The Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway, often shortened to Shirley Highway, consists of a portion of Interstates 95 and 395 in the
U.S.
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
Commonwealth of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. Shirley Highway was the first limited-access freeway in Virginia. Begun in 1941, the road was completed from
U.S. Route 1 in
Colchester, Virginia
Colchester is a historic unincorporated community on the Occoquan River in Fairfax County, Virginia.
History
Colchester is a former tobacco port established in 1753. The port town was located on the old post road and Thomas Mason (son of Geor ...
, just north of
Woodbridge, to the
14th Street Bridge over the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
between
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
and
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
in 1952.
History
20th century
The Shirley Highway is named in honor of
Henry G. Shirley, the head of the Virginia Department of Highways, now
Virginia Department of Transportation
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is the agency of the U.S. state, state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. VDOT is headquartered at the Virginia Department of Highways Buildin ...
, from 1922 to 1941, who died in July, 1941, just a few weeks after giving the "go-ahead" for work on the new highway. The road was originally a four-lane highway, and it was designated State Route 350 from its southern intersection with
U.S. Route 1 north of the
Occoquan River
The Occoquan River is a tributary of the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, where it serves as part of the boundary between Fairfax and Prince William counties.
The river is a scenic area, and several local high schools and colleges use the r ...
near
Woodbridge, Virginia
Woodbridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County, Virginia, United States, located south of Washington, D.C. Bounded by the Occoquan River, Occoquan and Potomac River, Potomac rivers, Woodbridge had 44,668 residents at the ...
, and its northern intersection with U.S. Route 1 near
the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
in
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
.
Construction began in October 1941. The first section in Arlington, from the Pentagon south to
State Route 7, mostly two lanes, was opened in October 1943. This section was completed with four lanes in October 1944. Due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
constraints, the new highway had an unusual at-grade railroad crossing instead of a bridge over the
Washington and Old Dominion Railroad
The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad (colloquially referred to as the W&OD) was an intrastate short-line railroad located in Northern Virginia, United States. The rail transport, railroad was a successor to the bankruptcy, bankrupt Washingt ...
just north of
Shirlington Circle. This location was the site of a fatal collision between a train and a dump truck on June 26, 1952.
The remaining portions of the Shirley Highway south to U.S. Route 1 in Colchester, just north of Woodbridge, were completed in 1952. It facilitated the rapid development of Arlington County in the
Shirlington,
Parkfairfax, and
Fairlington neighborhoods during World War II, and during that period connected the city to suburban shopping opportunities at
Shirlington Shopping Center, which at the time was a five-minute drive away.
The original "Mixing Bowl": largest in the world
The new Shirley Highway included the "Mixing Bowl" interchange complex near the newly completed
Pentagon
In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°.
A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...
(War Department Building), which was completed in 1944. At this location, the
State Route 27 freeway (Washington Blvd.) merges with the Shirley Highway and then branches off again. The original interchange had a merge section each way, about 1/3 mile long, with a third "mixing lane" where the vehicles would weave when they wanted to change to the other freeway. It was rebuilt in the 1960s. After rebuilding, it was the largest interchange complex in the world. There are currently 52 lane-miles of roadways and ramps, with four freeway junctions and numerous local ramps, and with several interchanges to the reversible express (HOV) roadway, all within a section of the Shirley Highway.
I-95, I-395
From 1965 to 1975, the Shirley Highway was reconstructed to
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...
standards. As portions were completed, they were designated as
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
. This project led to the purchase and demolition of the Twin Bridges Hot Shoppes Restaurant and the closure of the
Washington & Old Dominion Railroad - the latter of which delayed the widening of the highway while a fight over its abandonment was resolved. Original plans called for I-95 to cut straight through
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and connect with the
Capital Beltway
The Capital Beltway, designated as Interstate 495 (I-495) for its entire length, is an List of auxiliary Interstate Highways, auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area. The Ring road, beltway encircles Washington, D.C., ...
(I-495) in
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
. However,
community opposition halted this plan in 1977, diverting planned funding to construction of the
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ...
subway system.
Because of the cancellation of the originally-proposed section of I-95 from
New York Avenue in the
District of Columbia
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, northward into
Prince George's County to
Interstate 495, the
Capital Beltway
The Capital Beltway, designated as Interstate 495 (I-495) for its entire length, is an List of auxiliary Interstate Highways, auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area. The Ring road, beltway encircles Washington, D.C., ...
, the I-95 designation was rerouted onto the eastern half of the Beltway. The remaining portion of the Shirley Highway north of Springfield was redesignated
Interstate 395, which continues into D.C. to its end at
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...
(New York Avenue).
Shirley Busway
On September 22, 1969, the reversible roadway between
Edsall Road and
SR 7 was converted to the first separated
bus rapid transit (BRT) route on an Interstate highway during peak morning commute hours (0630–0930); this was extended north to
Shirlington the next day. The busway was extended to north of
Glebe Road in September 1970, and then to the new
Center Span Bridge on April 5, 1971. The Shirley Highway Express Bus-on-Freeway Project was implemented from June 1971 to the end of 1974, demonstrating that BRT on a highway was a feasible way to boost public transit ridership and on-time performance. However, compared to the
Lindenwold High Speed Line, a
light rail
Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
service of comparable distance serving approximately the same number of people, Prof.
Vukan R. Vuchic found the Shirley Busway had fewer riders and revenue.
Springfield Interchange
The roots of the
Springfield Interchange began with the Shirley Highway. This jumble of highways in
Springfield, Virginia
Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 31,339 as of the 20 ...
, where I-395, I-95, and the
Capital Beltway
The Capital Beltway, designated as Interstate 495 (I-495) for its entire length, is an List of auxiliary Interstate Highways, auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area. The Ring road, beltway encircles Washington, D.C., ...
meet, is officially called the "Springfield Interchange." It is colloquially referred to as the "Mixing Bowl," but highway officials still use that terminology to refer to the interchange complex at the Pentagon (see
Pentagon road network).
Exit list
References
External links
Kurumi Roads websiteRoads to the Future websiteVirginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) website*
{{coord, 38.77773, -77.17976, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-VA, display=title
Monuments and memorials in Virginia
Historic American Engineering Record in Virginia
Interstate 95
Freeways in the United States