Virginia State Route 288
 State Route 288 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World War II Veterans Memorial Highway | ||||
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by VDOT | ||||
| Length | 31.77 mi[1] (51.13 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  I-95 near Chester | |||
| ||||
| North end |  I-64 near Short Pump | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Virginia | |||
| Counties | Chesterfield, Powhatan, Goochland | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
State Route 288 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is a freeway-standard partial beltway around the southwest side of Richmond. SR 288 was officially dedicated as the World War II Veterans Memorial Highway in 2004.
Description of route
SR 288 may be thought of as the southwestern portion of an "outer beltway" of Richmond, although there is no such roadway formally designated. The route begins at Interstate 95 north of Chester, and extends northwesterly through Chesterfield County and Powhatan County. It crosses the James River on the World War II Veterans Memorial Bridge into Goochland County in Richmond's Far West End area, where it terminates at Interstate 64 near Short Pump, near the northern terminus of Interstate 295.
The highway has been built entirely to Interstate standards.[2]
History
Sections of the road were built over a period of more than 15 years. During that time, the planned routing of the northern portion was changed substantially, and not without some conflict within the communities. The 17.4-mile-long southern portion of SR 288 in Chesterfield County (from Interstate 95 to State Route 76 near Midlothian) was completed in 1989.
Initially, the highway was planned to continue north and west of this temporary terminus to connect with Interstate 64 at Interstate 295, creating a seamless straight connection between SR 288 and I-295. This would have formed a partial beltway (I-295 north of I-64 and west of I-95, and SR 288 in the southwest quadrant).[3] There is however no evidence that it was to be an Interstate.
However, this planned corridor and a river crossing into Henrico County west of Richmond was abandoned in 1988. This was due to a peculiarity in the varying powers and abilities of local governments to control growth and preserve rights-of-way resultant from the Byrd Road Act of 1932. While Henrico County had been able to preserve its corridor, there had been development of residential neighborhoods and homes along and within the intended path in Chesterfield County during the years after initial planning. Despite opposition by both Henrico County and the City of Richmond, a more westerly alignment north of VA-76 was selected. Much of the planned section in Henrico County became the John Rolfe Parkway corridor there.
Instead, a more westerly alignment was selected through Powhatan and Goochland Counties, causing a break in what would have been a continuous loop between SR 288 and I-295 at their northern juncture. In 2004, construction of this "western alignment" as it became known was completed, including a new crossing of the James River known as the World War II Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Henrico County was able to preserve its planned corridor for Route 288 from development while Chesterfield County was not. This was partially because Henrico and Arlington County are the only two counties in Virginia which control and maintain their own secondary highways and streets. VDOT handles this for Chesterfield and all other counties, but has little control of residential development.
Exit list
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterfield | Chester | 0.00 | 0.00 | I-95 (Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike) – Richmond, Petersburg | Southern terminus; Exit 62 (I-95); trumpet interchange |
| 0.48 | 0.77 |   US 1 / US 301 (Jefferson Davis Highway) | Cloverleaf interchange | ||
| 2.01 | 3.23 |  SR 145 (Chester Road) – Chester | Diamond interchange | ||
| Chesterfield Court House | 5.89 | 9.48 |  SR 10 (Iron Bridge Road) – Chesterfield, Richmond | Cloverleaf interchange | |
| | 8.84 | 14.23 |  SR 604 (Courthouse Road) | Diamond interchange | |
| Brandermill |  SR 2055 (Commonwealth Centre Parkway) | Partial trumpet interchange; no northbound exit | |||
| 12.93 | 20.81 |  US 360 (Hull Street Road) – Richmond, Amelia | Cloverleaf interchange with collector-distributor lanes | ||
| 15.72 | 25.30 |  SR 76 (Powhite Parkway) – Richmond | Cloverleaf interchange with collector-distributor lanes | ||
 SR 720 (Lucks Lane) | Diamond interchange | ||||
| Midlothian | 18.47 | 29.72 |  SR 668 (Woolridge Road) | Diamond interchange | |
 SR 667 (Otterdale Road) | Southbound exit and entrance | ||||
| 20.24 | 32.57 |  US 60 (Midlothian Turnpike) – Midlothian, Powhatan | Cloverleaf interchange with collector-distributor lanes | ||
| Watkins Centre Parkway | Southbound exit and entrance | ||||
| Powhatan | | 23.70 | 38.14 |  SR 711 (Huguenot Trail) | Diamond interchange |
| James River | 25.24 | 40.62 | World War II Veterans Memorial Bridge | ||
| Goochland | Manakin-Sabot | 26.81 | 43.15 |  SR 6 (Patterson Avenue) – Richmond, Goochland | Cloverleaf interchange; no southbound exit to westbound SR 6 |
| 27.45 | 44.18 |    SR 1250 (West Creek Parkway) to SR 6 west | Partial cloverleaf interchange | ||
| 29.13 | 46.88 |  SR 740 (Tuckahoe Creek Parkway) | Cloverleaf interchange; flyover ramps from southbound SR 288 to Capital One Drive and from Capital One Drive to northbound SR 288 | ||
| Short Pump | 30.92 | 49.76 |  US 250 (Broad Street) | Partial cloverleaf interchange | |
| 31.77 | 51.13 |   I-64 to I-295 – Richmond, Charlottesville | Northern terminus; Exit 175 (I-64); semi-directional T interchange | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
See also
References
- ^ a b "2012 Traffic Data". Virginia Department of Transportation. 2012. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
- ^ Route VA-288 Construction - Western Section[unreliable source]
- ^ Virginia Department of Highways, Final Environmental/Section 4(f) Statement Administrative Action for Interstate Route 295
