U.S. Route 460 (US 460) in

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 ...

runs east-west through the southern part of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

. The road has two separate pieces in Virginia, joined by a relatively short section in

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 ...

. Most of US 460 is a four-lane divided highway and is a major artery in the southern third of the state. From Petersburg to

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, US 460 is a four-lane non-divided highway. It is a popular alternative to

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 ...

(I-64) when going from

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

and other points in central Virginia to the

Currituck Sound Currituck Sound ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separatin ...

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 ...

, avoiding the congestion and tunnels of the more northerly I-64 corridor. The road passes through several small towns that built up at stops along the railroad line. US 460 from

I-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 I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Isla ...

at Christiansburg west to

Pikeville, Kentucky Pikeville () is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Pike County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 7,754 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. Pikeville serves as a regional eco ...

, including the piece in West Virginia, is Corridor Q of the

Appalachian Development Highway System The Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) is a series of highway corridors in the Appalachia region of the eastern United States. The routes are designed as local and regional routes for improving economic development in the historica ...

. From West Virginia east to I-81, US 460 also is part of the proposed

I-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, providing a freeway connec ...

Route description

Big Rock to Bluefield

US 460 enters Buchanan County from

Pike County, Kentucky Pike County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 58,669. Its county seat is Pikeville, Kentucky, Pikeville. The county was founded in 1821. It is ...

, within the

Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms " Al ...

, a multi-state

dissected plateau A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded, and the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of fold (geology), ...

that is part of 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 ...

. The U.S. Highway heads southeast as a two-lane road parallel to

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 ...

Buchanan Branch Buchanan may refer to: People * James Buchanan (1791–1868), the 15th president of the United States * Buchanan (surname) Places Antarctica * Buchanan Point, Laurie Island Australia * Buchanan, New South Wales * Buchanan, Northern Territo ...

in the narrow valley of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. US 460 passes by the communities of Conaway, Big Rock, and Artia before entering the town of Grundy, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Buchanan County, as Riverside Drive. The highway expands to four lanes and then becomes a divided highway as it approaches the center of Grundy, where the slopes of the hills have been blasted away to improve flood control, relocate highways to higher ground, and create more usable land for building. US 460 meets SR 83 (Edgewater Drive) at the confluence of Slate Creek and Levisa Fork. The two highways run concurrently south as a mix of two- and four-lane road through Tookland to Vansant, where SR 83 (Lovers Gap Road) splits west toward Clintwood. US 460 continues east as a four-lane divided highway through Deel, Janey, and Oakwood, the site of the Appalachian College of Pharmacy and where the railroad veers away from the highway. The U.S. Highway continues through Keen Mountain and Grimsleyville, between which the route leaves Levisa Fork near its headwaters. US 460 ascends to Shortt Gap, where the highway crosses Sandy Ridge. There, US 460 leaves the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

watershed for the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

watershed, leaves the Cumberland Plateau for 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 ...

, and enters Tazewell County. US 460 descends Sandy Ridge south along Coal Creek and passes through the community of Red Ash. The four-lane divided highway, named for

George C. Peery George Campbell Peery (October 28, 1873 – October 14, 1952) was a Virginia lawyer, school principal and Democratic politician, who served as the 52nd governor of Virginia from 1934 to 1938, after serving three terms in the U.S. House of Rep ...

, curves east and begins to parallel Norfolk Southern's Clinch Valley District rail line and the

Clinch River The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in ...

Raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

, where the highway is paralleled by and is joined by SR 67. US 460 and SR 67 enter the town of Richlands; west of the downtown area, US 460 Bus. splits east with SR 67 onto Front Street. US 460 passes to the north of downtown and has a

partial cloverleaf A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial road, arterial Interchange (road), interchange designs ...

interchange with SR 67 (Railroad Avenue). The U.S. Highway continues into the town of Cedar Bluff and has a pair of

right-in/right-out Right-in/right-out (RIRO) and left-in/left-out (LILO) refer to a type of three-way road intersection where turning movements of vehicles are restricted. A RIRO permits only right turns and a LILO permits only left turns. "Right-in" and "left-in" r ...

interchanges with its business route, here named Cedar Valley Drive. US 460 leaves the railroad and river, collects the eastern end of its business route, and heads south out of Cedar Bluff to Claypool Hill, where the highway intersects

US 19 U.S. Route 19 or U.S. Highway 19 (US 19) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the Eastern United States. Despite encroaching Interstate Highways, the route has remained a long-haul road, connecting the Gulf of Mex ...

