State Route 286 and 288 in Virginia

State Route 286 in Virginia

According to act-test-centers, State Route 286, also known as the Fairfax County Parkway is a state route in the U.S. state of Virginia. The road forms a tangential link through the southwestern suburbs of Washington, DC and is part highway-like. State Route 286 is 56 kilometers long.

Travel directions

State Route 286 is located entirely in Fairfax County, one of the wealthiest areas in the United States with mostly suburban areas, but also some work centers. The road runs 10 to 15 kilometers off I-495 and is predominantly 2×2 lanes, and is semi-grade. In particular, the portions close to I-95 and I-66 are highway-like, but at many points the Fairfax County Parkway is also direct access to residential areas via traffic lights.

History

State Route 286 follows what was once envisioned as Washington’s “Outer Beltway.” In the 1950s, the population of Fairfax County exploded, growing from 99,000 in 1950 to 275,000 in 1960. Growth continued strongly thereafter, with 818,000 in 1990 and 1.1 million in 2010. Northern Virginia’s rapid suburbanization necessitated a better road network than just I-495, but political support for the “Outer Beltway” waned after the 1970s.

As an alternative, the Fairfax County Parkway was developed, which at least could serve the long-distance traffic. The road was built in phases, with the first section being constructed between I-66 and Herndon between 1987 and 1993, followed by the section from Springfield to I-66 between 1993-1996. Between 1999 and 2001, the northern part of Herndon to State Route 7 was constructed. The last section was constructed between 2009 and 2012 between I-95 and Springfield, completing the tangential suburban connection.

The road was never intended as a highway, but it does partly fulfill that function, because a lot of employment opportunities in the region are located far outside the center. The North Virginia region has its own catchment area outside of Washington, DC

The Fairfax County Parkway was originally numbered Secondary Road, SR-7100. On February 16, 2012, State Route 286 was assigned to the route. A branch line at Springfield was numbered State Route 289.

State Route 288 in Virginia

According to liuxers, State Route 288 or SR-288 is a state route and freeway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The road is a partial ring road around the city of Richmond and is wholly a freeway. The route begins south of the city on I-95 and runs west of the city on I-64 and is 31 miles long.

Travel directions

SR-288 near the James River.

At Chester, SR-288 begins at an interchange with Interstate 95, the highway out of Fayetteville toward Richmond and Washington. The highway has 2×2 lanes and runs through the wooded and sparsely built suburbs of Richmond to the northwest. There are a number of commercial areas along the highway and it crosses SR-76, the toll road to downtown Richmond. SR-288 then curves in a fairly wide arc west of Richmond to the north and crosses the James River. The highway then ends in the suburb of Short Pump at Interstate 64, the highway from Roanoke toward Richmond and Norfolk.

History

Planning for a Richmond ring road began in the 1968 Major Thoroughfare Plan, which envisaged a full ring road. At the time, the current road numbers were already provided, so State Route 288 was not planned as an Interstate, unlike State Route 895. The original plans did foresee a State Route 288 that ended a little further east on I-64, at I-295, so that a complete ring road could be formed. This was eventually constructed a bit more to the west, so that the ring road does not form a pure ring.

The first section to open was the three-mile north-south section of the route between the Powhite Parkway and US 360 in November 1988. It was funded by Powhite Parkway tolls, but State Route 288 itself is toll-free. In 1989, the rest of the southern portion of the beltway between I-95 and US 360 opened. The north-south portion was eventually constructed a little more west than planned and opened to traffic in 2004.