U.S. Route 29 in Virginia

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 29 in Virginia. For the entire length of the highway, see U.S. Route 29.

U.S. Route 29
Route information
Maintained by VDOT
Length:	248 mi (399.12 km)
Existed:	1931 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 29 near Reidsville, NC
	US 58 in Danville US 460 near Lynchburg I-64 near Charlottesville US 250 in Charlottesville US 33 near Ruckersville US 522 near Culpeper US 17 near Warrenton US 15 in Gainesville US 50 in Fairfax I-66 in Arlington
North end:	US 29 in Washington, DC
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced Virginia Routes Primary • Secondary • History • Turnpikes ← SR 28 SR 30 → ← I-664 SR 895 →

U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a major north–south route in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It covers 248 miles (399 km) from the North Carolina border at the city of Danville to the Key Bridge in Washington, D.C.. US 29 roughly bisects Virginia into eastern and western halves, and along with Interstate 81 in western Virginia, and 85/95 farther east, provides one of the major north–south routes through the Commonwealth.

For much of its length, US 29 in Virginia is known as the Seminole Trail. Through Northern Virginia, it is known as Lee Highway. On April 7, 1993 the Virginia General Assembly officially designated the entire length of US 29 from the North Carolina border to the Potomac River as the "29th Infantry Division Memorial Highway" in honor of that Army unit, which, along with the 1st Infantry Division, formed the spearhead of the American infantry that landed on the morning of 6 June 1944 on Omaha Beach in Normandy as part of the invasion of France to liberate that country during World War II. These divisions next fought their way across France, and into Germany. In addition, the name of this highway serves to honor many members of the Virginia Army National Guard who serve as part of this National Guard Division today. Signs indicating this designation have been placed periodically on both sides of US 29.

For most of its route through Virginia, US 29 has been constructed to be at least four lanes along its route, with the two short exceptions being where the highway passes through Manassas National Battlefield Park, where it is two lanes wide for approximately three miles, and through Fairfax and Arlington counties, where it is sometimes wider.

US 29 entering Virginia from North Carolina; The Bus/Byp split, Bus. entering, and Byp. entering.

US 29 in Virginia has probably the most highway by-pass routes in the entire state, having eleven of these around various cities and towns. These bypasses are around Danville, Chatham, Gretna, Hurt-Altavista, Lynchburg-Madison Heights-Amherst, Lovingston, Charlottesville, Madison, Culpeper, Remington, and Warrenton. In addition, Interstate 66 serves for the most part as a by-pass of Manassas and also Fairfax and Arlington.

Route description

US 29 enters Virginia in Danville from North Carolina, immediately splitting into business and by-pass routes. US 29 joins the Danville Expressway and US 58 around the east side of Danville, entering Pittsylvania County, and re-merging with the business route north of town in Blairs. Along the southeastern quadrant of the Danville Expressway between the North Carolina border and US 360, the route is designated as part of unsigned State Route 785 for 7.39 mi (11.89 km). Created ca. 2000, SR 785 is numbered in contradiction to the conventional system of numbering in the state, where primary routes are numbered less than 600 and secondary routes at or above this number. It is numbered as such because it is part of the planned Interstate 785, which will run south along US 29 to Interstate 85 in Greensboro, North Carolina, and is only one of two routes of this type. The other is Route 895 in Richmond for similar reasons.

US 29 then continues north where it splits into business and by-pass routes for Chatham, Gretna, and Hurt before entering Campbell County.

US 29 outside of Gainesville, Virginia

The next major city is Lynchburg. US 29 joins the US 460 by-pass of Lynchburg, splitting from it just before entering Amherst County. US 29 again by-passes Madison Heights and Amherst as an expressway, and enters Nelson County and passes the town of Lovingston and enters into Albemarle County. The route then continues north to Charlottesville, intersecting Interstate 64 and by-passing downtown Charlottesville. US 29 rejoins its business route just north of downtown and continues north through Greene and Madison Counties, and then turns north-east toward Culpeper. US 15 joins US 29 around Culpeper, and heads to Warrenton, entering Northern Virginia.

US 29 / 15 is joined by US 17 south of Warrenton in Fauquier County, and continues around the town. US 29/15 continue mostly eastward to Gainesville where US 15 splits and US 29 intersects Interstate 66 for the first time. US 29 continues into Fairfax County, and through the densely-populated Washington, DC suburbs, and into Arlington, having intersected I-66 five more times before crossing into the District.

History

The portion of what is now US 29 from the North Carolina state line to Warrenton was named the Seminole Trail by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on February 16, 1928. Although it was apparently not part of the National Auto Trails initiative early in the 20th century, the Seminole Trail is believed to have originated a part of an effort to promote the road as a through-route to Florida, home of the Native American Seminole tribe. Many road maps of the 1930s and 1940s list the Seminole Trail on highways in Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia and ultimately Florida.

