Virginia State Route 55
Encyclopedia
Virginia State Route 55 is a primary state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. Known for most of its length as John Marshall Highway, the state highway runs 64.71 miles (104.1 km) from the West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

 state line, where the highway continues as West Virginia Route 55 (WV 55), east to U.S. Route 29
U.S. Route 29 in Virginia
U.S. Route 29 is a major north–south route in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It covers from the North Carolina border at the city of Danville to the Key Bridge in Washington, D.C....

 (US 29) in Gainesville
Gainesville, Virginia
-Demographics:Gainesville is currently the third-largest CDP in Prince William County. As of the census estimate of 2009, there were 28,662 people, 10,300 households, and 8,604 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,150.2 people per square mile . There were 10,300 housing units...

. West of its interchange with Interstate 81
Interstate 81 in Virginia
Interstate 81 is an long highway. In the U.S. state of Virginia, I-81 runs for , making it longer in Virginia than in any other state. It stretches from the Tennessee state line near Bristol to the West Virginia state line near Winchester. U.S...

 (I-81) in Strasburg
Strasburg, Virginia
Strasburg is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States, which was founded in 1761 by Peter Stover. It is the largest town, population-wise, in the county and is known for its pottery, antiques, and Civil War history...

, SR 55 runs concurrently
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...

 with the easternmost portion of US 48
U.S. Route 48
U.S. Route 48 , or Corridor H, is part of the Appalachian Development Highway System. It is an east–west United States highway that runs from northern Virginia to central West Virginia.- West Virginia :...

 as part of Corridor H. East of Front Royal
Front Royal, Virginia
Front Royal is a town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,589 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Warren County.-Geography:Front Royal is roughly west of Washington, D.C....

, the state highway serves as the local complement of I-66
Interstate 66
Interstate 66 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. As indicated by its even route number, it runs in an east–west direction. Its western terminus is at Middletown, Virginia, at an intersection with Interstate 81; its eastern terminus is in Washington, D.C., at an...

 as it passes through the towns of Marshall
Marshall, Virginia
Marshall is an unincorporated village and census-designated place located in the hunt country of northwestern Fauquier County, Virginia. The population as of the 2010 Census was 1,480. Marshall was originally known as Salem. The town became Marshall after a short-lived incorporation...

, The Plains
The Plains, Virginia
The Plains is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. The population was 266 at the 2000 census. It is centered around Virginia Route 55 and Virginia Route 245...

, and Haymarket
Haymarket, Virginia
Haymarket is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 879 at the 2000 census, but the 2009 is 1,252. Haymarket is home to the Haymarket Senators of the Valley Baseball League...

.

Route description

SR 55 begins at the West Virginia state line at the highway's summit of Great North Mountain
Great North Mountain
Great North Mountain is a long mountain range within the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. The range is located west of the Shenandoah Valley and Massanutten Mountain in Virginia, and east of the Allegheny Mountains and Cacapon River in West...

. The highway continues west toward Wardensville as US 48 and WV 55. SR 55 heads northeast as two-lane Wardensville Pike through George Washington National Forest and descends the mountain to the hamlet of Star Tannery, where the highway leaves Frederick County
Frederick County, Virginia
Frederick County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is included in the Winchester, Virginia-West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was formed in 1743 by the splitting of Orange County. For ten years it was the home of George Washington. As of 2010, the population was...

 by crossing Cedar Creek. The state highway, now named John Marshall Highway, passes around the northern end of Little North Mountain near the community of Wheatfield
Wheatfield, Virginia
Wheatfield is an unincorporated community in Shenandoah County, in the U.S. state of Virginia.-Reference:...

, where the highway turns south. SR 55 passes through the Shenandoah County
Shenandoah County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 35,075 people, 14,296 households, and 10,064 families residing in the county. The population density was 68 people per square mile . There were 16,709 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...

 communities of Lebanon Church
Lebanon Church, Virginia
Lebanon Church is an unincorporated community in Shenandoah County, in the U.S. state of Virginia.-Reference:...

 and Clary on its way to a diamond interchange
Diamond interchange
A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a freeway crosses a minor road. The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge...

 with I-81, which serves as US 48's eastern terminus. SR 55 continues south into the town of Strasburg, where the highway has a short concurrency with US 11
U.S. Route 11 in Virginia
U.S. Route 11 in Virginia runs north–south through the western part of the state, parallel to Interstate 81.-History:What is now US 11 was added to the state highway system in 1918 as portions of State Route 10 and State Route 3 . SR 3 became State Route 33 in 1923, and US 11 was applied to...

 on Massanutten Street and passes under Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...

