History of state highways in Virginia

Primary and secondary State Route shields
The system used from 1923 to 1928 involved two-digit routes (red) with three- and four-digit spurs (orange). District 1 (Bristol) is shown here.
System information
Length:	57,867 mi (93,128 km)
Notes:	Outside cities, some towns, and two counties, every road is state-maintained. These roads are split into primary and secondary State Routes, and receive different levels of funding. Inside cities, most primary State Routes are locally maintained.
Highway names
Interstates:	Interstate X (I-X)
US Highways:	U.S. Route X (US X)
State:	State Route X (SR X) or Virginia Route X (VA X)
System links
Virginia Routes Interstate U.S. Primary Secondary Byways History

The History of State Highways in Virginia begins with Virginia's State Highway Commission, which was formed by the General Assembly in 1906. In 1918 the General Assembly designated a 4002-mile (6441 km) state highway system to be maintained by the Commission. Beginning in 1922, the Commission was authorized to add annually mileage equal to 2.5% of the original system (100 miles or 161 km). These highways were numbered from 1 into the 20s; by 1922 suffixed spurs had been added (such as 7X from 7). In 1923, the first renumbering was implemented, in which State Routes 1 to 9 became 31 to 39. The spurs were renamed to use numbers rather than letters (such as 114 from 11), and four-digit numbers were used for spurs of spurs (such as 1141 from 114) or for "rollovers" (such as 1010 from 10, as 101 to 109 were all in use).

The United States Numbered Highways were designated in late 1926. In 1928, the state routes were renumbered again; all the spurs were instead numbered by district, using the district number as the first digit. State routes that were also U.S. Routes had signage removed, but continued to be referred to by the Department of Highways (renamed from the State Highway Commission in 1927).

In 1932, the Byrd Road Act promoted by former Governor Harry F. Byrd and the Byrd Organization created the state's "Secondary System" of roads in the counties. Virginia's incorporated towns were provided a local option to participate, and all the counties in Virginia were given the option of turning this responsibility over to the state. However, Virginia's independent cities were excluded, typical of the Byrd Organization and its leader's rural priorities and political power base.

Only four counties of more than 90 initially opted not to join the system. Of these, Nottoway County opted to join the state system in 1933, and in the 1950s, Warwick County became an independent city and was then consolidated with another, forming the modern City of Newport News. (By the end of the 20th century, only Arlington and Henrico Counties were continuing to maintain their own roads.)