Skip to main content

The 0.23 miles of glory that is Virginia State Route 79

By

Virginia State Route 79 is a 0.23-mile Primary State Highway which serves to connect Interstate 66 and Virginia State Route 55 near the community of Linden.  Virginia State Route 79 is located in Warren County along Apple Mountain Road.  Despite only being 0.23 miles long the alignment of Virginia State Route 79 is a signed access point to Shenandoah National Park.  A large Park & Ride lot can be found at the southern terminus of Virginia State Route 79.  




Part 1; the history of Virginia State Route 79

Modern Virginia State Route 79 appears as aligned between Route 55 to Route I-66 in the 2003 Virginia Route Index Book. 


According to vahighways.com the current iteration of Virginia State Route 79 is the third time the number has been assigned.  Vahighways.com references the current iteration of Virginia State Route 79 as likely having been added during 1980 as a connecting route between Interstate 66-Virginia State Route 55.  Vahighways.com notes the short distance of the current Virginia State Route 79 as being unusual for a Primary State Highway and suggests a more appropriation designation would have been Virginia State Route 55Y.  

The current Virginia State Route 79 appears to have been added as part of the construction of Interstate 66 between US Route 340 east to US Route 17 near Delaphane.  The US Route 340-US Route 17 segment of Interstate 66 was completed by August 1979.  Apple Mountain Road was part of the construction of Interstate 66 in the US Route 340-US Route 17 corridor at what is now Exit 13.

Despite the unusually short length of Virginia State Route 79 is not the shortest Primary State Highway.  A complete list of Primary State Highways in Virginia under one mile can be found below:




Part 2; a drive on Virginia State Route 79

From Interstate 66 westbound traffic can access Virginia State Route 79 via Exit 13.  All signage from Interstate 66 westbound displays Virginia State Route 79 co-signed as "To Viriginia State Route 55."  Traffic departing Interstate 66 onto Virginia State Route 79 is advised it can be used to access Skyline Drive of Shenandoah National Park.  





Virginia State Route 79 terminates at Virginia State Route 55 at a Park & Ride lot located behind an Exxon station.  


From Virginia State Route 55 eastbound Virginia State Route 79 northbound is co-signed as "To Interstate 66."


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

By
  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...
Post a Comment
Read more

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more