's B-Line
B-Line (Norfolk Southern)
The B-Line is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The line runs from Manassas west to Edinburg along a former Southern Railway line. Its east end is at the Washington District, and it crosses the Hagerstown District at Front Royal...

. In the center of the town, US 11 and SR 55 head west and east, respectively, on King Street. The state highway passes under the B-Line again before reaching the eastern edge of town, where the highway becomes Front Royal Road and makes a curve to the south. SR 55 passes through an S-curve as it crosses the North Fork Shenandoah River into Warren County
Warren County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,584 people, 12,087 households, and 8,521 families residing in the county. The population density was 148 people per square mile . There were 13,299 housing units at an average density of 62 per square mile...

.

Just north of Signal Knob
Signal Knob
Signal Knob may refer to:* Signal Knob * Signal Knob * Signal Knob * Signal Knob * Signal Knob * Signal Knob...

, the northernmost peak of Massanutten Mountain
Massanutten Mountain
Massanutten Mountain is a synclinal ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, located in the U.S. state of Virginia.-Geography:The mountain bisects the Shenandoah Valley just east of Strasburg in Shenandoah County in the north, to its highest peak east of Harrisonburg in Rockingham County in the...

, SR 55 passes to the south side of the B-Line. The highway, now named Strasburg Road, crosses Passage Creek on its way to the Riverton area of the town of Front Royal at the confluence of the North Fork and South Fork Shenandoah River to form the Shenandoah River
Shenandoah River
The Shenandoah River is a tributary of the Potomac River, long with two forks approximately long each, in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia...

. In Riverton, SR 55 turns south onto Shenandoah Avenue and joins US 340
U.S. Route 340 in Virginia
In the U.S. state of Virginia, U.S. Route 340 runs north–south, parallel and east of U.S. Route 11, from US 11 north of Greenville via Waynesboro, Grottoes, Elkton, Luray, Front Royal, and Berryville to the West Virginia state line...

 and US 522
U.S. Route 522 in Virginia
U.S. Route 522 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Powhatan, Virginia to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. In Virginia, the U.S. highway runs from its southern terminus at US 60 in Powhatan north to the West Virginia state line near Cross Junction...

 in a triple concurrency. The four-lane undivided highway crosses the South Fork and passes through a pair of right-angle curves onto 14th Street and then Royal Avenue. Just north of downtown Front Royal, US 522 turns southeast onto Commerce Street; SR 55 and US 340 continue south as a two-lane street through downtown. At the southern end of the town, US 340 continues south while the state highway turns east onto four-lane South Street. East of US 522, SR 55 reduces to two lanes and leaves the town of Front Royal as John Marshall Highway. The state highway passes under the B-Line just before its junction with SR 79 (Apple Mountain Road), a very short connector with I-66. SR 55, I-66, and the B-Line follow Manassas Run to the community of Linden
Linden, Virginia
Linden is an unincorporated community in Fauquier and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is less than an hour from Washington, D.C...

, where the thoroughfares intersect the Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...

, cross Blue Ridge Mountain
Blue Ridge Mountain
Blue Ridge Mountain, also known as Blue Mountain, is the colloquial name of the western most ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia...

 at Manassas Gap
Manassas Gap
Manassas Gap is a wind gap of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the border of Fauquier County and Warren County in Virginia. At an elevation of 887 feet above sea level, it is the lowest crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the state....

, and enter Fauquier County
Fauquier County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 55,139 people, 19,842 households, and 15,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile . There were 21,046 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...

.

SR 55 continues to parallel I-66 and the B-Line through the valley of Goose Creek
Goose Creek (Potomac River)
Goose Creek is a tributary of the Potomac River in Fauquier and Loudoun counties in northern Virginia. It comprises the principal drainage system for the Loudoun Valley.-Course:...

, where they pass through Markham
Markham, Virginia
Markham is a small, unincorporated community in Fauquier County, Virginia, along State Route 55 and off Interstate 66. It is home to the Naked Mountain Vineyard, its own post office, and ZIP Code of 22643. The Manassas Gap railway runs through the community....