(Steelburg Highway). US 460 and US 19 head east along four-lane divided George C. Peery Highway, which is also named The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, through a long east–west valley between Paint Lick Mountain and Deskin Mountain to the south and Smith Ridge to the north. The U.S. Highways rejoin the Clinch River and the Clinch Valley District rail line at Pounding Mill. US 19 and US 460 head through Cliffield and

Maxwell Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of N ...

to Pisgah, where US 19 Bus. and US 460 Bus. split south along Crab Orchard Road toward Frog Level. The mainline highways have a partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 16 Alt. (Fairground Road) at the western town limit of Tazewell. US 460 and US 19 continue through a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade separation, grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. ...

with SR 16 (Tazewell Avenue) and a partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 61 (Riverside Drive) at a crossing of the Clinch River and the railroad west of downtown Tazewell. At the northeast corner of town, the U.S. Highways have a pair of right-in/right-out interchanges with SR 645 and SR 678, cross the rail line, and have a partial interchange with the eastern ends of their business routes. US 460 and US 19 continue east between East River Mountain to the south and Little Valley Ridge to the north; the highways leave the Tennessee River watershed and enter the valley of the

Bluestone River The Bluestone River is a tributary of the New River, 77 mi (124 km) long, in southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia in the United States.New River watershed. The U.S. Highways follow the river through Springville to the town of Bluefield, at the west end of which US 19 (Trail of the Lonesome Pine) splits northeast at a

trumpet interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, usi ...

to pass through the centers of the twin cities of Bluefield, Virginia, and Bluefield. On the southern edge of the town, US 460 parallels SR 720 (Fincastle Turnpike and Valley Dale Street) and has a pair of partial cloverleaf interchanges with that highway; the eastern interchange leads to SR 102 (College Avenue). East of the latter interchange, US 460 enters West Virginia. The U.S. Highway serves that state's Bluefield and

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

before re-entering Virginia near where the New River crosses the Virginia–West Virginia state line.

Glen Lyn to Christiansburg

US 460 re-enters Virginia at the town of Glen Lyn in Giles County at the northwestern end of the

New River Valley Virginia's New River Valley region, colloquially named, is a four-county area along the New River in Southwest Virginia in the United States, including such major features as Claytor Lake, part of the Jefferson National Forest, the city of Ra ...

region. The four-lane divided U.S. Highway, named Virginia Avenue throughout Giles County, crosses the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

, briefly parallels a bend in Norfolk Southern Railway's Christiansburg District, and crosses to the east side of the New River. US 460 follows the river around a bend into the town of Rich Creek, where the highway meets the southern end of US 219 (Island Street). The route follows the river south through a gap between East River Mountain to the west and Peters Mountain to the east to the town of

Narrows A narrows or narrow (used interchangeably but usually in the plural form), is a restricted land or water passage. Most commonly a narrows is a strait, though it can also be a water gap. A narrows may form where a stream passes through a tilte ...

, where the highway meets the eastern end of SR 61 (Fleshman Street). US 460 curves east and crosses the New River again into the county seat of Pearisburg; there, US 460 Bus. (Main Street) splits off at a trumpet interchange to serve downtown Pearisburg and connect with SR 100. East of the town in Ripplemead, the U.S. Highway meets the eastern end of US 460 Bus. (Wenonah Avenue) and SR 636 (Ripplemead Road) at a diamond interchange and crosses the New River and its parallel rail lines. US 460 veers away from the New River and its rail lines at the town of Pembroke, through which the highway temporarily becomes undivided. The highway follows Sinking Creek to Newport, where the highway meets the southern end of the middle segment of SR 42 (Bluegrass Trail). East of Newport, US 460 ascends Sinking Creek Mountain, at the top of which the highway enters Montgomery County. The highway, now named Pandapas Pond Road, passes between the eponymous pond, which is the source of Poverty Creek, which flows west into the New River, and the headwaters of

Craig Creek Craig Creek (also known as Craig's Creek or Craigs Creek) is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the James River in the U.S. state of Virginia. ...

, which flows east toward 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 460 next crosses over Brush Mountain, east of which the highway curves south at Toms Creek and enters the town of Blacksburg. At the north end of town, the long US 460 Bus. that serves both Blacksburg and Christiansburg splits off along Main Street while US 460 bypasses downtown Blacksburg and

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

to the west. The four-lane freeway has partial cloverleaf interchanges with Toms Creek Road and Prices Fork Road, which heads east as SR 412 toward downtown Blacksburg and the center of the Virginia Tech campus. The freeway previously had one at-grade intersection: a junction with Southgate Drive ( SR 314), which provided access to the Virginia Tech athletics facilities, including

Lane Stadium Lane Stadium is a college football stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia. The playing surface of the stadium is named Worsham F ...

and

Cassell Coliseum Cassell Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States, that opened in 1962. It is home to the Virginia Tech Hokies men's and women's basketball teams, wrestling team, and volleyball team. It currently seats 8,925 for bas ...

; the Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine; and a research park that contains

Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport is a public airport named for nearby Virginia Tech and located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Blacksburg, a town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. Fa ...

. Construction started in the spring of 2015 on a new diverging-diamond interchange that replaced the at-grade Southgate Drive intersection. The new interchange is just south (east) of the current intersection and serves both the Virginia Tech campus and the Corporate Research Center via new roads and a relocated Southgate Drive (including two roundabouts). The project, which includes two bridges over US 460, opened in December 2017 one year earlier than estimated. At the southern edge of the research park, US 460 meets its business route (Main Street) at a complex interchange featuring many flyover ramps and a variety of direct and indirect connections to allow every movement between the two highways. Immediately to the east of the interchange is the western end of the

Virginia Smart Road The Virginia Smart Road, also known as simply the Smart Road or Smart Highway, is a short, limited-access road in Montgomery County, Virginia, used for the testing of pavement technologies and as a proving ground for new transportation technologi ...

