Richmond Road

Back to Virginia to West Virginiato New York to Maryland

History
U.S. Route 60 in Virginia runs 312 miles (502 km) west to east through the central part of the state. The Manchester Turnpike was a turnpike road in Chesterfield County, and was the first lengthy paved roadway in that state. It stretched from Manchester (now part of Richmond's Southside) west to Falling Creek near Midlothian, and is now known as Midlothian Turnpike, mostly forming part of U.S. Route 60. In 1802, Chesterfield County's coal manufacturers and residents petitioned the Virginia General Assembly for permission to construct a turnpike between the port of Manchester and Falling Creek. The improved road was opened to travelers in 1804, and ran from Manchester along the old Buckingham road to Falling Creek, now the bridge on Old Buckingham Road west of Unison Drive.

The James River and Kanawha Turnpike was built to facilitate portage of shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western reaches of the James River via the James River and Kanawha Canal and the eastern reaches of the Kanawha River. Originally proposed by a young George Washington in his surveyor days prior to the American Revolution, the canal and turnpike combination was seen as the key for Virginia to compete with northern states for rich trade to the west. However, the canal portion was an expensive project which failed several times financially, was frequently damaged by floods, and was never fully completed, although sections served for many years. It was largely financed by the Virginia Board of Public Works.

The Turnpike portion of the combination envisioned by Washington remained a major roadway much longer, and was only supplanted by the completion of Interstate 64 in West Virginia in 1988. Much of the route of the James River and Kanawha Turnpike through West Virginia is today the Midland Trail, a National Scenic Byway, and is signed as U.S. Route 60. West Virginia to Lexington

Websites
U.S. Route 60 Between Williamsburg and Richmond U.S. Route 60 in Virginia Virginia-transportation