U.S. Route 50 in Virginia

U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50
	US 50 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained byVDOT
Length	85.96 mi(138.34 km)
Existed	1926–present
Major junctions
West end	US 50atWest Virginiaborder nearCapon Bridge, WV
	SR 37inWinchester; US 11/US 17/US 522in Winchester; I-81in Winchester; US 340nearBoyce; US 15atGilberts Corner; SR 28inChantilly; I-66nearFairfax; US 29in Fairfax; I-495inMerrifield; SR 27inArlington;
East end	I-66/US 50atWashington, D.C.border in Arlington
Location
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Counties	Frederick,City of Winchester,Clarke,Fauquier,Loudoun,Fairfax,City of Fairfax,Arlington
Highway system
	United States Numbered Highway System; List; Special; Divided; Virginia Routes; Interstate; US; Primary; Secondary; Byways; History; HOT lanes;

U.S. Route 50(US 50) is a transcontinental highway which stretches fromOcean City, MarylandtoWest Sacramento, California.In theU.S. stateofVirginia,US 50 extends 86 miles (138 km) from the border withWashington, D.C.at aPotomac Rivercrossing atRosslyninArlington Countyto theWest Virginiastate line nearGoreinFrederick County.

History

US 50, also known in modern times for most of its mileage inVirginiaas theJohn Mosby Highwayand for a part as Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway, is steeped in history as a travelway.Native Americansfirst created it as they followed seasonally migrating game from thePotomac Riverto theShenandoah Valley.As English colonists expanded westward in the late 17th and 18th centuries, the Indian trail gradually became a more clearly defined roadway. First on horseback, and then in stage coaches and wagons, in colonial times, travelers from the ports ofAlexandriaandGeorgetown(then inMaryland) followed it toWinchesterat the lower end of the Shenandoah Valley for trade. Along the way, small settlements sprang up which provided lodging and provisions for travelers and trade centers for local farmers.

During theAmerican Civil War,the roads which became US 50 were an important travelway for troops, and were the site of significant battles and skirmishes. Among these, theBattle of Chantilly,theBattle of Aldie,as well asArlington National Cemeterywere all located close by.

During the 19th century, theVirginia Board of Public Worksencouraged and helped finance internal transportation improvements such ascanals,turnpikes,and some of the earlierrailroads.In 1806, theLittle River Turnpikeopened 34 miles (55 km) of macadamized "paved" road from Alexandria toAldieand theAldie and Ashby's Gap Turnpikewas formed in 1810 to operate atoll roadwestward to the crest of theBlue Ridge MountainsatAshby's Gap.TheWinchester and Berry's Ferry Turnpikeextended from the Ashby's Gap to Winchester.

In 1922, these three privately owned turnpikes were taken over by theCommonwealth of Virginiaand became State Route 36. Then in November 1926 the route became part of US Route 50 as designated in theUnited States Numbered Highway System.At Winchester, the northern end of theValley Pike,another historic trail, turnpike and toll road pathway steeped in history, intersected US 50 and several other important older roads. (The Valley Pike ran up the Shenandoah Valley southward and was operated in its later years by futureVirginia governorand U.S. SenatorHarry Flood Byrdbefore it too was acquired by the state and becameU.S. Route 11).

US Route 50 was one of the major east–west transcontinental highways in the grid system of the lower 48 states planned in the 1920s as a successor to theNational Auto Trails System.It extended fromSan Francisco, CaliforniatoAnnapolis, Maryland(later extended toOcean City, Maryland). Route 50 crosses Virginia near the state's northern borders with Maryland and West Virginia. The east–west major routes in the 1920s national grid system were those with two digit numbers ending with a zero (e.g. US 10, US 20, etc.). Virginia's other east–west highway of this type isUS 60,which extends in modern times fromVirginia Beachacross the middle section of the state to exit west ofCovington.

TheLoudoun County Board of Supervisorsvoted to rename the section of US 50 within Loudoun County from John Mosby Highway to Little River Turnpike on December 7, 2021. This is in an effort to restore historical names and remove segregationist and Confederate symbols throughout the county.^[3]

Route description

The eastern two-thirds of US 50 in Virginia is substantially paralleled byInterstate 66,although the newer highway gradually diverges to the south after their Fairfax interchange toFront Royaland meetsInterstate 81atStrasburg,about 15 miles (24 km) south of Winchester, where US 50 meets I-81.

Frederick County and Winchester

U.S. Route 50 enters the state from theWest Virginiaborder, descending from theAppalachian MountainsinFrederick County,the most northern Virginia county, and carrying the name ofNorthwest Turnpike.It is on a winding, two lane road until it passes the former lumbering town ofGore,at which point it widens to a four-lane highway. It eventually crossesState Route 37and enters theindependent cityofWinchester.