, a

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 ...

facility that is not open to the public. US 460 continues south parallel to its business route and enters the town of Christiansburg, the county seat of Montgomery County. The U.S. Highway has a partial cloverleaf interchange with the eastern end of SR 114 (Peppers Ferry Road) before it reaches another complex interchange with US 460 Bus. (Franklin Street). That interchange includes pair of flyovers from both directions of US 460 and a trumpet interchange to the north of Norfolk Southern's Christiansburg District and the business route's interchange with SR 111 (Cambria Street). US 460 bypasses the center of Christiansburg and crosses over the Christiansburg District rail line before meeting the business route again, this time concurrent with

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 ...

(Roanoke Street), at a diamond interchange just north of US 460's full cloverleaf interchange with I-81, which has collector-distributor lanes through the interchange. The US 460 roadway continues south of I-81 as Parkway Drive, and there are ramps from the southbound I-81 ramp to westbound US 460 and from US 11 to the ramp from eastbound US 460 to southbound I-81. The two directions of US 460 continue along the collector-distributor lanes of I-81 east to the Interstate's partial cloverleaf interchange with US 11 and the eastern end of US 460 Bus., where US 460 exits into a concurrency with US 11.

Christiansburg to Roanoke

US 460 and US 11 follow a four-lane road with center turn lane toward the eastern end of Christiansburg, where the highways cross the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a drainage divide, hydrological divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard drainage basin, watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico wat ...

from the New River watershed to the

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the ...

watershed. This road, named Roanoke Road and

Lee Highway The Lee Highway was a United States auto trail initially connecting from an eastern zero mile marker on the Ellipse in Washington DC to a western zero marker, the Pacific Milestone, in the center of San Diego, California — via the Ame ...

, reduces to two lanes plus center turn lane and then two lanes westbound, one lane eastbound as it descends the Pedlar Hills, also known as Christiansburg Mountain. At the bottom of the descent, US 460 and US 11 expand to a four-lane divided highway and parallel the Christiansburg District rail line and Spring Branch to the stream's confluence with the South Fork of the Roanoke River at Shawsville. The U.S. Highways follow the rail line and South Fork through Elliston to its confluence with the North Fork to form the Roanoke River proper at Lafayette, just east of which the road enters

Roanoke County Roanoke County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, its population was 96,929. Its county seat is Salem, but the county administrative offices are located in the census-designated place of ...

. US 460 and US 11 continue east along the river valley between

Poor Mountain Poor Mountain is a ridge of high peaks located in Roanoke County, Virginia and Montgomery County, Virginia. At 3,928 feet, Poor Mountain is the tallest mountain in the immediate area. Poor Mountain has the largest known population, by far, of ...

to the south and Fort Lewis Mountain to the north through Glenvar until the valley opens into the broad

Roanoke Valley The Roanoke Valley ( ) in southwest Virginia is an area adjacent to and including the Roanoke River between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Plateau to the west. The valley includes much of Roanoke County, as well as the ...

as the road enters 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 Salem.

US 11 NB-US 460 EB at US 11 ALT-US 460 ALT

US 460 and US 11 enter Salem along Main Street, a four-lane road with center turn lane. The highways intersect SR 112 (Wildwood Road), a connector with I-81, then pass the historic Preston House and veer away from the railroad and river west of their junction with US 11 Alt. and US 460 Alt., which veer southeast along Fourth Street. US 460 and US 11 continue along a two- or three-lane street past the historic

McVitty Home McVitty House, also known as the Inn at Burwell Place, is a historic home located at Salem, Virginia. It was built in 1906 and expanded with a substantial addition in 1925. It is a -story, L-shaped, Colonial Revival style frame dwelling. It feat ...

before entering the Downtown Salem Historic District. Within downtown, the U.S. Highways pass the Salem Post Office and Salem Presbyterian Church before they diverge when US 11 turns south onto College Avenue; College Avenue to the north leads to

Roanoke College Roanoke College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers ...

, and the Main–College intersection is next to the Old Roanoke County Courthouse. One block to the east, US 460 intersects SR 311 (Thompson Memorial Drive). US 460 continues east past the Williams-Brown House and Store, Salem Presbyterian Parsonage, and Longwood Park and the western end of Lynchburg Turnpike. The U.S. Highway expands to a four-lane divided highway as it crosses a rail spur and intersects SR 419 (Electric Road), where US 460 Alt. ends and US 11 Alt. joins US 460 east out of Salem. US 460 and US 11 Alt. enter the independent city of Roanoke as Melrose Avenue. The highways intersect SR 117 (Peters Creek Road) and intersect and become concurrent with SR 116 (Lafayette Boulevard) on the west side of Roanoke. On the western edge of the Melrose-Rugby neighborhood, US 460, US 11 Alt., and SR 116 reduce to three lanes. The highways veer onto Salem Turnpike to shift from Melrose Avenue to Orange Avenue. The street becomes four lanes again at 11th Street, then it passes along the southern end of the Washington Park before expanding back to divided highway ahead of the cloverleaf interchange with I-581 and

US 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 ...

