U.S. Route 50 in Virginia

U.S. Route 50
Route information
Maintained by VDOT
Length:	86.0 mi[1][2] (138.3 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 50 near Capon Bridge, WV
	SR 37 in Winchester US 17 / US 522 in Winchester I‑81 in Winchester US 340 near Boyce US 15 at Gilberts Corner I‑66 near Fairfax US 29 in Fairfax I‑495 in Annandale
East end:	I‑66 / US 50 in Arlington
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Replaced Virginia Routes Interstate U.S. Primary Secondary Byways History ← SR 49 SR 51 →

U.S. Route 50 (US 50) is a transcontinental highway which stretches from Ocean City, Maryland to West Sacramento, California. In the U.S. state of Virginia, US 50 extends 86 miles (138 km) from the border with Washington DC at a Potomac River crossing at Rosslyn in Arlington County to the West Virginia state line near Gore in Frederick County.

History

U.S. Route 50, also known in modern times for most of its mileage in Virginia as the John Mosby Highway and for a part as the Lee-Jackson Highway, is steeped in history as a travelway. Native Americans first created it as they followed seasonally migrating game from the Potomac River to the Shenandoah Valley. As English colonists expanded westward in the late 17th and 18th centuries, the Indian trail gradually became a more clearly defined roadway. First on horseback, and then in stage coaches and wagons, in colonial times, travelers from the ports of Alexandria and Georgetown (then in Maryland) followed it to Winchester at the lower end of the Shenandoah Valley for trade. Along the way, small settlements sprang up which provided lodging and provisions for travelers and trade centers for local farmers.

During the American Civil War, the roads which became US 50 were an important travelway for troops, and were the site of significant battles and skirmishes. Among these, the Battle of Chantilly, the Battle of Aldie, as well as Arlington National Cemetery were all located close by.

During the 19th century, the Virginia Board of Public Works encouraged and helped finance internal transportation improvements such as canals, turnpikes, and some of the earlier railroads. In 1806, the Little River Turnpike opened 34 miles (55 km) of macadamized "paved" road from Alexandria to Aldie and the Aldie and Ashby's Gap Turnpike was formed in 1810 to operate a toll road westward to the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains at Ashby's Gap. The Winchester and Berry's Ferry Turnpike extended from the Ashby's Gap to Winchester.

In 1922, these three privately owned turnpikes were taken over by the Commonwealth of Virginia and became State Route 36. Then in November 1926 the route became part of US Route 50 as designated in the United States Numbered Highway System. At Winchester, the northern end of the Valley Pike, another historic trail, turnpike and toll road pathway steeped in history, intersected US 50 and several other important older roads. (The Valley Pike ran up the Shenandoah Valley southward and was operated in its later years by future Virginia governor and U.S. Senator Harry Flood Byrd before it too was acquired by the state and became U.S. Route 11).

US Route 50 was one of the major east–west transcontinental highways in the grid system of the lower 48 states planned in the 1920s as a successor to the National Auto Trails System. It extended from San Francisco, California to Annapolis, Maryland (later extended to Ocean City, Maryland). Route 50 crosses Virginia near the state's northern borders with Maryland and West Virginia. The east–west major routes in the 1920s national grid system were those with two digit numbers ending with a zero (i.e. US 10, US 20, etc.). Virginia's other east–west highway of this type is US 60, which extends in modern times from Virginia Beach across the middle section of the state to exit west of Covington.

Route description

The eastern two-thirds of US 50 in Virginia is substantially paralleled by Interstate 66, although the newer highway gradually diverges to the south to Front Royal and meets Interstate 81 at Strasburg, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Winchester, where US 50 meets I-81.

Frederick County and Winchester

U.S. Route 50 enters the state from the West Virginia border, descending from the Appalachian Mountains in Frederick County, the most northwestern Virginia county, and carrying the name of Northwest Turnpike. It is on a winding, two lane road until it passes the former lumbering town of Gore, at which point it widens to a four-lane highway. It eventually crosses State Route 37 and enters the independent city of Winchester.

