U.S. Route 1 (US 1) is a major north–south U.S. Route that serves the East Coast of the United States. In the U.S. state of Virginia, US 1 runs north–south through South Hill, Petersburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Alexandria on its way from North Carolina to the 14th Street bridges into the District of Columbia. It is completely paralleled by Interstate Highways in Virginia—Interstate 85 (I-85) south of Petersburg, I-95 north to Alexandria, and I-395 into the District of Columbia—and now serves mainly local traffic. At its north end, on the approach to the 14th Street bridges, US 1 is concurrent with I-395; the rest of US 1 is on surface roads.
What became US 1 was part of prior Virginia state routes, primarily State Route 31 (SR 31). Even earlier than that, it was part of an auto trail known as the Jefferson Davis Highway; portions of the route still bear that name. While minor adjustments have been made, it still largely follows the same route it has since first being designated in 1926.
Route description
Palmer Springs to Petersburg US 1 enters southeastern Mecklenburg County from Warren County, North Carolina, east of Palmer Springs, north of Wise, North Carolina, and north of an interchange between I-85 and US 1 between Wise and the state line. The U.S. Route heads north as a two-lane road, passes to the east of Palmer Springs, and crosses Lake Gaston, an impoundment of the Roanoke River. North of the lake, the highway gains an intermittent second lane northbound to its junction with US 58 at Big Fork. The U.S. Routes run concurrently northeast along a four-lane road with center turn lane to the southwestern edge of South Hill, where the highway expands to a four-lane divided highway shortly before US 1 and US 58 Business (US 58 Bus.) split northeast from US 58. The mainline highway and business route enter the town of South Hill along Danville Street, a two-lane road with center turn lane. As the highways approach downtown South Hill, the center turn lane ends. In downtown, US 1 and US 58 Bus. turn north onto Mecklenburg Avenue next to historic Colonial Theatre, then US 58 Bus. turns east onto Atlantic Street; SR 47 heads west from the intersection on Atlantic Street. US 1 gains a center turn lane again northeast of downtown. The U.S. Route meets the southern end of SR 138 (Union Mill Road), then expands to a four-lane divided highway for its four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with I-85 before leaving the town of South Hill.
US 1 continues northeast as a three-lane road that alternates between two lanes northbound, two lanes southbound, and a center turn lane. The route expands to a four-lane divided highway after entering Brunswick County, where the highway's name becomes Boydton Plank Road, and before crossing the Meherrin River. US 1 reduces to a three-lane road and passes through Meredithville. At Cochran, the highway intersects SR 46 (Christanna Highway) just south of the Christanna Campus of Southside Virginia Community College. US 1 expands to a four-lane divided highway; the southbound lanes pass under a narrow former railroad bridge. The highway has a diamond interchange with I-85, then passes through the southern edge of the town of Alberta, where the U.S. Route meets the eastern end of SR 136 (Church Street). East of Alberta, US 1 becomes three lanes and passes through the adjacent communities of Warfield and Sturgeonville and to the east of Rawlings before expanding to a four-lane divided highway immediately before crossing the Nottoway River into Dinwiddie County.
US 1 reduces to three lanes a short distance north of the river and passes through the town of McKenney, where the highway intersects SR 40 (Doyle Boulevard). The highway passes through DeWitt, then expands to a four-lane divided highway and crosses a former railroad line. US 1 crosses Stony Creek and drops to three lanes as it enters the county seat of Dinwiddie and passes Dinwiddie County Court House. Northeast of Dinwiddie, US 1 passes under I-85 with no access and meets the eastern end of Airport Street, which comprises the westernmost segment of US 460 Bus. that connects US 1 with I-85 and US 460 and, to the west of the Interstate, Dinwiddie County Airport. US 1 and US 460 Bus. pass Pamplin Historical Park, which preserves the Petersburg Breakthrough Battlefield, then cross over Norfolk Southern Railway's Norfolk District rail line. The routes expand to a four-lane divided highway at its intersection with SR 142 (Simpson Road), then they meet I-85 and US 460 at a six-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange. US 1 and US 460 Bus. reduce to two lanes plus center turn lane and pass along the western and northern sides of Central State Hospital; on their curve east, the routes meet the eastern end of SR 226 (Cox Road). East of the hospital complex, the highways enter the independent city of Petersburg.