. At I-581, road gains a fourth route, US 220 Alt.; gains an additional lane in each direction; and passes to the north of the

Roanoke Civic Center Berglund Center (originally called the Roanoke Civic Center) is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Williamson Road neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1971 and is currently the home of the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs of ...

. The next intersection, US 11 (Williamson Road), serves as the eastern terminus of US 11 Alt. In addition, SR 116 turns south toward

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 US 221 joins US 460 and US 220 Alt. from Downtown Roanoke. US 460, US 221, and US 220 Alt. continue east with six lanes. The highways pass under Norfolk Southern's Roanoke District, meet the southern end of SR 115 (Hollins Road), and drop to four lanes before crossing Tinker Creek. The routes curve northeast and pass historic Mount Moriah Baptist Church and Cemetery before leaving the city of Roanoke and re-entering Roanoke County, where US 220 Alt. splits north onto Cloverdale Road at Bonsack between Read Mountain to the west and the spine of the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

to the east.

Roanoke to Lynchburg (Salem-Lynchburg Turnpike)

US 460 and US 221 continue northeast into Botetourt County along four-lane divided Blue Ridge Boulevard. The highways pass by the hamlet of Coyner Springs to the east of Coyner Mountain and through the community of Laymantown, where they meet 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 a partial cloverleaf interchange. US 460 and US 221 continue through the community of Blue Ridge and parallel Norfolk Southern Railway's Blue Ridge District across the spine of the Blue Ridge at low and wide

Buford's Gap Buford's Gap is a wind gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Bedford County, Virginia. Buford's Gap was the original crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains for the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, later the Norfolk and Western Railway, a precursor of ...

, just south of which the routes enter Bedford County. US 460 and US 221 gradually curve east as Lynchburg Salem Turnpike, parallel the South Folk of Goose Creek, and pass through the communities of Villamont and Montvale, between which the U.S. Highways pass to the south of the railroad. The routes cross the North Fork of Goose Creek just north of its confluence with the South Fork to form the main stream, then the carriageways briefly split wide where they and Goose Creek pass between Porters Mountain to the south and Taylors Mountain to the north as the U.S. Highways leave the Blue Ridge Mountains and enter the Virginia

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

. US 460 and US 221 parallel the Blue Ridge District rail line through Irving and Thaxton to the town of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

. At the west end of town, the U.S. Highways have a partial interchange with US 460 Bus. (Blue Ridge Avenue), which parallels the railroad toward downtown Bedford, where it intersects SR 43; the interchange has no direct access from the westbound business route to the eastbound U.S. Highways. US 460 and US 221 bypass the center of town to the south, where they have a diamond interchange with SR 122 (Burks Hill Road), which joins the U.S. Highways heading east, and its business route, which provides access to the

National D-Day Memorial The National D-Day Memorial is a war memorial located in Bedford, Virginia. It serves as the national memorial for American D-Day veterans. However, its scope is international in that it states, "In Tribute to the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of ...

. The three highways pass under SR 43 (South Street) with no access before receiving the other end of US 460 Bus. (Main Street) at a diamond interchange at the east end of Bedford where US 221 and SR 122 exit north to serve the east side of the town. US 460 continues through eastern Bedford County, crossing the Big Otter River on its way to the hamlet of New London on the east side of the Campbell County line, where the route's name becomes Lynchburg Highway. The highway becomes a freeway at its trumpet interchange with US 460 Bus. (Timberlake Road) on the southern edge of the Lynchburg suburb of Timberlake. US 460 has a diamond interchange with SR 682 (Leesville Road) then curves northeast and has a diamond interchange with SR 678 (Airport Road) on the west side of Lynchburg Regional Airport. North of the airport, the route has a cloverleaf interchange with Wards Road, which heads south as

US 29 U.S. Route 29 or U.S. Highway 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida, to Ellicott City, Maryland, just west of Baltimore, Maryland, in the Eastern United States, connect ...

and north as US 29 Bus. Immediately to the north of the junction, US 460 and US 29 cross over Norfolk Southern's Danville District rail line and enter the independent city of Lynchburg. US 460 and US 29 head north along the western slope of Candlers Mountain through the campus of

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

. Access to the university is via five widely spaced ramps: a northbound entrance ramp from Liberty Mountain Drive, a northbound exit for Candlers Mountain Road, a southbound right-in/right-out interchange with University Boulevard near

Williams Stadium Arthur L. Williams Stadium is a 25,000-seat football stadium located on the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, US. The stadium was built in 1989 and plays host to Liberty Flames football, which is a part of the NCAA Division I - ...

, and a southbound entrance ramp from Champion Circle near the Vines Center. North of Candlers Mountain Road, US 460 and US 29 have a

directional T interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...

with US 501. The three U.S. Highway continue northeast across Norfolk Southern's

Durham District The City of Durham was, from 1974 to 2009, a non-metropolitan district of County Durham in North East England, with the status of borough and city. Formation The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the existing City of Durham ...

rail line to the end of the freeway at a partial cloverleaf interchange with Campbell Avenue, which carries US 501 southeast toward Rustburg and US 460 Bus. and US 501 Bus. west toward downtown Lynchburg.

