U.S. Route 250 in Virginia

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 250 in Virginia. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 250.

U.S. Route 250
Route information
Maintained by VDOT
Existed	1934 in Virginia; 1928 nationally–present
Major junctions
West end	US 250 near Hightown
Major intersections	US 220 in Monterey US 11 in Staunton I-81 near Staunton US 29 at Charlottesville
East end	US 60 in Richmond
Location
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Virginia Routes Interstate US Primary Secondary Byways History HOT lanes
← SR 249 → SR 261

In the U.S. state of Virginia, U.S. Route 250 is an important highway that runs in a westerly direction from Richmond into West Virginia. Following two historical roadways from the 18th and 19th centuries, the portion east of Staunton was largely supplanted by the construction of Interstate 64 in the 1960s and early 1970s.

For many years in the mid-20th century, a section of U.S. 250 east of Charlottesville featured a 3-lane design with a center suicide lane meant for passing in both directions. Neither direction had the right-of-way, and both directions were permitted to use the lane for passing. In the terrain of rolling hills, head-on collisions with injuries and fatalities were common. After completion of I-64, the center lane markings were changed to eliminate two-way passing using the same section of roadway, and the frequency of head-on collisions decreased sharply.

Conversely, upon the completion of I-64, another section of U.S. 250 gained additional utilization for safety reasons. For many years, during extreme inclement weather conditions of snow and/or ice, at the crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the truck traffic was diverted from the Interstate highway and routed through Rockfish Gap using the older roadway of U.S. 250.

Route description

West Virginia to Staunton

At Alleghany Mountain, the Virginia-West Virginia state line is encountered and US 250 crosses into Virginia from Pocahontas County, West Virginia. U.S. 250 continues west along the route of the Staunton and Parkersburg Turnpike through Augusta County and passes through Monterey, Virginia in Highland County, toward Staunton. Virginia's least-populated county has the highest mean elevation of any other county in the Commonwealth. Highland County it is called "Virginia's Little Switzerland" in reference to the steep mountains and valleys.

Approaching Staunton, U.S. 250 follows an old, historic routing almost due east, that of the Staunton and Parkersburg Turnpike. It joins with Interstate 64, which enters from the Shenandoah Valley.

U.S. 11 in Staunton was originally the Valley Pike, a north–south turnpike built beginning in 1834. The Valley Pike (also known as the Valley Turnpike) traveled along the Shenandoah Valley following an earlier Native American trail. At Staunton, the Valley Pike had an important junction with the Staunton and Parkersburg Turnpike. This turnpike was built during the second quarter of the 19th century to provide a roadway from Staunton to the Ohio River at Parkersburg in Wood County. Engineered by Claudius Crozet through the mountainous terrain, it was a toll road partially funded by the Virginia Board of Public Works (as was the Valley Pike and many other road improvements in antebellum Virginia).

Staunton to Charlottesville

In Staunton, US 250 intersects two major north–south routes: I-81 and U.S. 11. It continues out of the city and travels across the Shenandoah Valley through Fishersville and Waynesboro, before it ascends the western slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The route combines with the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Skyline Drive at Rockfish Gap near Afton.

Gradually approaching the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it passes through the small communities of Crozet and Ivy.

U.S. 250 approaches Charlottesville from Pantops Mountain and is named Richmond Road in the eastern portion of the city. It crosses the Rivanna River, where prior to the construction of Interstate 64, a northern bypass of the downtown area was constructed which is known locally as the "250 Bypass". The bypass section is mostly a limited access divided highway, with the exception of four intersections and a fire station, and merges into the city's western bypass of U.S. 29.

The older routing passes through the downtown area: it is routed on several different streets including High Street, W. Main Street and Preston Avenue. Notably, it passes directly through the campus of the University of Virginia. West of this area, U.S. 250 is known as Ivy Road as it is rejoined by the bypass portion at the intersection of the U.S. 29 western bypass of Charlottesville.

Charlottesville to Richmond

In Charlottesville, the county seat of Albemarle County, the road roughly parallels Interstate 64 east through the Piedmont region of Virginia, passing through communities such as Short Pump, Oilville, Gum Springs, Hadensville, Zion Crossroads, and Keswick before reaching Richmond. U.S. 250 is known as Broad Street (or Broad Street Road) for its first 15 miles (24 km) in Richmond and Henrico County.