. The two highways leave Goose Creek and the B-Line west of Delaplane
Delaplane, Virginia
Delaplane is a small unincorporated village in Fauquier County, Virginia, located approximately due west of Washington, D.C.. Delaplane is situated along U.S. Route 17 and Interstate 66; bordering Upperville, Virginia to the north, Hume, Virginia to the south, Paris, Virginia to the west, and...

, where SR 55 veers away from I-66 temporarily and joins US 17
U.S. Route 17 in Virginia
U.S. Route 17 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Punta Gorda, Florida to Winchester, Virginia. In Virginia, the U.S. Highway runs from the North Carolina state line in Chesapeake north to its northern terminus at US 11, US 50, and US 522 in Winchester. US 17 is a major highway...

 (Winchester Road) in a concurrency before the two highways merge onto I-66 near Oak Hill
Oak Hill (Delaplane, Virginia)
Oak Hill in Delaplane, Virginia consists of two separate houses connected by a passageway. The earlier and smaller house was built in 1773 by Colonel Thomas Marshall, father of John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States. John Marshall lived in the Oak Hill house until his marriage in 1783....

, the country estate of John Marshall
John Marshall
John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches...

. The highways are directly paralleled on the north by the highway's old alignment, Grove Lane. Just west of the town of Marshall, SR 55 exits I-66 at a diamond interchange onto Free State Road. SR 55, which is concurrent with US 17 Business, turns east onto Main Street at Grove Lane. In the center of town, US 17 Business heads south on Winchester Road opposite SR 710 (Rectortown Road) while SR 55 continues east on Main Street, which intersects the B-Line before leaving town. SR 55 continues east and becomes the Main Street of the town of The Plains, where the highway meets the B-Line at another grade crossing and intersects the northern end of SR 245
Virginia State Route 245
State Route 245 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. It runs from U.S. Route 17 at Old Tavern past exit 31 of Interstate 66 to end at State Route 55 in The Plains. The road that is now SR 245 carried U.S. Route 15 until 1940 and State Route 17 from 1940 to 1944.-External links:*...

 (Old Tavern Road). SR 55, I-66, and the B-Line follow Broad Run
Broad Run (Occoquan River)
Broad Run is a tributary of the Occoquan River in the U.S. state of Virginia....

 through the Bull Run Mountains
Bull Run Mountains
The Bull Run Mountains are a mountain range of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia in the United States. Located approximately east of the main chain, across the Loudoun Valley...

 at Thoroughfare Gap
Thoroughfare Gap
Thoroughfare Gap is an album by American singer-songwriter Stephen Stills, released in 1978. This CD is now available as a three album set on 2 CDs with Stills & Illegal Stills.- Side 1 :#"You Can't Dance Alone" – 4:14#"Thoroughfare Gap" – 3:31...

 into Prince William County
Prince William County, Virginia
-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...

.

SR 55 crosses the B-Line again at the hamlet of Thoroughfare
Thoroughfare, Virginia
Thoroughfare is an unincorporated community in Prince William County, Virginia. Roughly located on Virginia State Route 55 about 1.5 miles West of Haymarket where the Norfolk Southern Railway tracks cross the road. The community thrived through the 1940s as a community founded by former slaves. As...

. The state highway intersects US 15
U.S. Route 15 in Virginia
U.S. Route 15 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Walterboro, South Carolina to Painted Post, New York. In Virginia, the U.S. Highway runs from the North Carolina state line near Clarksville north to the Maryland state line at the Potomac River near Lucketts...

 (James Madison Highway) just west of the town of Haymarket; in that town the highway is known as Washington Street. SR 55 continues southeast to Gainesville, where the highway reaches its eastern terminus. As of June 2011
SR 55 has been re-routed over the old Gallerher Road, and is now called John Marshall Highway. The US 29–SR 55 junction is the focus of a long-term project to provide grade separations between the B-Line (the last crossing by SR 55) and both the John Marshall Highway and US 29, and to construct an interchange between US 29, SR 55, and SR 619
Virginia State Route 619 (Prince William County)
State Route 619 is a secondary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia, and traverses Prince William County. SR 619 provides a cross-county connector as well as a major artery for commuters. SR 619 is known by four names: Linton Hall Road, Bristow Road, Joplin Road, and Fuller Heights Road...

