State Route 170 (SR 170) 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 ...

. Known as Little Creek Road, the state highway runs from SR 165 east to

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 General Booth Bouleva ...

(US 60) within 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 ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. SR 170 is the eastern part of the connection between

Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ham ...

and

Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

Route description

SR 170 begins at a directional intersection with SR 165, which heads west as Little Creek Road toward Naval Station Norfolk and south as Military Highway. The state highway heads east as a five-lane road with a

center left-turn lane A reversible lane, also known as variable lane, dynamic lane, and tidal flow, is a managed lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours, ...

through a densely populated area of the northeastern part of Norfolk. At Meadow Creek Road, SR 170 becomes a divided highway and intersects the northern terminus of SR 192 (Azalea Garden Road). The state highway reaches its eastern terminus at US 60 (Shore Drive) adjacent to Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek and the boundary between the cities of Norfolk and

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...

. The roadway continues east as Midway Road onto the amphibious base.

History

Little Creek Road east of

Granby Street U.S. Route 460 (US 460) in Virginia runs east-west through the southern part of the Commonwealth. The road has two separate pieces in Virginia, joined by a relatively short section in West Virginia. Most of US 460 is a four-lane divided h ...

(then SR 170, now US 460) was added to the state highway system in 1942 as State Route 351, at the same time as the eastern half of

Military Highway Military Highway is a four-to-eight-lane roadway built in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, United States, during World War II. Carrying US 13 for most of its length, it also carries US 58, and US 460 while in Chesapeake. ...

was added; this route connected the Military Highway bypass with several military installations. By 1947, SR 168 was extended from

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the fifth-most populous city in Virginia and 140th-most populous city i ...

over the ferry to

Sewell's Point Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to t ...

, replacing SR 165 on Admiral Taussig Boulevard (now mostly

Interstate 564 Interstate 564 (I-564) is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Virginia. Known as Admiral Taussig Boulevard, after US Navy Rear admiral (United States), Rear Admiral Edward D. Taussig, the Interstate runs from Virginia State Route 337 ...

) and the majority of SR 351, from Taussig Boulevard east to US 60. The small piece of SR 351 west of Taussig Boulevard became a realigned SR 165; SR 351 was entirely eliminated (and immediately reused at its current location to replace part of former SR 168). SR 168 was realigned to use the newly opened

Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel The Hampton Roads Bridge–Tunnel (HRBT) is a Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 64 (I-64) and US Route 60 (US 60). It is a four-lane facility comprising bridges, trestles, artificial islands, and tunnels under the main sh ...

in late 1957, and it took over the former SR 170 through Norfolk to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Thus the State Route 170 designation was freed for a renumbering of the former SR 168 in Norfolk, from Hampton Boulevard ( SR 337) near the old ferry southeast on Taussig Boulevard and east on Little Creek Road to US 60. In 1979, I-564 replaced most of the Taussig Boulevard piece of SR 170, and the rest became an extension of SR 337; thus SR 170 was truncated to its current length by also removing the SR 165

concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
Virginia Highways Project: VA 170

170 Year 170 ( CLXX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Clarus and Cornelius (or, less frequently, year 923 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 170 for this yea ...

State Route 170