U.S. Route 220

Infobox U.S. Route
article_route=220

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length_mi=680
length_round=0
length_ref=Droz, Robert V. [http://www.us-highways.com/usbt.htm U.S. Highways : From US 1 to (US 830)] . URL accessed 09:24, 18 June 2006 (UTC).]
yrcom=1927
direction_a=South
direction_b=North
from=Jct|state=NC|US|1 in Rockingham, NC
junction=Jct|state=NC|I|73 near Candor, NC
Jct|state=NC|I|85|US|421 in Greensboro, NC
Jct|state=NC|I|40 in Greensboro, NC
Jct|state=VA|I|81 near Roanoke, VA
Jct|state=WV|US|50 in New Creek, WV
Jct|state=MD|I|68|US|40 in Cumberland, MD
Jct|state=PA|I|70|I|76|PATP near Bedford, PA
Jct|state=PA|US|22 near Altoona, PA
Jct|state=PA|I|80 near Bellefonte, PA
Jct|state=PA|I|180|US|15 in Williamsport, PA
Jct|state=NY|NY|17 in South Waverly, PA
to=Chemung Street in Waverly, NY

U.S. Route 220 is a convert|680|mi|km|0|sing=on long U.S. Route in the eastern United States. US 220 is a spur route of U.S. Route 20; however, the two routes never intersect nor do they connect via other spurs of US 20. The southern terminus of US 220 is at U.S. Route 1 in Rockingham, North Carolina. The northern terminus is at Chemung Street in Waverly, New York, just north of its interchange with New York State Route 17 (future Interstate 86). Some sections are part of the Appalachian Development Highway System's Corridor O as well as Interstate 73 in North Carolina.

In early 1927, US 220 absorbed most of U.S. Route 711, which had run from Northumberland, Pennsylvania north to the New York state line. The portion south of Muncy was already part of U.S. Route 120. Former US 220 north to the state line at Lawrenceville became part of an extension of U.S. Route 111.

Route description

North Carolina

US 220's southern terminus is at U.S. Highway 1 in Rockingham, North Carolina. From Rockingham, US 220 travels north through Richmond, Montgomery, and Randolph Counties. South of the town of Ellerbe , US 220 follows a newly constructed four-lane bypass freeway, sharing Future Interstate 74 and Future Interstate 73. The old US 220 route is signed as Business/Alternate 220, which passes through the towns of Ellerbe, Norman, Candor, Biscoe, Star, and Seagrove. Rejoining US 220 near the North Carolina Zoo, ALT 220 continues into Asheboro and Randleman as Business 220 while US 220 Bypass contines north to Level Cross. There, the Business and Bypass routes merge and travel north into Guilford County. Outside Greensboro, US 220 intersects Interstate 85 and U.S. Route 421 (Greensboro Urban Loop) before intersecting Business 85 and eventually merging with Interstate 40 in the city. US 220 then exits with U.S. Highway 29 and U.S. Highway 70 onto O'Henry Boulevard and then continues west on Wendover Avenue, just north of Greensboro's Downtown. Exiting onto Battleground Avenue, US 220 travels north out of Greensboro and into Summerfield, North Carolina before entering Rockingham County. Business 220 splits to go through Madison and Mayodan and returns to US 220 near Stoneville. US 220 crosses the Virginia border near the town of Ridgeway, Virginia.

Virginia

U.S. 220 enters the state from the south just south of Martinsville. It uses freeway spurs to bypass Martinsville and Rocky Mount. The remainder of U.S. 220 is a divided four lane highway with a 55 mile per hour speed limit for most of the distance between Martinsville and State Route 419 in Roanoke County. Some high traffic areas and non-divided stretches have 45 mile per hour, or lower, speed limits. In particular, the stretch through Boones Mill, Virginia is not divided; the town is also well known as a speed trap. U.S. 220 is a winding road in several stretches, and there have been many accidents. The proposed Interstate 73 would generally parallel U.S. 220 between Roanoke and Greensboro, North Carolina, though funds have not been allocated for the project and some local residents prefer efforts to fix U.S. 220. At Virginia 419, U.S. 220 becomes a freeway, the Roy L. Webber Expressway, once again. At downtown Roanoke, it becomes co-signed with Interstate 581 until the freeway reaches Interstate 81 north of Roanoke.

