US 221 in Virginia
| US 221 | |||
| Begin | Independence | ||
| End | Lynchburg | ||
| Length | 153 mi | ||
| Length | 246 km | ||
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According to directoryaah, US 221 is a US Highway in the US state of Virginia. The road forms an east-west route in the southwestern part of the state, connecting the North Carolina border at Independence through Roanoke to Lynchburg. The route is 246 kilometers long.
Travel directions
US 221 between Hillsville and Roanoke.
South of Independence, US 221 in North Carolina double -numbered with US 21 from Spartanburg enters the state of Virginia. At Independence, US 221 exits with US 58 east from Bristol and continues on US 21 toward Wytheville. The US 58 and US 221 will then be double-numbered over 45 kilometers and have 2×2 lanes. You pass through Galax and at Hillsville you cross Interstate 77. In Hillsville the road turns northeast and crosses US 52. US 58 also exits here towards Martinsville and Danville in the east.
US 221 then continues as a secondary route through rolling farmland to the northeast, parallel to the Blue Ridge, a ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. Between Hillsville and Roanoke there are only a few villages in 100 kilometers and no major roads cross either. The Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic tourist road, runs parallel to the route. One then reaches Roanoke, the largest city in western Virginia, and crosses Interstate 581, which is double-numbered with US 220. The US 221 merges here with the US 460. Both roads are then double numbered until Bedford and have 2×2 lanes. In Bedford, US 221 exits to go straight to Lynchburg, while US 460 forms a slightly more southerly route past Lynchburg. US 221 then ends in the town of Lynchburg.
History
US 221 was added to the network in 1930 but ran only in North Carolina at the time. The route was extended north to Roanoke in 1932 and to Lynchburg in 1972, with a fairly long double numbering with US 460.
When US 221 passed through Virginia, the section between Hillsville and Roanoke was largely unpaved. This was paved in stages between 1933 and 1939. At the time, the Blue Ridge Parkway was also built as a tourist road in this area.
US 221 has kept a secondary character in Virginia, except on the stretches where it is double-numbered with other US Highways, most prominently US 58 between Independence and Hillsville and US 460 between Roanoke and Bedford, which have been expanded as a 2×2 divided highway..
Originally US 58/221 followed a very secondary route between Independence and Galax, US 58/221 then stayed longer north of the New River and followed what is now State Route 94. In 1979 the new, more direct route between Independence and Galax opened as a 2×2 divided highway. Between 1984-1986, US 58/221 between Galax and Hillsville was widened to 2×2 lanes.
About 1970, the stretch of US 221/460 between Roanoke and Bedford was widened to 2×2 lanes.
US 23 in Virginia
| US 23 | |||
| Get started | Weber City | ||
| End | pound | ||
| Length | 61 mi | ||
| Length | 98 km | ||
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According to Ebizdir, US 23 is a US Highway in the US state of Virginia. Forming a north-south route in the extreme southwest of the state, the road has a minimum of 2×2 lanes throughout, but is barely a highway. The route is 98 kilometers long.
Travel directions
US 23 at Weber City.
Just south of Weber City, US 23 in Tennessee enters the state from Kingsport, then crosses a ridge before joining US 58 and US 421, which come from Bristol. The road is then actually a highway and runs through a narrow valley to the west. At Duffiel, both roads turn west toward Middlesboro, Kentucky, then US 23 runs north, with 2×2 lanes. The road passes through a mountainous and wooded area, forming a highway for a bit from Big Stone Gap. The road then rises to more than 700 meters, before crossing the border with Kentucky. US 23 in Kentucky continues towards Huntington.
History
US 23 was created in 1926. The route did not run through Virginia at that time, but it did so in 1930 when the route was extended from Maysville, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia. From that moment on, the route was already completely asphalted. Like many roads in the Appalachian Mountains, US 23 has been upgraded to a 2×2 lane divided highway to make up for the lack of highways. This was Corridor B of the Appalachian Development Highway System.
The first section to be widened to 2×2 lanes was the southernmost section between the Tennessee border and Weber City. By 1975, nearly all of US 23 had 2×2 lanes. In 1980, the northernmost section across the Pound Gap on the Kentucky border was widened to 2×2 lanes. In 1986 the Esserville bypass opened to traffic and in 1991 the Norton bypass opened.
