U.S. Route 52 in Virginia

Virginia Byway
Virginia Byway
Major junctions
South end	US 52 near Mount Airy, NC
	US 58 in Hillsville; US 221 in Hillsville; I-81 / US 11 in Fort Chiswell; US 21 in Wytheville;
North end	I-77 / US 52 near Bluefield, WV
Location
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Counties	Carroll, Wythe, Bland
Highway system
	United States Numbered Highway System; List; Special; Divided; Virginia Routes; Interstate; US; Primary; Secondary; Byways; History; HOT lanes;

U.S. Route 52 (US 52) in

Interstate 77

(I-77) corridor. Though an even-numbered U.S. route, it is signed north–south in Virginia (standard convention being to label even-numbered U.S. routes with east–west designations). In some other states along its route, it is signed east–west. The Virginia segment is signed such that US 52 north corresponds to the general westward direction of the highway, and vice versa.

Route description

US 52 parallels

US 58 at the south edge of town, and in the center of town, it meets US 221 (Stuart Drive) at an intersection, where South Main Street becomes North Main Street, before leaving north out of town along Poplar Camp Road. Gradually climbing through the rolling foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, an intersection with SR 69 provides another access point for I-77, before it crosses over the New River

and passes under, but does not interchange with, I-77.

In Fort Chiswell, US 52 meets SR 94 at the center of town before merging with I-77 North/I-81 South/US 11 South. The four routes continue along a freeway together to the city of Wytheville, Virginia, where US 11 leaves along Lee Highway/East Main Street, then I-77 leaves northward along its own freeway, and finally US 52 leaves the freeway at North 4th Street. Leaving Wytheville along Stoney Fork Road, US 52 begins its steep climb across the peak of the Blue Ridge Mountains, passing Big Walker Lookout tower at a hairpin turn just at the ridge of the mountains. Descending via a long series of short switchbacks down the other side of the mountain ridge, there is an interchange with I-77 in the community of Bland. From here northwards, the road is known as Scenic Highway, and it again crosses another ridge of mountains, steeply climbing to meet the Appalachian Trail south of the community of Bastian. Past Bastian, SR 666 provides access to I-77 yet again, and US 52 passes through the small community of Hicksville before a complex interchange with I-77 and SR 606 at Wolf Creek. US 52 closely hugs I-77 as the two routes follow the narrow Wolf Creek valley, as US 52 serves as a frontage road to the southbound lanes of I-77. At Rocky Gap there is a brief concurrency with SR 61 and an interchange with I-77. US 52 merges with I-77 just south of the East River Mountain Tunnel entrance. The two routes pass into West Virginia through the tunnel.

History

The piece of US 52 south of

U.S. Route 21.^[4]^[5]

An extension of SR 15 from Fort Chiswell north to

State Route 121

.

US 121 was absorbed by an extension of US 52 by 1935. US 52 was extended through West Virginia and along US 21 to

Wytheville and US 11 to Fort Chiswell, where it replaced US 121 into North Carolina.^[7]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi^[8]	km	Destinations	Notes
Mt. Airy, Winston-Salem	Continuation into North Carolina
	Fancy Gap			Blue Ridge Parkway	Interchange
		9.42	15.16	Charlotte
	US 58	Interchange
	US 58	16.43	26.44	I-77 – Galax, Floyd
Charlotte
	Farmers Store			SR 94 south (Ivanhoe Road) – Ivanhoe, Fries, Big Survey Wildlife Management Area
	Charlotte, NC, Roanoke	Southern end of I-77/I-81/US 11 concurrency
	see I-81
	US 21 south (North 4th Street) – Bristol, Wytheville, Wytheville Community College	Northern end of I-81 concurrency
	SR 680 (Black Lick Road) – Rural Retreat	Former SR 90 south
Bland		59.62	95.95	SR 42 west (West Blue Grass Trail) – Broadford, Saltville	Southern end of SR 42 concurrency
		63.59	102.34	I-77 – Bluefield, Wytheville	I-77 exit 52
	Bland CH
	Bland CH	64.50	103.80	SR 42 east (East Blue Grass Trail) – Poplar Hill	Northern end of SR 42 concurrency
		77.27	124.35	SR 61 west (Clear Fork Creek Road) – Tazewell	Southern end of SR 61 concurrency
		77.33	124.45	I-77 – Bluefield, Wytheville	I-77 exit 64
	Rocky Gap	77.73	125.09	SR 61 east (Wolf Creek Highway) – Narrows	Northern end of SR 61 concurrency
		79.92	128.62	I-77 south / SR 598 north – Bluefield, Wytheville	Southern end of I-77 concurrency
East River Mountain		80.62	129.75	East River Mountain Tunnel
East River Mountain		80.62	129.75	I-77 north / US 52 north – Beckley	Continuation into West Virginia state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus

References

^ State Highway Commission of Virginia (July 5, 1922). "Minutes of the First Meeting of the State Highway Commission Created Under the Acts of 1922" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia., Proposed "State Highway System" for Virginia, as Recommended by the State Roads Committee, January 1918
^ State Highway Commission of Virginia (November 8–11, 1922). "Minutes of the Fifth Meeting of the State Highway Commission" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 11.
^ State Highway Commission of Virginia (April 10–11, 1924). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. pp. 12–13.
OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via Wikimedia Commons
.

^ "United States Numbered Highways". American Highways. April 1927.

^ State Highway Commission of Virginia (July 24–25, 1931). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 70.

^ Weingroff, Richard F. "U.S. 52 Charleston, South Carolina, to Portal, North Dakota". Federal Highway Administration.

^ "Daily Traffic Volume Estimates Jurisdiction Report: Carroll County" (PDF). Virginia Department of Transportation. 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
"Daily Traffic Volume Estimates Jurisdiction Report: Wythe County" (PDF). Virginia Department of Transportation. 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
"Daily Traffic Volume Estimates Jurisdiction Report: Bland County" (PDF). Virginia Department of Transportation. 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2011.

External links

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Media related to U.S. Route 52 in Virginia at Wikimedia Commons

U.S. Route 52

Previous state:
West Virginia Virginia Next state:
North Carolina

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SR 14
Two‑digit State Routes
1923-1933
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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=U.S._Route_52_in_Virginia&oldid=1208443176"

[1] State Highway Commission of Virginia (July 5, 1922). "Minutes of the First Meeting of the State Highway Commission Created Under the Acts of 1922" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia., Proposed "State Highway System" for Virginia, as Recommended by the State Roads Committee, January 1918

[2] State Highway Commission of Virginia (November 8–11, 1922). "Minutes of the Fifth Meeting of the State Highway Commission" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 11.

[3] State Highway Commission of Virginia (April 10–11, 1924). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. pp. 12–13.

[4] OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via Wikimedia Commons
.

[5] "United States Numbered Highways". American Highways. April 1927.

[6] State Highway Commission of Virginia (July 24–25, 1931). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 70.

[7] Weingroff, Richard F. "U.S. 52 Charleston, South Carolina, to Portal, North Dakota". Federal Highway Administration.

[Traffic_Data-8] "Daily Traffic Volume Estimates Jurisdiction Report: Carroll County" (PDF). Virginia Department of Transportation. 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
"Daily Traffic Volume Estimates Jurisdiction Report: Wythe County" (PDF). Virginia Department of Transportation. 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
"Daily Traffic Volume Estimates Jurisdiction Report: Bland County" (PDF). Virginia Department of Transportation. 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2011.

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