Virginia State Route 244

Route map:
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Annandale
Major intersections
East end
I-395 at The Pentagon
in Arlington
Location
CountryUnited States
StateVirginia
CountiesFairfax, Arlington
Highway system
← SR 243→ SR 245

State Route 244 (SR 244) is a primary

Arlington. SR 244 is a major southwest–northeast thoroughfare in northeastern Fairfax County and eastern Arlington County, connecting Annandale with SR 7 at Bailey's Crossroads and SR 120 in the multicultural Westmont
neighborhood of Arlington.

Route description

View west at the east end of SR 244 at SR 27 in Arlington
View east along SR 244 from SR 7 in Bailey's Crossroads

SR 244 begins at an intersection with SR 236 (Little River Turnpike) in Annandale. The westernmost segment of the state highway is a

Lake Barcroft. SR 244 has a partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 7 (Leesburg Pike) at Bailey's Crossroads before crossing the Fairfax–Arlington county line.[1][2]

SR 244 becomes an undivided highway shortly before

Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail. The state highway intersects George Mason Drive, SR 120 (Glebe Road), and Walter Reed Drive in Westmont, which is a center for Arlington's immigrant community, with many stores, restaurants, and other businesses representing south Arlington's cultural diversity. East of Westmont, SR 244 has a partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 27 (Washington Boulevard) that provides access to both directions of I-395 (Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway) at the western end of the Mixing Bowl interchange of the Pentagon road network. The state highway passes to the south of Henderson Hall, the headquarters of the United States Marine Corps. At the United States Air Force Memorial, SR 244 becomes a divided highway, passes through an S-curve, and briefly follows the southern edge of the Arlington National Cemetery reservation. Just to the east, the state highway has another partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 27 that provides access to southbound I-395. SR 244 reaches its eastern terminus at the eastern end of the interchange at the entrance to the Pentagon South parking lot.[1][2]

History

Columbia Pike dates to 1810 when the

paved the road with concrete
in 1928 from the bridge west to Palmer's Hill in Barcroft as part of an experimental testing program.

Columbia Pike was first numbered as State Route 720 in 1930 from

State Route 7 at Bailey's Crossroads and then, between 1934 and 1937, further west to its current terminus at SR 236 in Annandale. With the construction of the Pentagon Columbia Pike was replaced by the Shirley Highway as the Virginia approach to the Long Bridge/14th Street Bridge. By 1944, SR 244 was truncated at the Pentagon; the piece curving away from the original alignment became a state highway in 1964. Until the 1990s, Columbia Pike accommodated rush hour traffic by reversing the direction of one lane using overhead signals. In October 2010, Virginia transferred responsibility for the eastern portion of Columbia Pike to Arlington County.[4]

In 2002, Arlington County adopted the Columbia Pike Initiative, a revitalization plan for the three-and-a-half mile corridor in Arlington. The plan called for development of a high-capacity transit system. The Columbia Pike Initiative was followed in 2003 by adoption of the Form Based Code, which guides development along Columbia Pike. In 2004, the Columbia Pike Street Space Planning Task Force recommended future transit operate in mixed traffic and that the transitway be located in the curb lanes.[5]

Recent efforts by the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization include the replacement of older traffic signals with newer and more aesthetic ones, and the addition of brick texture to crosswalks. County officials also teamed up with the

streetcars to Columbia Pike along an either a 5 or 6-mile (9.7 km) stretch from the Pentagon to the Skyline area.[5][6] In 2016, Arlington County proposed a "premium transit network" using busses in mixed traffic (not dedicated lanes) in place of streetcars.[7][8][9]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
FairfaxAnnandale0.000.00
 SR 236 west (Little River Turnpike) – Fairfax		Western terminus; access from westbound SR 244 to westbound SR 236 only
0.100.16Backlick Road (
Falls Church
east end of one-way westbound section




 To
I-495 / John Marr Drive / Chatelain Road (SR 2948) – Springfield, Alexandria
Belvedere SR 613 (Sleepy Hollow Road)
SR 613 (Lincolnia Road) – Lincolnia
Braddock Road (
SR 620
)
Bailey's Crossroads4.066.53 SR 7 (Leesburg Pike) / to Seminary Road (SR 716) – Falls Church, AlexandriaPartial cloverleaf interchange
Westmont
6.2510.06 SR 120 (South Glebe Road)
​7.2811.72
Washington
Partial cloverleaf interchange
​8.2513.28
Washington, Richmond, Pentagon
South Parking		Eastern terminus; partial cloverleaf interchange
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Columbia Pike Trail

Near Lake Barcroft in Fairfax County, a 0.5 mile long trail called the Columbia Pike Trail runs along the south side of the pike. The trail runs from Firehouse Lane in Bailey's Crossroads to Mary Meindl Court In Lincolnia. The first section of the trail, from Lincolnia to just short of Powell Lane was completed in 2001 when a 184 long bridge over Holmes Run was completed.[10] Prior to 2007, the section from Powell to Firehouse was built. In 2007 the Holmes Run Trail was extended to connect to the Columbia Pike Trail. In 2012, the gap between Holmes and Run and Powell Lane was closed. In June 2017, the trail section between Powell and Madison was widened and rebuilt at a new grade.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "2010 Traffic Data". Virginia Department of Transportation. 2010. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  2. ^ a b Google (2011-12-14). "Virginia State Route 244" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  3. ^ An Act to incorporate a company for making certain turnpike roads in the District of Columbia, 2 U.S. Statutes at Large 570 (Apr. 20, 1810). Unfortunately, the date is erroneously given as 1808 in some texts, which has led to confusion. See, e.g., C.B. Rose, Jr., Arlington County, Virginia: A History, p. 76 (1976).
  4. ^ "Commonwealth Transportation Board Approves Pike Transfer to Arlington". Arlington County. September 16, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  5. ^ a b News Release: Board Endorses Streetcars for Columbia Pike in official website of the government of Arlington County, VA, April 26, 2006. Accessed May 8, 2009.
  6. ^ Fairfax Co. Backs Trolley Proposal Along Columbia Pike in wtop.com: official website of WTOP, May 1, 2006. Accessed May 8, 2009.
  7. ^ "Premium Bus Service Planned for Columbia Pike, Dedicated Lanes to Be Studied". ARLnow.com - Arlington, Va. Local News. 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  8. ^ "Columbia Pike 'Premium Transit Network' Gets Cautious Approval". ARLnow.com - Arlington, Va. Local News. 2017-07-12. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  9. ^ "Dedicated Lanes Unlikely for Columbia Pike 'Premium Transit Network'". ARLnow.com - Arlington, Va. Local News. 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  10. ^ "Portion of Trail Opened". The Washington Post. 21 June 2001.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Virginia State Route 244.
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 District 7 State Routes
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