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State Route 5
Route information
Maintained by VDOT
Length	54.96 mi (88.45 km)
Existed	July 1, 1933–present
Tourist routes	Virginia Byway
Major junctions
West end	US 60 in Richmond
Major intersections	SR 895 near Richmond I-295 near Richmond SR 156 at Granville SR 106 / SR 156 at Kimages SR 155 in Charles City SR 199 near Williamsburg SR 31 / SR 199 near Williamsburg SR 132 in Williamsburg US 60 in Williamsburg
East end	SR 143 in Williamsburg
Location
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Counties	City of Richmond, Henrico, Charles City, James City, City of Williamsburg
Highway system
Virginia Routes Interstate US Primary Secondary Byways History HOT lanes
← SR 4 → SR 6

Virginia State Route 5 (SR 5) is a primary state highway in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It runs between the independent cities of Richmond and Williamsburg. Between Charles City County and James City County, it crosses the Chickahominy River via the Judith Stewart Dresser Bridge, a fixed-span bridge which replaced historic Barrett's Ferry and the former drawbridge.

The entire length of SR 5 outside Richmond and Williamsburg is a Virginia Byway. Since 2015, the Virginia Capital Trail dedicated pedestrian and bicycle trail runs alongside the automobile highway.

Route description

For much of its distance, SR 5 generally parallels the north bank of the James River, following the path of older colonial roads. It passes through three of the original eight shires created in the Colony of Virginia in 1634 by King Charles I of England. These are James City County, Charles City County, and Henrico County, moving from east to west as the area was developed in the colonial period.

James River plantations

Some of the larger and older of the extant James River Plantations are along the route. None is owned by any government. Houses and/or grounds are generally open daily to visitors, with various admission fees applicable. From west to east, these are the Shirley Plantation, Edgewood Plantation, Berkeley Plantation, Westover Plantation, Evelynton Plantation, Belle Air Plantation, Piney Grove at Southall's Plantation, North Bend Plantation and Sherwood Forest Plantation.

History

The first piece of SR 5 was added to the state highway system in 1923, a portion of the road running west from Charles City for 18.5 miles (29.8 km) toward Richmond, and was numbered State Route 41. Three miles (4.8 km) were added in 1924, 6.39 miles (10.28 km) were added in 1925, and the remaining 3.5 miles (5.6 km), taking the route to the Richmond city limits, were added in 1927.

An extension to the east, heading north from Charles City to State Route 39 (now U.S. Route 60) at Providence Forge, was added in 1926. In the 1928 renumbering of state roads, this was designated as State Route 413, since a new alignment of SR 41, heading east from Charles City toward Williamsburg for eight miles (13 km), was added to the state highway system, as was a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) piece at the other end, heading west from State Route 510 (now State Route 31). A further 3.50 miles (5.63 km) from the west and 2.80 miles (4.51 km) from the east were added in 1930 and 1931, and, in 1932, the route was completed from Richmond to Williamsburg, with 3.00 miles (4.83 km) from the west and 1.70 miles (2.74 km) from the east.

The road from State Route 32 (now U.S. Route 15) at Zion Crossroads east to Oilville was added to the state highway system by 1923 as State Route 321. Extensions east from Oilville were added for four miles (6.4 km) in 1924, six miles (9.7 km) in 1925, and 7.5 miles (12.1 km) in 1926. By 1927, SR 321 became an extension of SR 41 west from Richmond, and that year the former SR 321 was extended 3.5 miles (5.6 km), the rest of the way to Richmond.

SR 321/SR 41 was also extended west for 2.0 miles (3.2 km) in 1926, two more miles in 1927, and 5.4 miles (8.7 km) - the rest of the way to State Route 39 (now State Route 22) at Shadwell - in 1928.

In Richmond, SR 41 initially used Broad Street, a hairpin turn through Chimborazo Park, Fulton Street, Williamsburg Road, Hatcher Street, Newton Road, and New Osborne Turnpike.

State Route 39 from Shadwell west to Monterey, now U.S. Route 250, was part of the initial 1918 state highway system (numbered State Route 9 until 1923). It initially continued west from Monterey on present US 250, but by 1924 it used current State Route 84 west to West Virginia. The road west from Monterey towards West Virginia Route 56 (now U.S. Route 250) for 7.86 miles (12.65 km) was added to the state highway system in 1930 and 1932 as State Route 835; the remaining mileage to the state line was added in 1933.

In the 1933 renumbering, State Routes 41 and 835 both became part of a new State Route 5, as did the piece of State Route 39 from Monterey to Shadwell. By 1935, the whole route west of Richmond became an extension of U.S. Route 250 into Virginia, truncating SR 5 to its present Richmond-Williamsburg route.