Winchester was long the transportation hub of the lower Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Today, US 50 meets Interstate 81 there, as well as US 11, US 522, and State Route 7. U.S. Route 17 joins US 50 here from its national northern terminus as the route exits the city to the east and crosses the Shenandoah River.

Paris, Ashby Gap, Clarke County

After crossing the Shenandoah River, the divided four-laned roadway which serves as combined U.S. Routes 17 and 50 ascends into Clarke County and crosses US 340 close to Boyce <Google Maps,State of Va.>, a few miles south of Berryville, the county seat.

Just west of Paris, the highway crosses a ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains at a place known as Ashby Gap. Named for Thomas Ashby, this wind gap was a strategic point for both sides in the American Civil War because whichever side controlled the Gap also controlled access to the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley from the east. In those days before modern communications, Ashbys Gap was also an important location for the military Signal Corps to send and receive visual communications. A few miles west of Upperville, U.S. Route 17 finally separates from US 50 at Paris

View east along US 50 in Loudoun County

Fauquier and Loudoun counties

View east along U.S. Route 50 from VA 28 in Chantilly

West of Fairfax County, US 50 in Virginia is generally known as the John Mosby Highway. During the American Civil War, Colonel John Singleton Mosby was a Confederate partisan who operated with great success in this region, gaining status as a local folk-hero. The roadway reaches the Town of Upperville, straddles a county line and dipping into Loudoun County along the way. It then passes into the northern edge of Fauquier County.

In Loudoun County, the highway passes across the southeastern portion through the Town of Middleburg, and the communities of Aldie (birthplace of Stonewall Jackson's mother, Julia Beckwith Neale), Gilberts Corner, Arcola, and South Riding. Starting in Aldie, the highway becomes a 17-mile straightaway until it intersects U.S. 29 in Fairfax City.