Lynchburg to Petersburg (Richmond Highway)

US 460 and US 29 continue along four-lane divided Richmond Highway, which heads east past Falwell Airport and across Norfolk Southern's Blue Ridge District. The U.S. Highway diverge at a large trumpet interchange at the eastern city limit of Lynchburg. US 460 briefly parallels the

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, 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 trac ...

rail line that follows the south bank of the James River before the railroad and river veer north. The highway has a trumpet interchange with SR 726 (Mount Athos Road) at Kelly and crosses Beaver Creek as it heads southeast to Concord at the Appomattox County line, where

SR 24 Route 24, or Highway 24, can refer to: International * European route E24 Australia * Lyell Highway (Tasmania) * Central Arnhem Road, NT Austria * Verbindungsspange Rothneusiedel Bolivia * Route 24 (Bolivia), National Route 24 (Bolivia) ...

(Village Highway) joins the U.S. Highway. US 460 and SR 24 continue east parallel to the Blue Ridge District rail line through Spout Spring to the town of Appomattox. US 460 Bus. (Confederate Boulevard) splits south toward the center of town at a diamond interchange that also marks the southern terminus of SR 26 (Oakville Road). SR 24 (Old Courthouse Road) splits northeast toward

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park The Appomattox Court House National Historical Park is the preserved 19th-century village named Appomattox Court House in Appomattox County, Virginia. The village was named for the presence nearby of what is now preserved as the Old Appomatto ...

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 ...

; SR 131 heads southwest toward the center of town in the opposite direction. US 460 continues along the east side of town before it collects the other end of US 460 Bus. (Confederate Boulevard) at a partial interchange that has no ramp from the eastbound business route to westbound US 460. US 460 continues southeast through

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

and briefly rejoins the railroad at

Flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

. The US 460 Bus. serving Pamplin City, which provides access to SR 47, splits southeast along the road while US 460 curves east and enters Prince Edward County. The U.S. Highway collects its business route at

Shields A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

and continues east as Prince Edward Highway through

Elam Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (minin ...

, east of which the railroad and highway diverge. The

Farmville ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network games developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to '' Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plo ...

edition of US 460 Bus. splits at a trumpet interchange near Dowdy Corner;

US 15 U.S. Route 15 or U.S. Highway 15 (US 15) is a United States Numbered Highway, serving the states of South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York (state), New York. The route is signed north–sou ...

(Sheppards Road) joins US 460 on the freeway bypass. The U.S. Highways cross over Buffalo Creek and US 15 diverges at a diamond interchange south of town; US 15 Bus. heads north along Farmville Road into the county seat. US 460 collects the eastern end of its business route, which follows Third Street, at a partial interchange at the east town limit. US 460 crosses the Bush and

Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Sandy (surname), a list of people * Sandy (Iranian music band), Iranian singer, comp ...

rivers on its way to

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

, where SR 307 (Holly Farms Road) splits east while US 460 veers southeast; SR 307 provides a shortcut to US 360 to

. The U.S. Highway enters Nottoway County before it reaches a junction with US 360 (Patrick Henry Highway) on the west side of Burkeville. The junction is a partial trumpet interchange with an intersection with the west end of the fully concurrent US 360 Bus. and US 460 Bus. (Second Street); there is no direct access from eastbound US 460 to westbound US 360 or from the westbound U.S. Highways to the business route. US 460 and US 360 loop around the northern edge of town and collect the dual business routes at the east town limit, just west of their bridge across Norfolk Southern's Richmond District. East of the railroad, the U.S. Highways diverge at a partial interchange; access from westbound US 460 to eastbound US 360 and from westbound US 360 to eastbound US 460 is via SR 723 (Lewiston Plank Road). US 460 continues east parallel to Norfolk Southern's Blue Ridge District into the town of

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

, where the highway follows Virginia Avenue. East of SR 49 (Watsons Wood Road), the two highways reduce to a two-lane road with center turn lane and parallel the Crewe rail yard that separates Norfolk Southern's Blue Ridge and

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 ...

districts. In the center of town, SR 49 splits south onto The Falls Road. US 460 expands back to a four-lane divided highway at the east end of town. The U.S. Highway parallels the railroad to east of its trumpet interchange with the west end of US 460 Bus. (Old Nottoway Road) at the county seat of Nottoway. US 460 passes along the northern edge of the town of Blackstone, where it has a diamond interchange with SR 606 (Cottage Road), and picks up the railroad again at its intersection with the eastern end of the business route, Cox Road, on the north side of

Fort Barfoot Fort Pickett, formerly Fort Barfoot, is a Virginia Army National Guard installation, located near the town of Blackstone, Virginia. Home of the Army National Guard Maneuver Training Center, Fort Pickett was originally named for the United ...

. US 460 heads east along Cox Road and meets the southern end of SR 153 (Rocky Hill Road) at Wellville before entering Dinwiddie County. The U.S. Highway passes through the hamlets of Wilsons,

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

(where it crosses to the south side of the railroad), Ford, Walkers, Church Road, and

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

as it approaches Petersburg. US 460 veers away from the railroad at its junction with SR 226, on which the Cox Road name continues while the U.S. Highway continues on Airport Street. US 460 passes Dinwiddie County Airport shortly before its partial cloverleaf interchange with I-85 where the highway joins the Interstate. US 460 Bus. continues along Airport Street to

US 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort ...

