State Route 31 (SR 31) is a primary
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...
in the U.S. state 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 ...
. The state highway runs from
U.S. Route 460 (US 460) in
Wakefield north to
SR 5 and
SR 199 in
Williamsburg. SR 31 is the primary north–south highway of
Surry County, where the highway serves the towns of
Surry and
Dendron. The state highway also connects Williamsburg with
Jamestown. The sections of SR 31 on either side of the
James River
The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
are connected by the
Jamestown Ferry.
Route description
SR 31 begins at an intersection with US 460 in the town of Wakefield in
Sussex County. The state highway heads east on Main Street, which continues west of US 460 as SR 628. At the eastern town limit, SR 31 veers north onto Birch Island Road. The state highway becomes Rolfe Highway when it enters Surry County right before the highway crosses the
Blackwater River
A blackwater river is a type of River#Classification, river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. Most major blackwater rivers are in the Amazon Basin and the Southern United States. The term is used in fluvial ...
. SR 31 heads northeast through town of Dendron and the hamlet of Elberon. The state highway
runs concurrently with
SR 10 (Colonial Trail) while passing through the town of Surry. North of Surry, SR 31 passes
Smith's Fort Plantation before reaching the
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
terminal of the Jamestown Ferry across the James River. The Jamestown Ferry is the only crossing of the James River between the
James River Bridge in
Newport News and the
Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge near
Hopewell.
SR 31 resumes at the Jamestown terminal of the ferry at
Glass House Point in
James City County. The state highway, which heads northeast as Jamestown Road, passes
Jamestown Festival Park and has an intersection with
SR 359, a short connector between SR 31 and
Colonial Parkway. SR 31 leaves Jamestown and crosses over Powhatan Creek and
Lake Powell. The state highway passes through the suburban area surrounding Williamsburg before reaching its northern terminus at SR 199 (Humelsine Parkway) just inside the city limits. Jamestown Road continues northeast as SR 5 beyond SR 199; westbound SR 5 joins SR 199 in a short concurrency west toward
Richmond.
History
The first piece of the present SR 31 to exist as a state highway ran from
Williamsburg southwest to
Jamestown. It was a spur of
State Route 9 (roughly current
U.S. Route 60), and was present in the initial 1918 system. SR 9 was renumbered as
State Route 39 in the
1923 renumbering, and the Yorktown spur became State Route 392.
The
Jamestown-Scotland Ferry began operations February 26, 1925 from the Jamestown end of SR 392 to
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
across the
James River
The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
.
The road on the Scotland side was added to the state highway system from 1926 to 1931, at first as an extension of
State Route 351, but soon as part of SR 392. In the
1928 renumbering the route was renumbered State Route 510.
Capitol Landing Road from
Williamsburg to
Magruder was added to the state highway system in 1932 as State Route 542.
[ , page 6] Later that year, both SR 510 and SR 524 became State Route 31, connected by Francis Street in Williamsburg (
U.S. Route 60, formerly
State Route 39).
Major intersections
References
External links
Virginia Highways Project: VA 31
{{Authority control
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