Fairfax County, City of Fairfax, Arlington County

Continuing east from the border with Loudoun County, US 50 travels along the historic Little River Turnpike route; west of the City of Fairfax it is designated and signed Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway. It passes by the southern edge of Washington Dulles International Airport and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center and through the communities of Chantilly and Fair Oaks. US 50 passes through the independent city of Fairfax as Fairfax Boulevard (a new designation, concurrent with the old names Main Street, Lee Highway, and Arlington Boulevard). In Arlington, it serves as the dividing line for addresses in the county. Known in Arlington County and in eastern Fairfax County as Arlington Boulevard, the roadway travels roughly across the center of both counties. Finally, the route passes near Rosslyn, a high-density business area of Arlington on its trek toward the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, where it exits Virginia and passes into Washington, D.C. concurrent with Interstate 66.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Frederick	​	0.00	0.00	US 50 west – Romney	Continuation into West Virginia
	​			SR 259 south (Carpers Pike) – Wardensville	Northern terminus of SR 259
	Hayfield			SR 600 (Hayfield Road) – Gainesboro, Mountain Falls
	​			SR 608 (Wardensville Grade) – Mount Williams
	​	14.39	23.16	SR 37 to I‑81 / US 11 / US 522 north – Martinsburg, Berkeley Springs, Roanoke	Interchange
City of Winchester		16.40	26.39	US 11 / US 522 north	Western end of US 11 / US 522 / US 17 concurrency, northern terminus of US 17
		16.79	27.02	US 11 south (Gerrard Street)	Eastern end of US 11 concurrency
Frederick	​	17.74	28.55	I‑81 – Martinsburg, Roanoke	I-81 exit 313
	​	17.90	28.81	US 522 south (Front Royal Pike) – Airport, Front Royal	Eastern end of US 522 concurrency
Clarke	Waterloo	25.00	40.23	US 340 (Lord Fairfax Highway) – Berryville, White Post, Front Royal, Shenandoah National Park, Skyline Drive
	​	27.83	44.79	SR 255 north (Bishop Meade Road) / SR 624 (Red Gate Road) – Millwood	Southern terminus of SR 255
	​			SR 606 (Mount Carmel Road)	Former SR 276 north
Fauquier	Paris	34.35	55.28	US 17 south to I‑66 – Warrenton, Sky Meadows State Park	Eastern end of US 17 concurrency
	Upperville			SR 712 (Delaplane Grade Road) – Delaplane
	​			SR 611 (St. Louis Road) – Purcellville
Loudoun	Middleburg			SR 626 (Plains Road) – The Plains
	Aldie			SR 734 (Snickersville Pike) – Philomont, Bluemont
	Gilberts Corner	52.57	84.60	US 15 (James Monroe Highway) to I‑66 – Leesburg, Warrenton	Roundabout
	​			To US 15 / Howsers Branch Drive	Roundabout
	South Riding			SR 606 (Loudoun County Parkway)
Fairfax	Pleasant Valley			SR 609 (Pleasant Valley Road)
	Chantilly	63.64	102.42	SR 28 – Dulles Airport, Centreville	Interchange
				Centreville Road (SR 657)
				Lees Corner Road (SR 645 / SR 4646)
				Stringfellow Road (SR 645 / SR 7155)
	Greenbriar–Fair Oaks line	66.82	107.54	SR 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) to I‑66	Interchange
	Fair Oaks	68.07	109.55	SR 608 (West Ox Road)	Interchange
				Fair Oaks Shopping Center	Interchange
		69.21	111.38	I‑66 to I‑495 – Washington, Gainesville, Front Royal	I-66 exit 57
City of Fairfax		70.60	113.62	US 29 south (Lee Highway) / SR 236 east (Main Street)	Western end of US 29 concurrency, western terminus of SR 236
		71.56	115.16	SR 123 (Chain Bridge Road) to I‑66
		73.32	118.00	US 29 / SR 237 north (Lee Highway) to I‑66 / Old Lee Highway	Fairfax Circle (traffic circle with cut-through); eastern end of US 29 concurrency, western end of SR 237 concurrency
		73.32	118.00	SR 237 south (Pickett Road) to SR 236	Eastern end of SR 237 concurrency
Fairfax	Woodburn–Merrifield line			SR 650 (Gallows Road) – Merrifield	Interchange
	​	76.40	122.95	I‑495 to I‑66 – Tysons Corner, Richmond	I-495 exit 50
	West Falls Church			To US 29 (Lee Highway) / Fairview Park	Interchange
				SR 649 (Annandale Road) – Falls Church, Annandale
	Seven Corners	79.64	128.17	SR 7 to SR 338 – Falls Church, Alexandria	Interchange
Arlington	Arlington			Carlin Springs Road	Interchange
				George Mason Drive – NFATC	Interchange
		82.97	133.53	SR 120 (Glebe Road) – Ballston	Interchange
		84.03	135.23	To I‑395 / Washington Boulevard (SR 27 east) – Clarendon, Pentagon	Interchange, western terminus of SR 27
	Clarendon			10th Street North (SR 237 south) / North Court House Road	Interchange; left exit and entrance eastbound; eastern terminus of SR 237
	Rosslyn			North Rhodes Street / North Rolfe Street / North Queen Street	Interchange; eastbound exit and entrance
				North Lynn Street, Francis Scott Key Bridge – Rosslyn	Interchange
				George Washington Parkway south / Memorial Bridge – No trucks	Interchange, eastbound exit and westbound entrance; no access to/from GW Pkwy. northbound
Potomac River		85.96	138.34	US 50 east to I‑66 east (Theodore Roosevelt Bridge) – Washington	Continuation into the District of Columbia
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

Route map: Google

Wikimedia Commons has media related to U.S. Route 50 in Virginia.

U.S. Route 50
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