U.S. 220 continues along Interstate 81 northbound until it resumes near Daleville, at the interchange with Alternate U.S. 220. It once again becomes a four-lane road until just outside of Clifton Forge, and joins up with Interstate 64 westbound until Covington. It then continues a primarily two-lane mountainous path until exiting Virginia.

West Virginia

US 220 enters West Virginia 2 miles (3 km) south of Harper in Pendleton County. From the state line, US 220 parallels the Potomac River as it progresses northward. 13 miles (21 km) north of Harper, US 220 passes through Franklin, where it intersects with U.S. Route 33. 10 miles (16 km) north of Franklin, US 220 enters Upper Tract. The route crosses into Grant County 7 miles (11 km) north of Upper Tract.

Within Grant County, US 220 intersects the concurrent routes of West Virginia Route 28/West Virginia Route 55 in Petersburg. The two state highways join US 220 eastward into Hardy County. WV 28 and WV 55 remain concurrent to Moorefield, where WV 55 splits from US 220 and WV 28. North of Moorefield, US 220/WV 28 intersects the future right-of-way of U.S. Route 48. US 220 and WV 28 remain concurrent into Hampshire County, where US 220 and WV 28 meets U.S. Route 50 in Junction. WV 28 departs US 220, following US 50 to the east, while US 220 joins US 50 westward into Mineral County.

At the top of Knobly Mountain northwest of Ridgeville, US 220 splits from US 50 and resumes a northerly alignment as it descends into the New Creek Valley. 7 miles (11 km) north of US 50, US 220 enters Keyser, the county seat of Mineral County. In the center of the city, US 220 intersects West Virginia Route 46, running concurrent to the route for a short distance. At the northern edge of Keyser, US 220 crosses the North Branch of the Potomac River via Memorial Bridge, leaving West Virginia and enteringMaryland.

Maryland

US 220 enters Maryland at McCoole, Allegany County. North of McCoole, US 220 intersects the eastern terminus of Maryland Route 135. Past MD 135, US 220 turns to the northeast, paralleling the North Branch of the Potomac River to the east. 12 miles (19 km) into Maryland, with West Virginia visible to the right, US 220 intersects the western terminus of Maryland Route 956, a connector to a secondary state highway in West Virginia. Continuing north in the river valley, US 220 enters Cresaptown, where US 220 intersects with the east end of Maryland Route 53. 4 miles (6 km) north of Cresaptown, US 220 joins with Interstate 68 and U.S. Route 40 in Cumberland. At exit 46, US 220 turns north again, separating from I-68 and US 40 for a few miles before crossing the Mason-Dixon Line into Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania

After crossing the state line from Maryland, US 220 runs north through Bedford County to Bedford, where it divides into U.S. Route 220 Business, which enters the town of Bedford, and the main branch, which becomes Interstate 99 at an interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

In Centre County, US 220 was rerouted to go through State College at the Mt. Nittany Interchange; instead of Milesburg to be co-routed with future Interstate 99. The old route was redesignated as Alternate US 220, which meets back up with US 220 at Howard, Pennsylvania.

As of the beginning of 2008, I-99 continues to follow US 220 as far north as Port Matilda. In the future, the two will form a duplex for 135 miles from their current southern terminus to Williamsport. Along the way, they will form triplexes with U.S. 322 and Interstate 80, both of which already form duplexes with US 220. [ I-99/US 220 Multiplex http://www.m-plex.com/roads/pamplex/mp_i99_us220.html] At Martha Furnace, another business spur goes more directly to I-80, continuing the Appalachian Throughway. This spur joins I-80 for three miles east, at which point the main route takes over. North of Williamsport, US 220 follows Interstate 180 east until Hughesville, where it continues into New York with no freeway sections or significant multiplexes.

