Virginia State Route 337 Alternate (Portsmouth)

Infobox road
state=VA
type=Alternate
route=337
length_mi=2.29
length_ref=PDFlink| [http://www.virginiadot.org/info/resources/AADT_124_Portsmouth_2005.pdf 2005 Virginia Department of Transportation Jurisdiction Report - Daily Traffic Volume Estimates - City of Portsmouth] |117 KiB ]
length_round=2
established=1968
direction_a=West
direction_b=East
starting_terminus=
ending_terminus= in Portsmouth

State Route 337 Alternate is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia, lying entirely within the city of Portsmouth. It is an alternate route of State Route 337, but only intersects SR 337 at its west end.

Route description

SR 337 Alternate begins at the intersection of Portsmouth Boulevard (SR 337 and U.S. Route 460 Alternate) and Turnpike Road, and runs northeast on Turnpike Road. It turns north on Harbor Drive and ends at the London Boulevard overpass, where U.S. Route 58 joins and the Martin Luther King Freeway begins.PDFlink| [http://www.virginiadot.org/info/resources/route-index-07012003.pdf Virginia Route Index] |239 KiB , revised July 1, 2003] The route does not return to SR 337, but continuing along US 58 via the freeway and through the Midtown Tunnel will take one back to SR 337 in Norfolk.

History

Turnpike Road and most of SR 337 Alternate was initially part of State Route 10, defined in 1918. That route came from Suffolk on Portsmouth Boulevard, turned northeast on Turnpike Road, north on Constitution Avenue (then Sixth Avenue), and east on High Street to reach the Norfolk-Portsmouth Ferry. It was defined as a state highway through Portsmouth in 1932, to be maintained by Portsmouth with aid from Virginia under Chapter 415, Acts of 1932. [PDFlink| [http://www.virginiadot.org/meetings/minutes_pdf/CTB-07-1932-02.pdf Minutes of the Meeting of the State Highway Commission of Virginia, Held in Richmond, July 19, 1932] |234 KiB ] The road became U.S. Route 117 in 1926, and U.S. Route 58 was added in 1932. [ [http://www.vahighways.com/route-log/us058.htm Virginia Highways Project: US 58] ] The present Airline Boulevard was built by Virginia as part of State Route 12. [PDFlink| [http://www.virginiadot.org/meetings/minutes_pdf/CTB-10-1931-01.pdf Minutes of the Meeting of the State Highway Commission of Virginia, Held in Richmond, October 27, 1931] |313 KiB , page 20] When it was completed in the mid-1930s, US 58 was moved to it, and the old route along Turnpike Road and Constitution Avenue became State Route 287. SR 287 was renumbered as U.S. Route 58 Alternate in the early 1940s. [ [http://www.vahighways.com/route-log/va281-300.htm#va287 Virginia Highways Project: VA 287] ] In 1968, US 58 Alternate was renumbered to SR 337 Alternate. It was truncated slightly at its west end from Airline Boulevard (U.S. Route 58) to Portsmouth Boulevard, and the east end was realigned, using Harbor Drive rather than Constitution Avenue, and ending several blocks north of High Street (US 58 until 1962 [PDFlink| [http://www.virginiadot.org/meetings/minutes_pdf/CTB-08-1962-01.pdf Minutes of Meeting of State Highway Commission of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, August 23, 1962] |466 KiB , page 23] ). [PDFlink| [http://www.virginiadot.org/meetings/minutes_pdf/CTB-03-1968-01.pdf Minutes of Meeting of State Highway Commission, Richmond, Virginia, March 21, 1968] |1.19 MiB , page 14]

References