(Boydton Plank Road), which it joins to head toward downtown Petersburg.

Petersburg to Suffolk

In the Petersburg area, US 460 leaves the Piedmont and enters the

Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. I-85 and US 460 cross over Norfolk Southern's Norfolk District rail line and meet US 1 and US 460 Bus. (Boydton Plank Road) again at a partial cloverleaf interchange before entering the independent city of Petersburg. The highways have a diamond interchange with Squirrel Level Road then cross over CSX's North End Subdivision and pass under US 301 Alt. (Sycamore Street) as they approach I-95. I-85 reaches its northern terminus at a trumpet interchange with I-95 (Richmond Petersburg Turnpike) that features ramps with adjacent interchanges serving downtown Petersburg to the north and the southeastern part of the city to the south. The ramp from northbound I-85 to southbound I-95 joins that direction's collector-distributor lanes for interchanges with US 301 (Crater Road) and US 460 Bus. Eastbound US 460 Bus. briefly runs concurrently with eastbound US 460 along the collector-distributor lanes from the ramp from southbound US 301 to the ramp where US 460 Bus. exits; westbound US 460 Bus. does not join any part of I-95, and there is no access from westbound US 460 Bus. to southbound I-95 and eastbound US 460. South of the collector-distributor roads, I-95 and US 460 cross over the Norfolk District rail line and Blackwater Swamp, the headwaters of 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 ...

, before the highways split at a cloverleaf interchange with Wagner Road. US 460 follows four-lane divided Wagner Road across the Norfolk District rail line to a four-legged intersection with US 460 Bus. (County Drive) and SR 106 (Courthouse Road). US 460 heads southeast along four-lane divided County Drive and enters

Prince George County Prince George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George. Prince George County is located within the Greater Richmond Region of the U.S. sta ...

at its cloverleaf interchange with

I-295 Interstate 295 is the designation for the following eight Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: *Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania), a bypass of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Interstate 295 (Florida), a be ...

. The U.S. Highway becomes undivided and parallels the rail line through New Bohemia and Disputanta on either side of its intersection with SR 156 (Prince George Drive). US 460 enters Sussex County along General Mahone Highway, which is named for

William Mahone William Mahone (December 1, 1826October 8, 1895) was a Confederate States Army general, civil engineer, railroad executive, prominent Virginia Readjuster Party, Readjuster and ardent supporter of former slaves. He later represented Virginia in th ...

, the builder of the

Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad The Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was built between Norfolk and Petersburg, Virginia and was completed by 1858. The line was of track gauge. It played a role on the American Civil War (1861–1865), and became part of the Atlantic, Mississip ...

whose course US 460 parallels southeast of Petersburg. Mahone and his wife, Otelia Butler Mahone, were responsible for naming the stations along the railroad, including Disputanta; these stations eventually became the towns and villages along US 460. The U.S. Highway intersects SR 40 (Main Street) in the town of Waverly and meets the southern end of SR 31 (Main Street) in the town of

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

. A well-known local landmark, th
Virginia Diner
is in Wakefield, the so-called "Peanut Capital of the World", and near the site of the first commercial peanut crop grown in the New World. US 460 clips the southern corner of Surry County on its way between Sussex and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

counties. The route passes through the town of Ivor and crosses the Blackwater River into the town of Zuni in Isle of Wight County, where the route follows Windsor Highway. US 460 intersects

US 258 U.S. Route 258 (US 258) is a spur of U.S. Route 58, US 58 in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. The United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway runs from U.S. Route 17 Business (Jacksonville, North Carolina), US 17 Business and ...

(Prince Boulevard) in the town of Windsor. East of Windsor, US 460 veers away from the Norfolk Southern rail line and enters the independent city of Suffolk as Pruden Boulevard. Northwest of downtown Suffolk, US 460 joins US 13 and US 58 on the Suffolk Bypass at a partial cloverleaf interchange; US 460 Bus. continues toward downtown along Pruden Boulevard. The three U.S. Highways have a partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 10 and SR 32 (Godwin Boulevard), cross the

Nansemond River The Nansemond River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the James River in Virginia in the United States. Virginian colonists named the river ...

, and have a diamond interchange with SR 642 (Wilroy Road). The bypass veers southeast and crosses the Commonwealth Railway line to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and SR 337 (Nansemond Parkway) without access. US 460, US 13, and US 58 curve back east and receive their respective business routes (Portsmouth Boulevard) at a partial interchange that includes a loop ramp from the westbound business routes to the eastbound mainline highways.

Chesapeake

US 460, US 13, and US 58 head east from Suffolk along six-lane divided Military Highway parallel to CSX's Portsmouth Subdivision rail line across the northern fringe of the

Great Dismal Swamp The Great Dismal Swamp is a large swamp in the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the eastern United States, between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It is located in parts of t ...

