Merrimack Trail is the local name for State Route 143 as it passes through portions of York County and

James City County James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg. Located ...

and the

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

of Williamsburg in the

Virginia Peninsula The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the ...

subregion of

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

History

With the Restoration and additional tourism traffic generated by

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location a ...

beginning in the late 1920s, Merrimack Trail was built in the early 1930s to supplement

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as Pacific Avenue, in the ...

as part the

State Route 168 Route 168, or Highway 168, may refer to: Canada * Prince Edward Island Route 168 Costa Rica * National Route 168 Japan * Japan National Route 168 United States * U.S. Route 168 (former) * Alabama State Route 168 * Arkansas Highway 168 * C ...

project which extended all the way east to North Carolina. The Merrimack Trail portion of VA-168 extended on the

from Anderson Corner near Toano to a crossing of

South Hampton Roads South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia's Tidewater region in the United States with a total population of 1,191,937. It is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA (Metropolitan ...

by ferry, prior to the opening of the

Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Hampton may refer to: Places Australia * Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *H ...

on November 1, 1957. The ferry, which connected to Norfolk at the end of 99th Street at Pine Beach, charged a toll of automobile and driver, $1 and $1.25 for each additional passenger. The name originated because the road lead to a ferry landing in

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Unit ...

was located near the historic location of the Battle of Hampton Roads between the

ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

warships in March 1862 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. The Confederate ironclad C.S.S. ''Virginia'' had been built from the hull of the U.S.S. ''Merrimack'', partially burned by Union troops evacuating the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

the previous year. In the 1960s, as the new

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 70 in Missouri, I-70, U.S. Route 40 in Missouri, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and U.S. Route 61 in Missouri, ...

was completed, major portions of VA-168 west of

Old Point Comfort Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the independent city of Hampton, Virginia. Previously known as Point Comfort, it lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in the United States. It was renamed ...

were redesignated as State Route 143.

References

{{reflist Transportation in Williamsburg, Virginia Transportation in York County, Virginia Transportation in James City County, Virginia