The Gainesville Interchange project is taking place at interchange between Lee Highway (US 29) and the Custis Memorial Highway (I-66). The project is to include interchanges at many other heavily traveled roads in the area due to the rapid growth in development in Gainesville and Haymarket. Reasoning for this is because of the lack or road development to accommodate the new heavy traffic in the area. The plan includes an interchange design to ease traffic flow on Lee Highway on to I-66. Lee Highway is also planned to be widened. There will also be an interchange at the junction with Linton Hall Road (SR 619). What was once a two-lane country road is now a four lane suburban highway. The project started in early 2007 and is expected to be completed in 2013. As of June 2010 the interchange between I-66 and US 29 is complete. Land has been acquired by VDOT at the intersection of US 29 and Linton Hall Road/SR 619.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
City of Danville		0.00	US 29 south – Greensboro	Southern terminus of US 29 in Virginia; North Carolina state line
		0.00	US 58 west (Danville Expressway) / US 29 Bus. north (West Main Street) – Martinsville, Danville	Partial cloverleaf nterchange straddles North Carolina state line; south end of concurrency with US 58
			Corning Drive	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
			Elizabeth Street Extended	Right-in/right-out interchanges in both directions; no access across US 29 / US 58
			SR 86 (Main Street) – Yanceyville, Chapel Hill	Diamond interchange
			Goodyear Boulevard	Partial cloverleaf interchange
			River Park Drive – Dan Daniel Memorial Park	Diamond interchange
			US 58 east / US 360 / US 58 Bus. west (South Boston Road) – South Boston, Danville	Full cloverleaf interchange; north end of concurrency with US 58
Pittsylvania			To SR 360 (Old Richmond Road) – Halifax	Partial cloverleaf interchange
	Blairs		SR 726 (Malmaison Road) to US 29 Bus. – Blairs, Danville	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
			US 29 Bus. south (North Main Street) to SR 726 – Blairs, Danville	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
	Chatham		US 29 Bus. north (Main Street) – Chatham	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
			SR 57 (Halifax Road) – Chatham, South Boston	Diamond interchange
			SR 685 (Chalk Level Road) – Chatham	Partial cloverleaf interchange
			US 29 Bus. south (Main Street) – Chatham	Diamond interchange
	Gretna		US 29 Bus. north – Gretna	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
			SR 40 (Gretna Road) – Gretna, Rocky Mount	Diamond interchange
			US 29 Bus. south – Gretna	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
	Hurt		US 29 Bus. north (Main Street) – Hurt	Diamond interchange
			SR 924 (Pocket Road) – Hurt	Diamond interchange
Campbell	Altavista		SR 43 (Bedford Avenue) – Altavista, Leesville	Diamond interchange
			SR 714 (Lynch Mill Road) – Altavista	Partial cloverleaf interchange
			SR 711 (Clarion Road)	Partial cloverleaf interchange
			US 29 Bus. south (Main Street) – Altavista	Diamond interchange
	Yellow Branch		SR 24 (Colonial Highway) – Rustburg, Evington
			US 460 west / US 29 Bus. north (Wards Road) – Roanoke, Lynchburg	Cloverleaf interchange; south end of concurrency with US 460
City of Lynchburg			Candlers Mountain Road – Liberty University	Interchange
			US 501 north (Candlers Mountain Road) – Buena Vista	Full Y interchange; south end of concurrency with US 501
			US 501 south / US 460 Bus. west / US 501 Bus. north (Campbell Avenue) – South Boston	Partial cloverleaf interchange; north end of concurrency with US 501
			US 460 east (Richmond Highway) – Appomattox, Richmond	Trumpet interchange; north end of concurrency with US 460
Amherst			SR 210 west (Colony Road) – Madison Heights	Partial cloverleaf interchange
			SR 130 west (Amelon Road) – Madison Heights	Diamond interchange
	Sweet Briar		US 29 Bus. south (Amherst Highway) / US 29 Bus. north (Main Street) – Madison Heights, Amherst	Partial cloverleaf interchange
	Amherst		US 60 (Richmond Highway) – Amherst, Richmond, Lexington	Partial cloverleaf interchange
			US 29 Bus. south (Main Street) – Amherst	Partial cloverleaf interchange
	Buffalo Hill		SR 151 north (Patrick Henry Highway) – Piney River
Nelson	Colleen		SR 56 west (Tye Brook Highway) – Piney River	South end of concurrency with SR 56
	Lovingston		US 29 Bus. north / SR 56 east (Front Street)	North end of concurrency with SR 56
			US 29 Bus. south (Front Street)
	Woods Mill		SR 6 west (River Road) – Avon	South end of concurrency with SR 6
	Faber		SR 6 east (Irish Road) – Scottsville	North end of concurrency with SR 6
Albemarle			I-64 – Staunton, Richmond	I-64 Exit 118
