U.S. Route 1 in Virginia

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 1 in Virginia. For the entire length of the highway, see U.S. Route 1.

U.S. Route 1
Route information
Maintained by VDOT
Length:	198 mi[1] (319 km)
Existed:	1926 (1918 as SR 1, 1923 as SR 31) – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 1 / US 401 near Norlina, NC
	US 58 in South Hill I-85 in various locations US 301 / US 460 in Petersburg US 60 / US 360 in Manchester US 33 / US 250 in Richmond I-64 / I-95 in Richmond I-295 in Glen Allen US 17 in Fredericksburg I-95 / I-495 in Alexandria
North end:	US 1 / I-395 in Washington, DC
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced Virginia Routes Primary • Secondary • History • Turnpikes ← SR 895 SR 2 →

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.

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 north of Woodbridge and ending at the Capital Beltway at Alexandria, becoming Henry/Patrick streets, then changing back to Jefferson Davis Highway in the Del Ray section of Alexandria and continuing with that name alongside the high-rise Crystal City office complex in Arlington. In the city of Fredericksburg, between Richmond and the District of Columbia, it borders the northwestern 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.

History

Route 1 in Fairfax County, Virginia, near Alexandria

What is now US 1 was added to the state highway system in 1918 as State Route 1, following the older Jefferson Davis Highway, which approximated at its northern end the route of the former Washington and Alexandria Turnpike.^[2] The road 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.^[3] 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.^[4] This alignment was defined as the Jefferson Davis Highway on March 17, 1922.^[5]

By 1925, SR 31 was moved to the current alignment of US 1 south of McKenney^[3] (previously State Route 122 south of South Hill^[4] and State Route 314 north of South Hill^[6]), 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.^[3]

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.^[7] In late 1926, the final plan was adopted, and all of US 401 was renumbered to U.S. Route 15.^[8] 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.^[9]

In 1975, the interchange between I-395 and U.S. 1 was rebuilt, and originally there were plans to upgrade US 1 to Interstate 595 southward to the connector road with Reagan National Airport. However, the upgrade as proposed was never built. Instead, US 1 is elevated with a diamond interchange over 15th Street South, but is a surface road with signaled intersections at 20th Street South and further south.^{[10][dead link][11]}

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^[12]

• 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

References

1. ^ American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, United States Numbered Highways, 1989 Edition
2. ^ Rose, C.B., Jr. (1976). Arlington County, Virginia: A History. Arlington Historical Society, Inc.. p. 75. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Virginia Highways Project: VA 31
4. ^ ^{a b} Virginia Highways Project: VA 122
5. ^ Virginia Route Index, revised July 1, 2003 (PDF)
6. ^ Virginia Highways Project: VA 314
7. ^ Report of Joint Board on Interstate Highways, October 30, 1925
8. ^ United States System of Highways, November 11, 1926
9. ^ United States Numbered Highways, American Highways, April 1927
10. ^ [1]
11. ^ [2]
12. ^ Virginia Highways Project: VA 301 to 320

U.S. Route 1
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