U.S. Route 52 in Virginia

Infobox road
state=VA
type=US
route=52
length_mi=
length_km=
established=mid-1930s
direction_a=South
direction_b=North
starting_terminus=
junction=
ending_terminus=
previous_type=
previous_route=51
next_type=
next_route=53

U.S. Route 52 in Virginia runs north-south through the southwestern part of the state along the Interstate 77 corridor.

History

The piece of US 52 south of Fort Chiswell was part of the state highway system defined in 1918 [CTB minutes|07-1922-01, Proposed "State Highway System" for Virginia, as Recommended by the State Roads Committee, January, 1918] . It was initially designated State Route 12-Z, at least south of Hillsville, [CTB minutes|11-1922-01, page 11] but by 1924 it was State Route 15. [CTB minutes|04-1924-01, pages 12-13] In 1926, the U.S. Route 121 designation was applied to the whole length of SR 15, from North Carolina to Fort Chiswell, but it did not turn west on U.S. Route 11 at Fort Chiswell to connect to U.S. Route 21. []

An extension of SR 15 from Fort Chiswell north to Max Meadows was added to the state highway system in 1931. [CTB minutes|07-1931-01, page 70] In the 1933 renumbering, SR 15 was dropped from the US 121 concurrency, while the short extension to Max Meadows became State Route 121.

US 121 was absorbed by an extension of US 52 by 1935. US 52 was extended through West Virginia and along U.S. Route 21 to Wytheville and U.S. Route 11 to Fort Chiswell, where it replaced US 121 into North Carolina. [Richard F. Weingroff, [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/us52.htm U.S. 52 Charleston, South Carolina, to Portal, North Dakota] ]

References