SR 5 was extended east along State Route 31 through Williamsburg to State Route 168 (now State Route 143) "to improve the service to travelers interchanging between Route 5 and Routes 60 and 168" in 1958. SR 31 has since been truncated to the SR 5 junction.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
City of Richmond		0.00	0.00	US 60 west (East Main Street) / 25th Street	Western terminus; west end of US 60 overlap
		0.30	0.48	US 60 east (Williamsburg Avenue)	East end of US 60 overlap
Henrico	Oakland			New Osborne Turnpike	former SR 146 north
	​	5.01	8.06	Laburnum Avenue to SR 895 / US 60
	​			Battlefield Park Road – Fort Harrison (Richmond National Battlefield Park)	former SR 156 south
	​	8.35	13.44	I-295 – Washington, Rocky Mount, NC	Exit 22 (I-295)
	​	13.05	21.00	SR 156 north (Willis Church Road) – Seven Pines, Mechanicsville	West end of SR 156 overlap
Charles City	​	19.11	30.75	SR 106 / SR 156 south (Roxbury Road) – Hopewell, Prince George, Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge	East end of SR 156 overlap
	Charles City	28.48	45.83	SR 155 north / SR 644 (Courthouse Road) – Providence Forge, Charles City CH
Chickahominy River		41.76	67.21	Barrett's Ferry Bridge
James City	​			SR 5000 east (Monticello Avenue) – Williamsburg
	​			SR 614 (Greensprings Road) – Jamestown
	Five Forks			SR 615 (Ironbound Road) – Dunbar, Jamestown
	​	49.95	80.39	SR 199 west to SR 321 / SR 616 – Williamsburg	West end of SR 199 overlap
City of Williamsburg		50.41	81.13	SR 31 south (Jamestown Road) / SR 199 east – Newport News, Jamestown, Busch Gardens	East end of SR 199 overlap
		52.34	84.23	SR 132 south (South Henry Street) to SR 199 / Francis Street – Busch Gardens, to Colonial Parkway, William & Mary Law School	West end of SR 132 overlap
		52.72	84.84	SR 132 north (North Henry Street) to I-64 / Lafayette Street – Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center, Colonial Parkway	East end of SR 132 overlap; former SR 162 west
		53.78	86.55	US 60 east (York Street) / Page Street to Francis Street – Busch Gardens	West end of US 60 overlap
				Second Street	former SR 162 east
		54.34	87.45	US 60 west (Bypass Road) – Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center, Colonial Parkway	East end of US 60 overlap
		54.96	88.45	SR 143 (Capitol Landing Road / Merrimac Trail) to I-64	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Road names

References

1. ^ 2010 Virginia Department of Transportation Jurisdiction Report - Daily Traffic Volume Estimates - City of Richmond
   2010 Virginia Department of Transportation Jurisdiction Report - Daily Traffic Volume Estimates - Henrico County
   2010 Virginia Department of Transportation Jurisdiction Report - Daily Traffic Volume Estimates - Charles City County
   2010 Virginia Department of Transportation Jurisdiction Report - Daily Traffic Volume Estimates - James City County
2. "New Numbers of Va. Highways Effective July 1". The Richmond Times-Dispatch. May 10, 1933. p. 5. Retrieved January 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
3. State Highway Commission of Virginia (March 26–28, 1923). "Minutes of the Tenth Meeting of the State Highway Commission" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 21.
4. State Highway Commission of Virginia (June 7–8, 1923). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 7.
5. State Highway Commission of Virginia (April 10–11, 1924). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 7.
6. ^ State Highway Commission of Virginia (February 25, 1925). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 4.
7. ^ State Highway Commission of Virginia (March 11, 1927). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 9.
8. ^ State Highway Commission of Virginia (May 5–7, 1926). "Minutes of a Special Meeting Held by the State Highway Commission" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. pp. 19, 21.
9. State Highway Commission of Virginia (August 9–10, 1928). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. pp. 28, 31.
10. State Highway Commission of Virginia (December 18, 1930). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. pp. 10, 14.
11. State Highway Commission of Virginia (July 27–29, 1932). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. pp. 18, 20.
12. State Highway Commission of Virginia (December 11–12, 1923). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 12.
13. State Highway Commission of Virginia (April 10–11, 1924). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 8.
14. State Highway Commission of Virginia (May 5–7, 1926). "Minutes of a Special Meeting Held by the State Highway Commission" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. pp. 19, 22.
15. State Highway Commission of Virginia (August 9–10, 1928). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. pp. 22–3.
16. State Highway Commission of Virginia (July 19, 1932). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 11.
17. Map of Henrico County, 1930s
18. State Highway Commission of Virginia (July 5, 1922). "Minutes of the First Meeting of the State Highway Commission Created Under the Acts of 1922" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. Proposed 'State Highway System' for Virginia, as Recommended by the State Roads Committee, January, 1918
19. State Highway Commission of Virginia (April 10–11, 1924). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 5.
20. State Highway Commission of Virginia (December 18, 1930). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 24.
21. State Highway Commission of Virginia (July 27–29, 1932). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 26.
22. State Highway Commission of Virginia (October 19, 1933). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 23.
23. State Highway Commission of Virginia (August 17, 1935). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. Route 250, Broad Street Road, just east of Hungary Springs Road
24. State Highway Commission of Virginia (August 28, 1958). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 64.

External links

• Virginia Highways Project: VA 5

• State highways in Virginia
• Transportation in Richmond, Virginia
• Transportation in Henrico County, Virginia
• Transportation in Charles City County, Virginia
• Transportation in James City County, Virginia
• Transportation in Williamsburg, Virginia
• Virginia Byways
• U.S. Route 250