U.S. Route 1 in Virginia

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.