Winchester was long the transportation hub of the lower Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Today, US 50 meetsInterstate 81there, as well asUS 11,US 522,andState Route 7.U.S. Route 17 joins US 50 here from its national northern terminus as the route exits the city to the east and crosses the Shenandoah River.

Paris, Ashby Gap, Clarke County

After crossing the Shenandoah River, the divided four-laned roadway which serves as combined U.S. Routes 17 and 50 ascends intoClarke Countyand crossesUS 340close to Boyce, a few miles south ofBerryville,thecounty seat.

Just west of Paris, the highway crosses a ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains at a place known asAshby Gap.Named for Thomas Ashby, thiswind gapwas a strategic point for both sides in theAmerican Civil Warbecause whichever side controlled the Gap also controlled access to the northern end of theShenandoah Valleyfrom the east. In those days before modern communications, Ashbys Gap was also an important location for the military Signal Corps to send and receive visual communications. A few miles west of Upperville,U.S. Route 17finally separates from US 50 atParis.

Fauquier and Loudoun counties

West of Fairfax County, US 50 in Virginia is known as the John Mosby Highway inFauquier Countyand Little River Turnpike inLoudoun County.During theAmerican Civil War,ColonelJohn Singleton Mosbywas a Confederatepartisanwho operated with great success in this region, gaining status as a local folk-hero. TheLittle Riveris a tributary of theGoose Creek,which itself is a tributary of thePotomac River.The roadway reaches theTown of Upperville,straddles a county line and dipping intoLoudoun Countyalong the way. It then passes into the northern edge ofFauquier County.

Upon entering Loudoun County, US 50 exits the Blue Ridge Mountains and enters the Piedmont region. The highway passes across the southeastern portion through theTown of Middleburg,and the communities ofAldie(birthplace ofStonewall Jackson's mother, Julia Beckwith Neale),Gilberts Corner,Arcola,andSouth Riding.NearGilberts Corner,it has an intersection withUS 15.Starting in Aldie, the highway becomes a 17-mile straightaway until it intersectsU.S. 29in Fairfax City. Within Middleburg, US 50 is known as Washington Street.

Fairfax County, City of Fairfax, Arlington County

Continuing east from the border withLoudoun County,US 50, Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway, travels along the historic Little River Turnpike route. It passes by the southern edge ofWashington Dulles International Airportand theSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Centerand through the communities ofChantillyandFair Oaks.

Shortly after entering theindependent cityofFairfax,US 50 leaves Little River Turnpike (its original route until 1935, which continues asVirginia State Route 236) and joins a concurrency withUS 29as Fairfax Boulevard (a new designation, concurrent with the old names Main Street,Lee Highway,and Arlington Boulevard). US 29 splits from US 50 again just before exiting the City of Fairfax.