New York

US 220 enters New York at Waverly. US 220 continues north for less than a tenth of a mile to its northern terminus at Chemung Street, formerly NY 17 prior to construction of the Southern Tier Expressway. The nearest New York State touring routes from US 220's terminus are NY 17C, NY 17 as noted, and NY 34. Both NY 17C and NY 34 are reached via a right turn at Chemung Street.

History

Original Alignment

*North Carolina
**The US-220 terminus in Rockingham used to be at the intersection of US-1 and US-74 at East Broad and Hancock streets where a sign said "US 220 Ends Here". US-220 is currently passes south of US 74 Business to intersect US-1 further south on Hancock not far from US-74/I-74. From US-1, US-220 originally followed current US-74 Business east to Harvest Church Road then north, then north on Old Ellerbe Road back to the current alignment then looping to the right on what is now Billy Covington Road before rejoining the current alignment. The 4 lane portion of US-220 between Ellerbe and Rockingham was completed in two sections with the northern one, ending at the north end of Billy Covington Road, finished first in the 1960s. Some of the old alignment is still visible at the north end of Billy Covington Road.

*Virginia
**US-220 used to go through downtown Martinsville via West Church Street and Starling Avenue until the late 1940s when Memorial Boulevard was built. The alignment bypassing Collinsville and Martinsville was built in the mid 1970's.
** Parts of US-220 south of Roanoke follow what used to be called the Carolina Road or the Great Road. These roads, streching from the current day Philadelphia area to the current day Atlanta (southern end of the Appalachian Mountains), were mostly roads built over old Indian trails. Another branch went west from present day Roanoke to Cumberland Gap. Parts of this road in Henry County are now known as the Old Stage Road. It crossed the Smith River just north of the current US-220 crossing. From Henry County the road crossed the Mayo River and headed towards Winston-Salem, NC. The Mayo River crossing is still visible. There was another Carolina Road to the east, apparently from near Frederick, Md to the Virginia-North Carolina border at the Roanoke River.

*Pennsylvania
**US-220 used to take current PA Route 199 from Greens Landing through Athens Borough prior to 1973, when the Route 220 By-Pass was constructed. US 220 continued on Keystone Avenue in Sayre, PA into South Waverly, PA where it went around Bannana Curve to Pennsylvania Ave, where it crossed the state border into NY. The original State Line marker is still standing on a segment of the old highway which was abandoned when NY Route 17 was constructed in 1972.

*New York
** US-220 continued on Pennsylvania Ave. approximately 1/2 mile where it junctioned with NY Route 17 or Chemung St. in Waverly, NY. At this time prior to 1973 Chemung Street was the original route of NY Route 17.

Historical names

*West Virginia
**It travels north to Junction, West Virginia where it joins U.S. Highway 50 West. This stretch of U.S. Highway 50 that is co-signed as U.S. Highway 220 is known as the Northwestern Turnpike
**From U.S. Highway 50 it departs and proceeds towards Keyser, West Virginia. Between U.S. Highway 50 and WV 972 it is known as Cut Off Road.
**Between WV 972 and Keyser, West Virginia the highway is known as New Creek Drive.
**In Keyser, West Virginia the highway is known as Mineral Street until it exits the city limits and West Virginia into Maryland at the North Branch of the Potomac River.

*Maryland
** North from Keyser, West Virginia to Cumberland, Maryland the highway is known as McMullen Highway. There, it joins Interstate 68 and U.S. Highway 40, which is known as The National Freeway west of Cumberland, Maryland and The Baltimore Pike east of Cumberland. From Baltimore Pike it departs for the Mason-Dixon Line via a recently upgraded roadway opened to traffic on September 18, 2000.
** Originally the highway known as McMullen highway proceeded into the city limits of Cumberland, Maryland onto Greene Street. Via Baltimore Street, it then connected to Mechanic Street. From Mechanic Street to the city limits, traffic was split between two parallel one way streets, with northbound traffic carried by Frederick Street and southbound traffic carried by a narrower Bedford Street until the streets merged as Bedford Road, now unsigned MD 807, which connected to Pennsylvania at the Mason-Dixon Line.