Petersburg to Richmond US 1 and US 460 Bus. enter Petersburg along Washington Street, a four-lane road with center turn lane. After passing under CSX Transportation's North End Subdivision rail line, the highways split into a one-way pair, with northbound US 1 and eastbound US 460 Bus. using Wythe Street and southbound US 1 and westbound US 460 Bus. using Washington Street. US 1 and US 460 Bus. pass through residential Folly Castle Historic District, which includes Second Presbyterian Church on Washington Street, and Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Commercial and Industrial Historic District. Eastbound SR 36 joins the eastbound concurrency at Market Street within smaller South Market Street Historic District. US 301 Alternate (US 301 Alt.) joins both directions at Sycamore Street; one block to the east—a block that contains Washington Street Methodist Church—US 1 and US 301 Alt. turn north onto four-lane Adams Street. The two U.S. Routes pass between commercial Petersburg Courthouse Historic District, which contains the namesake judicial building, and residential Centre Hill Historic District, which contains the eponymous mansion and museum. US 1 continues into Petersburg Old Town Historic District, where the highway intersects Bank and Bolingbrook streets, which is the northern terminus of US 301 Alt. Southbound US 301 leaves US 1 at Bank Street, northbound US 301 joins US 1 at Bolingbrook Street, and Bolingbrook Street also carries westbound SR 36. North of Bolingbrook Street, US 1 and US 301 cross the Appomattox River on the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge. On the bridge, the U.S. Routes have an intersection with Bridge Street, which leads to Pocahontas Island and its namesake historic district.
US 1 and US 301 enter the independent city of Colonial Heights along Boulevard, a four-lane street with center turn lane. Shortly after this point, US 1 reaches the halfway point between Key West and Fort Kent. The highways pass along the western edge of residential Chesterfield Highlands Historic District before intersecting SR 144 (Temple Avenue), which joins the U.S. Routes. The three highways pass under CSX Transportation's North End Subdivision, then cross Swift Creek into Chesterfield County, where SR 144 splits northwest onto Harrowgate Road at Pickadat Corner. US 1 and US 301 continue along four-lane Jefferson Davis Highway, which passes under the CSX Transportation rail line and intersects SR 10 (West Hundred Road) on the eastern edge of Chester. The U.S. Routes briefly expand to a divided highway at the SR 10 intersection and within the highway's cloverleaf interchange with SR 288 (World War II Veterans Memorial Highway), which ends at I-95 (Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike) a short distance to the east. US 1 and US 301 expand to a divided highway at their junction with SR 145 (Chester Road), cross over CSX Transportation's Bellwood Subdivision, and pass to the east of Defense Supply Center, Richmond, as they pass through Bellwood. As they pass through Bensley, the U.S. Routes cross over Falling Creek, across which sits an abandoned bridge between the two carriageways.
North of Falling Creek, US 1 and US 301 expand to six lanes and have a cloverleaf interchange with SR 150 (Chippenham Parkway), which leads east to I-95 and SR 895 (Pocahontas Parkway), which leads to Richmond International Airport. Between SR 150 and SR 161 (Bells Road), the U.S. Routes enter the city of Richmond. US 1 and US 301 continue into the Manchester neighborhood, where the highways intersect US 360 (Hull Street) and veer onto Cowardin Avenue, which passes along the western edge of the Manchester Residential and Commercial Historic District. The highways intersect US 60 (Semmes Avenue), then veer north onto the Robert E. Lee Memorial Bridge, which the bifurcated James River and Belle Isle. The bridge also crosses Norfolk Southern Railway's Richmond District railyard on the south side of the river and CSX Transportation's Rivanna Subdivision on the north side. On either end of the bridge are partial interchanges: Riverside Drive on the south side of the river accessible from the southbound direction and Second Street from the northbound direction; Second Street leads to Downtown Richmond and the Tredegar Iron Works.
US 1 and US 301 follow Belvidere Street along the east side of Oregon Hill. The highways intersect Byrd and Cumberland streets, a one-way pair that provide access to SR 195 (Downtown Expressway) in between. US 1 and US 301 continue through the Monroe Park campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, within which the highways intersect SR 147—Cary Street eastbound and Main Street westbound—and veer northeast at Monroe Park. The U.S. Routes intersect US 250 (Broad Street) on the western edge of the Broad Street Commercial Historic District. US 1 and US 301 intersect SR 33 (Leigh Street) immediately before their incomplete partial cloverleaf interchange with I-64 and I-95 (Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike). There is no access from the southbound route to westbound I-64 and northbound I-95. Access to the U.S. Routes from that direction of the Interstate is via Chamberlayne Parkway, with which the routes have a partial interchange as they cross over CSX Transportation's Richmond Terminal Subdivision rail line.
Richmond to Fredericksburg US 1 and US 301 continue along Chamberlayne Avenue through the northern part of the city. The highways reduce to four lanes and intersect SR 197 (Laburnum Avenue) within Ginter Park. At Azalea Avenue, US 301 and SR 2 continue straight on Chamberlayne Avenue; US 1 turns west onto Azalea Avenue, then north on Brook Road and leaves the city of Richmond and enters Henrico County. The highway has a partial interchange with I-95 (Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike) that allows access to southbound I-95 and from northbound I-95. US 1 becomes undivided north of the eastern end of SR 161 (Hillard Road) to the east of Lakeside. The route expands to a six-lane divided highway ahead of its intersection with Parham Road at Yellow Tavern; Parham Road heads east as SR 73, a connector between US 1 and I-95. US 1 has a cloverleaf interchange with I-295 between Glen Allen and the I-95–I-295 junction before the U.S. Route crosses the Chickahominy River into Hanover County.