			US 29 Bus. north (Fontaine Street) – Charlottesville	Diamond interchange
			US 250 west / US 250 Bus. east (Ivy Road) – Charlottesville, Waynesboro	Partial cloverleaf interchange; south end of concurrency with US 250
			Old Ivy Road	Westbound exit, eastbound entrance
			Leonard Sandbridge Road – University of Virginia	Right-in/right-out interchange eastbound
City of Charlottesville			Barracks Road	Diamond interchange
			US 250 east / US 29 Bus. south (Emmet Street) – Richmond	Partial cloverleaf interchange; north end of concurrency with US 250
Albemarle	No major junctions
Greene	Ruckersville		US 33 (Spotswood Trail) – Richmond, Harrisonburg
Madison	Pratts		SR 230 west (Wolftown–Hood Road) – Stanardsville	South end of concurrency with SR 230
			SR 230 east / SR 231 south (Orange Road) – Orange, Gordonsville	North end of concurrency with SR 230; south end of concurrency with SR 231
	Madison		US 29 Bus. north / SR 231 north (Main Street)	North end of concurrency with SR 231; no direct access from southbound US 29 to northbound US 29 Business / SR 231 or from southbound US 29 Business / SR 231 to northbound US 29
			US 29 Bus. south (Main Street)
Culpeper	Culpeper		US 29 Bus. north / SR 299 south (Madison Road) – Culpeper	Partial cloverleaf interchange
			US 15 south (James Madison Highway) / US 15 Bus. north (Orange Road) – Culpeper, Orange	Diamond interchange; south end of concurrency with US 15
			US 522 (Germanna Highway) / SR 3 – Mineral, Fredericksburg	Diamond interchange
			US 15 Bus. south (Brandy Road) / US 29 Bus. south – Culpeper, Brandy Station	Partial cloverleaf interchange
	Remington		US 15 Bus. north (Remington Road) / US 29 Bus. north
Fauquier			US 15 Bus. south (James Madison Street) / US 29 Bus. south
			SR 28 north (Catlett Road) – Manassas
	Opal		US 17 south (Marsh Road) – Fredericksburg	South end of concurrency with US 17
	Warrenton		US 15 Bus. north / US 17 Bus. north / US 29 Bus. north (James Madison Highway) – Warrenton
			SR 643 (Meetze Road/Lee Street) – Warrenton	Diamond interchange
			US 17 north / US 15 Bus. south (Lee Highway) / US 29 Bus. south to US 211 west – Winchester, Warrenton, Luray	Directional interchange; north end of concurrency with US 17
	Buckland		SR 215 east (Vint Hill Road) – Vint Hill
Prince William			US 15 north (James Madison Highway) – Leesburg	North end of concurrency with US 15
	Gainesville		SR 55 west (John Marshall Highway) / SR 619 south (Linton Hall Road) – Haymarket, Bristow	Interchange under construction
			I-66 – Front Royal, Washington	I-66 Exit 43
	Manassas National Battlefield Park		SR 234 (Sudley Road) – Manassas, Catharpin
Fairfax	Centreville		I-66 – Front Royal, Washington	I-66 Exit 52
			SR 28 (Sully Road/Centreville Road) – Manassas, Chantilly
	Fair Lakes		SR 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) / SR 608 north (West Ox Road)	Three-level diamond interchange
City of Fairfax			US 50 west (Lee Jackson Highway) / SR 236 east (Main Street) – Alexandria, Chantilly	South end of concurrency with US 50
			SR 123 (Chain Bridge Road) – Vienna
			US 50 east / SR 237 west (Arlington Boulevard) / Old Lee Highway	Fairfax Circle; north end of concurrency with US 50; south end of concurrency with SR 237
Fairfax	Merrifield		SR 243 (Nutley Street) to I-66 – Vienna
City of Falls Church			SR 338 (Hillwood Avenue) – Seven Corners
			SR 7 (Broad Street) – Alexandria, Tysons Corner
Arlington	East Falls Church		I-66 west / SR 237 east (Washington Boulevard) – Dulles Airport, Front Royal
			SR 120 (Glebe Road) – Ballston, Chain Bridge
			SR 309 west (Old Dominion Drive)	South end of concurrency with SR 309
			SR 309 east (Lee Highway)	North end of concurrency with SR 309
	Cherrydale		SR 309 west (Lee Highway)
	Lyon Village		I-66 west – Dulles Airport, Front Royal	I-66 Exit 73
			SR 124 north (Spout Run Parkway) / Kirkwood Road south
	Rosslyn		I-66 west – Dulles Airport, Front Royal	I-66 Exit 74; southbound exit to and northbound exit from I-66
			I-66 east / Fort Myer Drive south – Washington	I-66 Exit 74; northbound exit to and southbound exit from I-66
			George Washington Memorial Parkway north	Exits from both directions of US 29 to northbound G.W. Parkway; entrance ramp only from southbound G.W. Parkway to northbound US 29
			US 29 north – Washington	Northern terminus of US 29 in Virginia; District of Columbia boundary on the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Potomac River
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

External links

• Virginia Highways Project: US 29
• Great Virginia Drives - U.S. 29: The Seminole Trail

U.S. Route 29
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