From this point east into eastern Fairfax County andArlington County,US 50 is known asArlington Boulevard.The roadway travels roughly across the center of both counties. In Arlington, it serves as the dividing line for addresses in the county. Finally, the route passes nearRosslyn,a high-density business area of Arlington on its trek toward theTheodore Roosevelt Bridge,where itexits Virginiaand passes intoWashington, D.C.concurrent withInterstate 66.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi^[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Frederick		0.00	0.00	US 50west –Romney	Continuation intoWest Virginia
		2.97	4.78	SR 259south (Carpers Pike) –Wardensville	Northern terminus of SR 259
	Hayfield	8.01	12.89	SR 600(Hayfield Road) –Gainesboro,Mountain Falls
		11.40	18.35	SR 608(Wardensville Grade) –Mount Williams
		14.18	22.82	SR 37toI-81/US 11/US 522north –Martinsburg,Berkeley Springs,Roanoke	Interchange
CityofWinchester		16.30	26.23	US 11north /US 522north /US 17south (South Cameron Street)	Western end of US 11 / US 522 / US 17 concurrency; northern terminus of US 17
CityofWinchester		16.69	26.86	US 11south (Gerrard Street) –Winchester Historic District	Eastern end of US 11 concurrency
Frederick		17.89	28.79	I-81–Martinsburg,Roanoke	I-81 exit 313
Frederick		18.02	29.00	US 522south (Front Royal Pike) –Winchester Regional Airport,Front Royal	Eastern end of US 522 concurrency
Clarke	Waterloo	25.12	40.43	US 340(Lord Fairfax Highway) –Berryville,White Post,Front Royal,Shenandoah National Park,Skyline Drive
		27.95	44.98	SR 255north (Bishop Meade Road) /SR 624(Red Gate Road) –Millwood	Southern terminus of SR 255
		31.63	50.90	SR 606(Mount Carmel Road)	FormerSR 276north
Fauquier	Paris	34.43	55.41	US 17south toI-66–Warrenton,Sky Meadows State Park	Eastern end of US 17 concurrency
	Upperville	37.85	60.91	SR 712(Delaplane Grade Road) –Delaplane
		42.77	68.83	SR 611(St. Louis Road) –Purcellville
Loudoun	Middleburg	46.14	74.26	SR 626(Plains Road) –The Plains
	Aldie	50.83	81.80	SR 734(Snickersville Pike) –Philomont,Bluemont
	Gilberts Corner	52.53	84.54	US 15(James Monroe Highway) toI-66–Leesburg,Warrenton	Roundabout
		52.90	85.13	Howsers Branch Drive toUS 15	Roundabout
	South Riding	58.75	94.55	SR 606(Loudoun County Parkway) –Herndon
Fairfax	Pleasant Valley	61.68	99.26	SR 609(Pleasant Valley Road)
	Chantilly	63.57	102.31	SR 28–Dulles Airport,Centreville	Interchange
		64.06	103.09	SR 657(Centreville Road / Walney Road)
		65.13	104.82	SR 645(Lees Corner Road)	Western end of SR 645 concurrency
		65.59	105.56	SR 645(Stringfellow Road)	Eastern end of SR 645 concurrency
	Greenbriar–Fair Oaksline	66.94	107.73	SR 286(Fairfax County Parkway) toI-66	Interchange
	Fair Oaks	68.05	109.52	SR 608(West Ox Road)	Interchange
		68.33– 68.90	109.97– 110.88	Fair Oaks Shopping Center	Interchange; no westbound entrance
		69.15	111.29	I-66toI-495–Washington,Gainesville,Front Royal	I-66 exit 57A/B
		69.80	112.33	SR 665(Waples Mill Road) toSR 123south –Virginia International University,George Mason University
CityofFairfax		70.00	112.65
		70.60	113.62	US 29south (Lee Highway) /SR 236east (Main Street) –Old Town Fairfax	Western end of US 29 concurrency, western terminus of SR 236
		71.47	115.02	SR 123(Chain Bridge Road) toI-66–Old Town Fairfax,George Mason University
		73.26	117.90	US 29/SR 237north (Lee Highway) toI-66/ Old Lee Highway	Fairfax Circle (traffic circlewith cut-through); eastern end of US 29 concurrency, western end of SR 237 concurrency
		73.54	118.35	SR 237south (Pickett Road) toSR 236east /SR 655(Blake Lane)	Eastern end of SR 237 concurrency
Fairfax	Woodburn–Merrifieldline	75.83	122.04	SR 650(Gallows Road) toI-495 Express–Merrifield	Interchange; servesInova Fairfax Hospital
	Merrifield–Annandale– West Falls Churchtripoint	76.23	122.68	I-495(Capital Beltway) toI-66–Tysons Corner,Richmond	Interchange; exits 50A-B on I-495
	West Falls Church–Annandaleline	76.57	123.23	Fairview Park Drive toI-495 Expresssouth /US 29(Lee Highway)	Interchange; signed for I-495 westbound and US 29 eastbound
	West Falls Church	78.71	126.67	SR 649(Annandale Road) –Falls Church,Annandale
	Seven Corners	79.73	128.31	SR 7toSR 338–Falls Church,Alexandria	Interchange; also servesSR 613andEast Falls Church station
Arlington	Arlington	81.32	130.87	Carlin Springs Road	Interchange
		82.50	132.77	George Mason Drive –NFATC	Interchange
		82.85	133.33	SR 120(Glebe Road) –Ballston	Interchange
		83.83	134.91	SR 27east (Washington Boulevard) toI-395–Clarendon,Pentagon	Interchange; western terminus of SR 27
	Clarendon	84.35– 84.75	135.75– 136.39	10th Street North (SR 237south) / North Courthouse Road / Fairfax Drive	Interchange; eastern terminus of SR 237
	Rosslyn	85.00	136.79	North Rhodes Street / North Rolfe Street / North Queen Street / 14th Street / Fairfax Drive	Interchange; no westbound entrance
		85.40	137.44	North Lynn Street –Key Bridge,Rosslyn,Fort Myer	Interchange; also serves North Meade Street
		85.60	137.76	Memorial Bridge/George Washington Parkwaysouth –Arlington Cemetery	Interchange; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Potomac River		85.96	138.34	US 50east toI-66east (Theodore Roosevelt Bridge) –Washington	Continuation into theDistrict of Columbia
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrencyterminus Incomplete access