*Pennsylvania
**From the Mason-Dixon Line north to Bedford it is known as the Cumberland Road.
**From Bedford North to State College it is known as Bud Shuster Highway, where it is cosigned as Interstate 99.
**The old alignment of US 220 is known as the Appalachian Throughway.

Historical sites and noteworthy stops

*North Carolina
**North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, North Carolina
**Richard Petty's home Level Cross, North Carolina
**Seagrove Area Potteries in Seagrove, North Carolina

*West Virginia
**Old Pine Church, Purgitsville, West Virginia
**Weaver’s Antique Service Station, Burlington, West Virginia

*Maryland
**George Washington's Headquarters, Greene Street, Cumberland, Maryland

Future

Corridor O Extension

6 April 2005 109th CONGRESS, 1st Session, S. 719, To extend Corridor O of the Appalachian Development Highway System from its current southern terminus at I-68 near Cumberland to Corridor H, which stretches from Weston, West Virginia, to Strasburg, Virginia.

28 March 2006 109th CONGRESS, 2d Session, H. R. 5031, To extend Corridor O of the Appalachian Development Highway System from its current southern terminus at I-68 near Cumberland to Corridor H, which stretches from Weston, West Virginia, to Strasburg, Virginia.

A new highway was proposed in 2006, to extend Appalachian Corridor O, which now runs through Pennsylvania, through Maryland and West Virginia and connect with Corridor H (which will run from Weston, WV to Wardensville, WV and possibly connect with Interstate 81 in Virginia when completed). Committees have been formed and met in the three major cities along the route: Keyser, Cumberland, and Moorefield. Several different proposals have been discussed including one which will follow Interstate 68 west through Cumberland and then go south toward Keyser, WV, becoming the new US 220 replacing McMullen Highway. When Route 220 cuts off to the east just south of Keyser, the highway would follow WV Route 972 through New Creek to US 50. This is the point where the plan alters. One proposal is that it would travel west to WV 93 and follow it south to Scherr which is directly connected to Petersburg, just 10 minutes from Moorefield. Another proposal is that it follows another course of highways south and has a direct intersection with Corridor H (this section is US 55) near Moorefield. The plan for Corridor O Extended will be chosen in the spring of 2007. This plan is competing with several other plans like one that proposes that the road follow I-68 east and turn south just before Frostburg, MD cutting across Dans Mountain between MD 36 and US 220.

Major intersections

*U.S. Route 1 in Rockingham, North Carolina
*Interstate 73 near Candor, North Carolina
*U.S. Route 64 in Asheboro, North Carolina
*Interstate 85/U.S. Route 421 in Greensboro, North Carolina
*Interstate 40 in Greensboro, North Carolina
*U.S. Route 58 in Martinsville, Virginia
*Interstate 81 near Roanoke, Virginia
*U.S. Route 50 in New Creek, West Virginia
*U.S. Route 33 in Franklin, West Virginia
*Interstate 68/U.S. Route 40 in Cumberland, Maryland
*Interstate 70/Interstate 76/Pennsylvania Turnpike near Bedford, Pennsylvania
*U.S. Route 22 near Altoona, Pennsylvania
*Interstate 99 near Tyrone, Pennsylvania
*U.S. Route 322 in State College, Pennsylvania
*Interstate 80 near Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
*Interstate 180/U.S. Route 15 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
*U.S. Route 6 in Towanda, Pennsylvania
*New York State Route 17 in South Waverly, Pennsylvania

Exit list

A segment of US 220 in Pennsylvania is a limited-access highway.

References

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/usend2029/End220/end220.htm US-220 endpoint photos]
* [http://thomas.loc.gov Library of Congress, Thomas]

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