. The U.S. Highways enter the city of Chesapeake and pass

Hampton Roads Executive Airport Hampton Roads Executive Airport is a public-use airport southwest of Norfolk and northwest of Chesapeake, Virginia. It is privately owned by Virginia Aviation Associates, L.L.C. Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifie ...

before approaching the Bowers Hill area, a major highway junction. The U.S. Highways have an intersection with the west end of West Military Highway, then have a partial cloverleaf interchange with I-664 (Hampton Roads Beltway) that includes a flyover ramp from northbound I-664 to the U.S. Highways toward Suffolk. The ramp from the eastbound U.S. Highways to southbound I-664, which leads to the concurrent termini of I-664, I-64, and I-264, includes a right-in/right-out interchange with West Military Highway. East of I-664, the U.S. Highways reach an intersection with SR 191 (Joliff Road) and Airline Boulevard, onto which US 58 and US 460 Alt. continue straight while US 460 and US 13 turn south onto South Military Highway. The two U.S. Highways pass under I-664, then turn east to remain on South Military Highway at its intersection with West Military Highway; South Military Highway immediately has an at-grade crossing of the Portsmouth Subdivision rail line. US 460 and US 13 head east along four-lane divided Military Highway, which receives a ramp from southbound I-664. The highways curve southeast and cross over an old railroad grade, then veer back east and meet I-64 (Hampton Roads Beltway) at a diamond interchange. US 460 and US 13 intersect

US 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that spans in the Southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its len ...

(George Washington Highway) and the eastern end of SR 196 (Canal Drive) before they parallel Norfolk Southern's Norfolk District rail line across the

Southern Branch Elizabeth River The Southern Branch Elizabeth River is a ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 primarily tidal river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It flows from south to north ...

on the

Gilmerton Bridge The Gilmerton Bridge, originally a twin bascule drawbridge, is now a vertical-lift bridge which spans the Southern Branch Elizabeth River in the City of Chesapeake in South Hampton Roads in southeastern Virginia. Completed in 1938, it carries ...

, a

vertical-lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swi ...

. The U.S. Highways have an at-grade crossing of the Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad ahead of their split at a partial cloverleaf interchange; the fourth leg of the interchange is SR 166 (Bainbridge Boulevard) from the south. The interchange includes a flyover ramp for eastbound US 460 toward Bainbridge Boulevard while US 13 continues east on Military Highway on a bridge across the flyover and the Norfolk District rail line. US 460 and SR 166 follow a two-lane road with center turn lane under I-464 (Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Highway) and across Milldam Creek. North of Freeman Street, which provides access to I-464, the roadway becomes four lanes undivided. US 460 and SR 166 cross over another Norfolk Southern rail line and enter the

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. The largest town is Wymondham, and the district also includes the towns of Costessey, Diss, Harleston, Hingham, Loddon and Long Stratton. The council was based in Long S ...

area of Chesapeake. Within that neighborhood, Bainbridge Boulevard intersects Poindexter Street. SR 337, which provides access to I-464 and to Portsmouth via the Jordan Bridge, enters the intersection from Poindexter Street to the west and turns onto Bainbridge Boulevard; US 460 and SR 166 turn east onto two-lane Poindexter Street. At Liberty Street, which heads east as SR 246, the highways turn west onto Liberty Street then turn northeast again onto 22nd Street and cross over the Norfolk District rail line. US 460 and SR 166 veer from 22nd onto two-lane Wilson Road at the boundary between the cities of Chesapeake and Norfolk.

Norfolk

US 460 and SR 166 follow Wilson Road north through where it expands to a four-lane divided highway just south of its intersection with Indian River Road, which is SR 407 to the east. Next, the highways have an acute intersection with SR 168 (Campostella Road). The three highways head north on six-lane divided Campostella Road and cross the Eastern Branch Elizabeth River on the Campostella Bridge. US 460, SR 166, and SR 168 have a partial interchange with I-264; there is no access from the surface highway to the westbound Interstate or from eastbound I-264 to eastbound US 460. Immediately to the north of the interchange, the highways pass under

Hampton Roads Transit Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) is the regional public transit provider for Virginia's Hampton Roads metropolitan area, including the cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, and the town o ...

's Tide Light Rail and its elevated

NSU station NSU station is a Tide Light Rail station in Norfolk, Virginia. It opened in August 2011 and is situated adjacent to Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and univ ...

at the southwest corner of the

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnersh ...

campus. The three highways head west on Brambleton Avenue; SR 166 splits north from US 460 and SR 168 at Park Avenue. US 460 and SR 168 pass under the Norfolk District rail line and intersect Tidewater Drive, onto which SR 168 turns north and from which SR 337 joins US 460 from the south. US 460 and SR 337 follow Brambleton Avenue west together to Church Street, onto which US 460 turns north while SR 337 continues west on Brambleton Avenue with the easternmost portion of US 460 Alt. US 460 follows four-lane divided Church Street through an intersection with US 58 (Virginia Beach Boulevard), an underpass of the Norfolk District rail line, and intersections with SR 247, which follow the

one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...

of 26th Street and 27th Street. The U.S. Highway has an oblique intersection with Granby Street, the name the highway keeps to its eastern terminus, south of the

Virginia Zoological Park The Virginia Zoological Park, commonly known as the Virginia Zoo, is a zoo located adjacent to Lafayette Park in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. The zoo opened in 1900, and was accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in 198 ...

