US 21 in Virginia
| US 21 | |||
| Get started | Independence | ||
| End | Wytheville | ||
| Length | 35 mi | ||
| Length | 56 km | ||
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According to a2zdirectory, US 21 is a US Highway in the US state of Virginia. The road forms a short north-south route in the southwestern part of the state, running from the North Carolina border at Independence to the town of Wytheville. The route is 56 kilometers long.
Travel directions
Just south of Independence, US 21 in North Carolina enters the state of Virginia from Charlotte. The road almost immediately intersects US 58, the east-west route that runs right along the border with North Carolina. The road then runs through a mountainous area with peaks up to 1,300 meters to the north. The road then crosses another forested ridge of the Appalachian Mountains, ending in the town of Wytheville at the intersection with US 11, the road that parallels Interstate 81.
History
US 21 was created in 1926 and ended in Cleveland, Ohio at the time . The road was not yet completely paved at the time, this was only the case in 1937. In 1974, the route was shortened to Wytheville as its northern terminus, as I-77 had taken over from US 21 further north in West Virginia and Ohio.
US 220 in Virginia
| US 220 | |||
| Get started | Martinsville | ||
| End | Blue Grass | ||
| Length | 179 mi | ||
| Length | 288 km | ||
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According to allpubliclibraries, US 220 is a US Highway in the US state of Virginia. The road forms a north-south route in the western part of the state, from the North Carolina border at Martinsville through Roanoke and Covington to the West Virginia border in the Appalachian Mountains. The route is 288 kilometers long.
Travel directions
US 220 between Martinsville and Roanoke.
US 220 in North Carolina comes from Greensboro, North Carolina, then heads north in 2×2 lanes, passing through Martinsville, a regional town with a highway ring. This is where the US 58 crosses. The road then continues north through rolling rural areas and is a 2×2 divided highway. There is one highway section between Martinsville and Roanoke, surrounding Rocky Mount. Through Roanoke, the road is double-numbered with Interstate 581, connecting Roanoke to Interstate 81. In Roanoke one also crosses the US 460.
North of Roanoke the road has another 2×2 lane, but then narrows to a single carriageway and heads into the craggy Appalachian Mountains. The road is then double numbered with Interstate 64 and US 60. In Covington, the road continues north as I-64 heads toward Beckley and Charleston in West Virginia. The road then runs parallel to mountain ridges to the north and reaches heights of around 700 meters. At Monterey you still cross the US 250. Not long after, the road crosses the border into West Virginia and US 220 continues in West Virginia towards Petersburg and Cumberland.
History
US 220 was one of the original US Highways of 1926, but at the time it ran no further south than Cumberland, Maryland. The Virginia route was established in 1934, when the route was extended from New Creek, West Virginia, to Rockingham, North Carolina. At the time, US 220 replaced US 311 south of Roanoke. At the time, almost all of US 220 was already paved.
The southern portion of US 220 is a major inter-regional route, between Greensboro and Roanoke. This entire corridor has been widened to a 2×2 divided highway, with a freeway bypass around Martinsville. The first doubling followed in 1953, when the stretch through the mountains from Boones Mill to Roanoke was widened to 2×2 lanes. In 1958 the southernmost section between the border with North Carolina and Ridgeway was widened to 2×2 lanes and in 1966 the section between Ridgeway and Martinsville followed.
In the period 1967-1969, much of the route between Martinsville and Rocky Mount has already been widened to 2×2 lanes, as well as between Rocky Mount and Boones Mill. In 1971 the Rocky Mount bypass opened, essentially the entire route from the North Carolina border to Roanoke had 2×2 lanes. The route through Martinsville also had 2×2 lanes at the time, but was later replaced by a bypass.
The most high-quality upgrade of the US 220 was the freeway bypass of Martinsville, over which the US 58 later also partially ran. Most of this opened in July 1976, from US 58 west of Martinsville to old US 220 at Bassett Forks north of Martinsville. A year later, the southwest bypass opened, eliminating through traffic through Martinsville.
In Roanoke, US 220 also forms a freeway, which is an extension of Interstate 581. I-581 does not continue beyond Elm Avenue (US 221) in downtown Roanoke, however the freeway continues south through Roanoke for another 6 kilometers. This is the Southwest Expressway and opened in December 1980. The old route then became a Business Route of US 220.
