U.S. Route 52 | ||||
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by VADOT | ||||
Length: | 85 mi (137 km) | |||
Existed: | mid-1930s – present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end: | US 52 near Mount Airy, NC | |||
US 58 in Hillsville US 21 in Wytheville |
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North end: | I‑77 / US 52 near Bluefield, WV | |||
Highway system | ||||
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U.S. Route 52 in Virginia runs north–south through the southwestern part of the state along the Interstate 77 corridor. Though an even-numbered U.S. route, it is signed north–south in Virginia (standard convention being to label even-numbered U.S. routes with east–west designations). In some other states along its route, it is signed east–west. The Virginia segment is signed such that U.S. 52 north corresponds to the general westward direction of the highway, and vice versa.
U.S. 52 enters Virginia from West Virginia, and in Virginia closely follows Interstate 77. It enters southwestern Virginia near Bluefield and passes through Wytheville and Hillsville before leaving the state south of Cana.
The piece of US 52 south of Fort Chiswell was part of the state highway system defined in 1918. It was initially designated State Route 12-Z, at least south of Hillsville, but by 1924 it was State Route 15. In 1926, the U.S. Route 121 designation was applied to the whole length of SR 15, from North Carolina to Fort Chiswell, but it did not turn west on U.S. Route 11 at Fort Chiswell to connect to U.S. Route 21.
An extension of SR 15 from Fort Chiswell north to Max Meadows was added to the state highway system in 1931. In the 1933 renumbering, SR 15 was dropped from the US 121 concurrency, while the short extension to Max Meadows became State Route 121.