. US 460 becomes a four-lane road with center turn lane as it passes the zoo, then becomes divided again just before it crosses the

Lafayette River The Lafayette River, earlier known as Tanner's Creek, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tidal estuary which empties into the Elizabeth River just south ...

. The highway intersects SR 165 (Little Creek Road) and meets I-64 (Hampton Roads Beltway) and I-564 (Admiral Taussig Boulevard), which serves

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 ...

, at the junction of the Interstates just north of the U.S. Highway's at-grade crossing of the secondary Norfolk Southern rail line. US 460 receives a ramp from I-564, eastbound US 460 has a ramp to I-564, and westbound US 460 receives a ramp from eastbound I-64. Access from US 460 to eastbound I-64 and from westbound I-64 to US 460 is made via SR 165. North of the I-64–I-564 junction, US 460 parallels I-64 along the eastern edge of Naval Station Norfolk; there are ramps from US 460 to both directions of I-64 during the parallel stretch. North of Masons Creek, US 460 veers away from I-64. The U.S. Highway has a partial interchange with SR 168 (Tidewater Drive); there is no access from northbound SR 168 to westbound US 460 or from southbound SR 168 to westbound US 460. Westbound US 460 runs concurrently with US 60 Alt. from SR 168 to US 460's eastern terminus at US 60 (Ocean View Avenue) in the Ocean View neighborhood on the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

River crossings

In South

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is 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 Point near whe ...

, US 460 crosses the Elizabeth River twice on its way to its eastern terminus. In western Chesapeake, it shares the four-lane

with US 13 to cross the Southern Branch of the river. After crossing through the city, it then shares the Campostella Bridge with SR 168 to cross the Eastern Branch in the city of

History

Most of present US 460 or its former alignments was part of the initial Virginia highway system, defined in 1918. Specifically, the following pieces existed: * Claypool Hill to

(

U.S. Route 19 U.S. Route 19 or U.S. Highway 19 (US 19) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the Eastern United States. Despite encroaching Interstate Highways, the route has remained a long-haul road, connecting the Gulf of Mex ...

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 ...

): VA 11 *West Virginia to Christiansburg: VA 23 *Christiansburg to Petersburg (including the

U.S. Route 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 ...

): VA 10 *

(

U.S. Route 58 U.S. Route 58 (US 58) is an east–west U.S. Highway that runs for from U.S. Route 25E just northwest of Harrogate, Tennessee, to U.S. Route 60 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Until 1996, when the Cumberland Gap Tunnel opened, US 58 ran on ...

): VA 10

Kentucky to West Virginia

In late 1921, the Virginia State Highway Commission recommended that the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

add the road from State Route 11 (now

) at Claypool Hill northwest to Grundy to the state highway system as a spur of SR 11 to provide "an easterly outlet from Buchanan County". This spur was assigned the designation State Route 11X by 1923, and later that year it became State Route 111. It was renumbered State Route 126 in the 1928 renumbering and State Route 84 in the 1933 renumbering. A 6.38-mile (10.27 km) extension from Grundy northwest towards Kentucky was added in 1932, and the rest to the state line was added in 1936. In the 1940 renumbering, SR 84 was renumbered State Route 4 to match Kentucky Route 4.

West Virginia to Norfolk

Part of the track of the highway was once known as the Trader's Path, a colonial trail dating from the 17th century that led from

Augusta County, Virginia Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and ...

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

. In the early 1970s, the former

Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. History ...

right-of-way along the north bank of the New River eastward from a point near the Virginia-West Virginia border, near Glen Lyn to

(both in Virginia) was acquired by VDOT's predecessor agency from the

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

to enable four-laning of the highway through the narrow space between the river and rocky bluffs. (The N&W main line follows the south bank through this area). This portion of the highway has experienced long closures due to massive landslides. From Lynchburg east to

, the highway was built closely following the main line of the

(now

Norfolk Southern 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 ...

), in many places. Legend has it that

(1826–1895), builder of the

and his wife, Otelia Butler Mahone (1837–1911), traveled along the newly completed Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad naming stations. Otelia was reading ''Ivanhoe'' by Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

. From his historical Scottish novels, Otelia chose the place names of

as well as Windsor and Waverly. She tapped the Scottish Clan "McIvor" for the name of Ivor, a small town in neighboring Southampton County. As they continued west, they reached a station in Prince George County where they could not agree on a suitable name from the books. Instead, they became creative, and invented a new name in honor of their dispute. This is how the tiny community of Disputanta was named. The N&P railroad was completed in 1858. William Mahone became a Major General in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and later, a Senator in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. After the War, he was also a major force in linking three trunk railroads across a southern tier of Virginia from Norfolk to Bristol to form the

Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O) was formed in 1870 in Virginia from three east–west railroads which traversed across the southern portion of the state. Organized and led by former Confederate States of America, Confederate gen ...

, the principal predecessor of the Norfolk and Western. William and Otelia Mahone made Petersburg their family home in their later years. In modern times, a large portion of U.S. Highway 460 between Petersburg and

is named General Mahone Boulevard in his honor.

Major intersections

Exit numbers reset for every town.

References

External links

Virginia Highways Project: US 460
{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 460 In Virginia 60-4 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 Expressways in the United States 4 in Virginia