as a locally-maintained extension in 1932, beginning at State Street and Front Street (now Randall Street) and running along Front Street, Mary Street, Goodson Street, Danville Avenue, Fairview Street, and Massachusetts Avenue to the city line east of Montpelier Avenue.^[4][5]

Goodson Street between State Street and Mary Street was reconstructed in the late 1930s,^[6] and, once that project was completed, SR 76 was rerouted to use it, beginning at State and Goodson. (State was U.S. Route 421 there, turning south at that intersection onto Pennsylvania Avenue.) The former alignment on Front Street was removed from the state highway system, but the Mary Street piece, and its extension west to Oakview Avenue (U.S. Route 11/U.S. Route 19/U.S. Route 58, now State Route 113), became State Route 76Y.^[7] (SR 76 may have continued west on State Street to downtown; it did so by 1952.^[8])

In 1966, the piece of SR 76 inside Bristol was removed from the state highway system, as part of the reconfiguration brought about by Euclid Avenue. Former SR 76 on Goodson Street south of Mary Street, as well as all of SR 76Y (Mary Street from Goodson Street west to Oakview Avenue), became a part of a realigned U.S. Route 421, while the rest of SR 76 to the city limits (near East Valley Drive) was removed entirely.^[9] The remaining three miles (5 km) of SR 76 were downgraded to secondary State Route 895 in 1970 at the request of Washington County;^[10] SR 895 itself was later swallowed up by the expanding city limits of Bristol.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} 2005 Virginia Department of Transportation Jurisdiction Report - Daily Traffic Volume Estimates - Washington CountyPDF (356 KiB)
2. ^ Minutes of the Meeting of the State Highway Commission of Virginia, Held Richmond, Virginia, August 9th and 10th, 1928PDF, page 13
3. ^ Minutes of the Meeting of the State Highway Commission of Virginia, Held in Richmond, September 19, 1934PDF
4. ^ Minutes of the Meeting of the State Highway Commission of Virginia, Held in Richmond, July 19, 1932PDF, page 8
5. ^ Map of Washington County, revised July 1, 1936
6. ^ Minutes of the Meeting of the State Highway Commission of Virginia, Held in Richmond, May 27, 1937PDF, page 5
7. ^ Virginia Highways Project: VA 76
8. ^ Minutes of the Meeting of the State Highway Commission of Virginia, Held in Roanoke and Richmond, May 4-7, 1952PDF, page 18
9. ^ Minutes of Meeting of State Highway Commission, Richmond, Virginia, December 15, 1966PDF, pages 17-19
10. ^ Minutes of Meeting of State Highway Commission, Natural Bridge, Virginia, April 23, 1970PDF, page 17