 (Linton Hall Road). The single-point urban interchange
Single-point urban interchange
A single-point urban interchange , also called a single-point interchange or single-point diamond interchange , is a type of highway interchange...

 is expected to be completed in 2014.

Major intersections

{| class=wikitable
!County
!Location
!Mile



!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|Frederick
Frederick County, Virginia
Frederick County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is included in the Winchester, Virginia-West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was formed in 1743 by the splitting of Orange County. For ten years it was the home of George Washington. As of 2010, the population was...


|Star Tannery
Star Tannery, Virginia
Star Tannery is an unincorporated community in southwestern Frederick County, Virginia on the Shenandoah County line. Star Tannery is located on Star Tannery Road off of Wardensville Pike along Cedar Creek.-History:...


|0.00
|
|Western terminus; West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

 state line
|-
|rowspan=3|Shenandoah
Shenandoah County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 35,075 people, 14,296 households, and 10,064 families residing in the county. The population density was 68 people per square mile . There were 16,709 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...


|rowspan=3|Strasburg
Strasburg, Virginia
Strasburg is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States, which was founded in 1761 by Peter Stover. It is the largest town, population-wise, in the county and is known for its pottery, antiques, and Civil War history...


|14.26
|

|I-81 Exit 296; eastern terminus of US 48
|-
|15.89
|
|West end of concurrency with US 11
|-
|16.12
|
|SR 55 turns east onto King Street; east end of concurrency with US 11
|-18.29
|rowspan=5|Warren
Warren County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,584 people, 12,087 households, and 8,521 families residing in the county. The population density was 148 people per square mile . There were 13,299 housing units at an average density of 62 per square mile...


|rowspan=4|Front Royal
Front Royal, Virginia
Front Royal is a town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,589 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Warren County.-Geography:Front Royal is roughly west of Washington, D.C....


|26.40
|
|West end of concurrency with US 340 and US 522
|-
|27.78
|
|East end of concurrency with US 522
|-
|29.00
|
|SR 55 turns east onto South Street; east end of concurrency with US 340
|-
|29.54
|
|
|-
|Linden
Linden, Virginia
Linden is an unincorporated community in Fauquier and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is less than an hour from Washington, D.C...


|34.24
|
|
|-35.59
|rowspan=6|Fauquier
Fauquier County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 55,139 people, 19,842 households, and 15,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile . There were 21,046 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...


|rowspan=2|Delaplane
Delaplane, Virginia
Delaplane is a small unincorporated village in Fauquier County, Virginia, located approximately due west of Washington, D.C.. Delaplane is situated along U.S. Route 17 and Interstate 66; bordering Upperville, Virginia to the north, Hume, Virginia to the south, Paris, Virginia to the west, and...


|44.50
|
|West end of concurrency with US 17
|-
|45.14
|
|I-66 Exit 23; west end of concurrency with I-66; no direct access from eastbound I-66 to westbound SR 55
|-
|rowspan=3|Marshall
Marshall, Virginia
Marshall is an unincorporated village and census-designated place located in the hunt country of northwestern Fauquier County, Virginia. The population as of the 2010 Census was 1,480. Marshall was originally known as Salem. The town became Marshall after a short-lived incorporation...


|48.50
|
|I-66 Exit 27; east end of concurrency with I-66 and US 17; west end of concurrency with US 17 Business
|-
|48.77
|Grove Lane west
|SR 55 turns east onto John Marshall Highway
|-
|49.48
|
|East end of concurrency with US 17 Business
|-
|The Plains
The Plains, Virginia
The Plains is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. The population was 266 at the 2000 census. It is centered around Virginia Route 55 and Virginia Route 245...


|53.99
|
|
|-58.68
|rowspan=2|Prince William
Prince William County, Virginia
-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...


|Haymarket
Haymarket, Virginia
Haymarket is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 879 at the 2000 census, but the 2009 is 1,252. Haymarket is home to the Haymarket Senators of the Valley Baseball League...


|62.38
|
|
|-
|Gainesville
Gainesville, Virginia
-Demographics:Gainesville is currently the third-largest CDP in Prince William County. As of the census estimate of 2009, there were 28,662 people, 10,300 households, and 8,604 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,150.2 people per square mile . There were 10,300 housing units...


|64.71
|
|Eastern terminus; interchange under construction

External links

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