In the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

, U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a major north-south

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 ...

that extends from the

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 ...

state line through Roanoke to the

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

state line. South of Roanoke, US 220 is a four-lane highway within the proposed

Interstate 73 Interstate 73 (I-73) is a north–south Interstate Highway, currently located entirely within the US state of North Carolina. It travels , from northwest of Rockingham, North Carolina to northeast of Stokesdale, North Carolina, Stokesdale, ...

(I-73) corridor. US 220 narrows to two lanes north of Roanoke, connecting to I-64 near Clifton Forge and then paralleling the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

north-northeasterly in the direction of

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,075. Located on the Potomac River, Cumberland is a regional business and comm ...

Route description

US 220 enters Virginia just north of the community of Price, North Carolina. From the state line to Roanoke, US 220 is a four-lane mix of

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

bypasses and at-grade rural highway. Some high traffic areas and non-divided stretches have speed limits of or lower. In particular, the stretch through Boones Mill is not divided; the town is also well known as a

speed trap Speed limit, Speed limits are enforced on most public roadways by authorities, with the purpose to improve driver compliance with speed limits. Methods used include roadside speed traps set up and operated by the police and automated roadside "s ...

. This segment follows the same general alignment as the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

's Winston-Salem District, opened in 1892 by the Roanoke and Southern Railway. US 220 meets the northern terminus of State Route 87 in Ridgeway, and soon after turns west to bypass the city of Martinsville on a freeway partially shared with US 58. Another bypass takes the highway around the town of Rocky Mount, after which US 220 crosses the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and National Scenic Byway, All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is the longest linear park in the U.S., runs for through 29 counties in Virginia and ...

at Murray Gap. Soon after entering the city of Roanoke, US 220 intersects SR 419 and again becomes a freeway, this one passing just east of

downtown Roanoke Downtown is the central business district of Roanoke, Virginia, United States. Developed after the completion of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad in 1882, the Downtown core forms the geographic center of the city and the center of business for t ...

and becoming

Interstate 581 Interstate 581 (I-581) is a spur of I-81 into Roanoke, Virginia, completely overlapping US Route 220 (US 220). It was planned to be connected to I-73. Future I-73 Corridor signs have been marked on I-581 on the southbound si ...

northwest to

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

. US 220 overlaps I-81 northeast to near Daleville, where it exits to the north onto a four-lane road through Daleville and Fincastle. At Eagle Rock, the road narrows to two lanes and begins to parallel 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 ...

. US 220 loosely follows the James River and its major tributary, the Jackson River, north to near Clifton Forge, where it begins to overlap

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

and

US 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 ...

west, still following the Jackson River, to Covington. Also paralleling these rivers are

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

's Alleghany Subdivision and

James River Subdivision The Richmond and Alleghany Railroad was built along the James River along the route of the James River and Kanawha Canal from Richmond on the Fall Line at the head of navigation to a point west of Lynchburg near Buchanan, Virginia, and combined w ...

, opened in 1867 and 1881 respectively by the

Virginia Central Railroad The Virginia Central Railroad was an early railroad in the U.S. state of Virginia that operated between 1850 and 1868 from Richmond westward for to Covington. Chartered in 1836 as the Louisa Railroad by the Virginia General Assembly, the railr ...

and Richmond and Alleghany Railroad. US 220 is a two-lane road for the rest of its route from Covington to West Virginia, as it travels through a series of valleys in the

Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands division. The physiographic province is divided into three se ...

. It begins by following more of the Jackson River to near Clearwater Park, but then crosses a ridge into a different valley. This is repeated several times until Forks of Waters, where the

South Branch Potomac River The South Branch Potomac River has its River source, headwaters in northwestern Highland County, Virginia, near Hightown, Virginia, Hightown along the eastern edge of the Allegheny Front. After a river distance of ,U.S. Geological Survey. Nationa ...

enters US 220's valley and parallels its final to the state line.

History

Part of the Great Wagon Road branched off near what is present day Roanoke, Virginia, and U.S. Route 220 in Virginia now follows part of this section of the Carolina Road. "The route was improved as a stage road in the early years of the republic. In 1838 it was rebuilt to serve the Pittsylvania, Franklin and Botetourt Turnpike, which served to connect south central Virginia with the Valley." As a U.S. Highway, US 220 was initially part of U.S. Route 311, which split from

US 11 U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...

at Roanoke and ran south to

Aberdeen, North Carolina Aberdeen is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,516 at the 2020 census, and an estimated 9,305 in 2022. History Scottish emigrants were the first Europeans to settle the area, beginning in 1745. They wer ...

. This was also part of State Route 33, one of Virginia's original state highways from 1918 (which was numbered 3 until 1923). Other than the

overlap, two other segments date to 1918: part of SR 17 from Covington to Warm Springs, and part of SR 39 (originally 9) from Vanderpool to

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

. Otherwise the gaps were filled starting in 1922, with the legislative designation of a spur of SR 14 from Clifton Forge south to Eagle Rock, which was numbered State Route 142 in 1923. 1924 saw the beginning of the extension of SR 142 southwest to US 11 at Troutville, and it was also extended along SR 14 east to Longdale Furnace and then north to Millboro Springs. In 1926 it became part of a realignment of SR 17, with that route's former routing to Covington becoming part of new State Route 338. The first piece of State Route 395, which ended up extending from Warm Springs to West Virginia, was also created in 1924 as a spur from SR 39 at Monterey. The entire Covington-West Virginia corridor (SR 395 and part of SR 338) became State Route 800 in 1928 (along with an extension southwest from Covington), and was renumbered State Route 18 in 1933. Also in 1933, the part of SR 17 south of Clifton Forge became State Route 12. US 220 was extended into Virginia in 1935, replacing SR 18 north of Covington, all of SR 12, and all of US 311 in Virginia. US 311 has since been re-extended into the state west of Danville. The modern US 220 corridor was added to the state highway system as follows:

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{state detail page browse, type=US, route=220, state=Virginia, statebefore=North Carolina, stateafter=West Virginia 20-2

U.S. Route 220 U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a spur route of US 20. It runs in a north–south layout in the eastern United States, unlike its parent route as well as conventionally even-numbered highways, which run east-west. US 220 extends for ...

Virginia

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links