State Route 156 (SR 156) is a primary

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the U.S. state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The state highway runs from

U.S. Route 301 U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic States. It runs from Biddles Corner, Delaware at Delaware Route 1 to Sarasota, Florida at U.S. Route 41. It passes through the states of Delaware, Mar ...

(US 301) and SR 35 in Templeton north to US 360 Business in Mechanicsville. SR 156 follows a circuitous route through the eastern part of the

Richmond–Petersburg The Greater Richmond Region, the Richmond metropolitan area or Central Virginia, is a region and metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Virginia, centered on Richmond. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines the area as the Richm ...

metropolitan area. South of the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

, the state highway connects Templeton in

Prince George County Prince George County is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George, Virginia ...

with Hopewell, which is directly served by SR 156 Business. SR 156 crosses the James River on the

Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge The Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the James River between Jordan's Point in Prince George County and Charles City County near Hopewell, Virginia. The bridge carries vehicle traffic of State Route 106 and ...

and briefly passes through

Charles City County Charles City County is a county located in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated southeast of Richmond and west of Jamestown. It is bounded on the south by the James River and on the east by the Chickahominy River. The ...

. For most of its length in Henrico and

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, the state highway is a rural road that provides access to several units of

Richmond National Battlefield Park The Richmond National Battlefield Park commemorates 13 American Civil War sites around Richmond, Virginia, which served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for most of the war. The park connects certain features within the city wit ...

. However, SR 156 provides access to Richmond International Airport, Interstate 64 (I-64), and I-295 as it passes through the Richmond suburbs of Sandston and Highland Springs as a major highway.

Route description

SR 156 begins at a four-way intersection with US 301 and SR 35 (Courtland Road) in Templeton. The south leg of the intersection is an exit ramp from northbound I-95. US 301 and SR 35 head west along Courtland Road to provide access to the remaining ramps of the highways'

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

with I-95. SR 35 heads east along Courtland Road toward Courtland. SR 156 and US 301 run concurrently north along Prince George Drive before US 301 splits northwest to follow Crater Road toward

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

. SR 156 continues northeast along two-lane undivided Prince George Drive toward its junction with US 460 (County Drive) northwest of Disputanta, which occurs just after the state highway crosses

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

's Norfolk District. The state highway continues north to the community of Prince George, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Prince George County, where the highway has a four-way intersection with SR 106 (Courthouse Road) and SR 156 Business (Prince George Drive). SR 106 heads southwest toward the county office complex, SR 156 Business heads north to serve Hopewell, and SR 156 and SR 106 head northeast along Ruffin Road to bypass Hopewell. SR 156 and SR 106 follow Ruffin Road to SR 10 (James River Drive); this intersection is also the northern end of SR 156 Business. The two highways turn east to run concurrently with the four-lane

divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

to its next intersection with Jordan Point Road. SR 156 and SR 106 turn north onto two-lane undivided Jordan Point Road, which leads to Jordan Point. The two highways cross the James River on the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge, a vertical-lift bridge that is named for Benjamin Harrison V, the father of

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

and great-grandfather of Benjamin Harrison. The two highways enter Charles City County as Roxbury Road, which they follow north to SR 5 (John Tyler Memorial Highway) at Kimages. SR 5 heads east toward

Charles City Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

, SR 106 continues north along Roxbury Road toward Roxbury, and SR 156 turns west to join SR 5 in a concurrency. SR 156 and SR 5 initially head west but curve north and pass by

Shirley Plantation Shirley Plantation is an estate located on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia, USA. It is located on scenic byway State Route 5, between Richmond and Williamsburg. It is the oldest active plantation in Virginia ...

, one of the James River plantations. The two highways pass through the hamlet of Granville, which lies on the James River opposite Turkey Island, which is formed by a bend in the river that encloses

Presquile National Wildlife Refuge Presquile National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. state of Virginia is one of four refuges that comprise the Eastern Virginia Rivers National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The refuge is a island in the James River, located approximately south of Richm ...

. Just north of Granville, SR 156 and SR 5 cross Turkey Island Creek into Henrico County, where the highways follow New Market Road until SR 156 turns northeast onto Willis Church Road. At Carters Mill Road, SR 156 makes a right-angle turn north just before passing through the

Malvern Hill Malvern Hill stands on the north bank of the James River in Henrico County, Virginia, USA, about eighteen miles southeast of Richmond. On 1 July 1862, it was the scene of the Battle of Malvern Hill, one of the Seven Days Battles of the American ...

unit of Richmond National Battlefield Park. The state highway passes Glendale National Cemetery and the

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

unit of the battlefield park before reaching a four-way intersection with Charles City Road and Darbytown Road, where SR 156 makes a right-angle turn to the east onto Charles City Road. SR 156 follows Charles City Road to Elko Road, onto which the highway turns north to cross the White Oak Swamp and intersect

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

's Peninsula Subdivision in the hamlet of Elko. The state highway passes scattered residential subdivisions as it follows the eastern edge of the

Elko Tract Elko Tract is a 2,220 acre (9 km²) tract of land in Henrico County, Virginia. It is considered one of Virginia's ghost towns due to its history as a decoy airfield during World War II, then partially developed as an African-American mental h ...

, part of which is an industrial park accessed via SR 380 (Elko Tract Road). North of the Elko Tract, SR 156 turns west and joins US 60 and SR 33 on Williamsburg Road, a four-lane divided highway. The three highways meet I-295 at a

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...

and enter the community of Sandston, through which the highways pass as a two-lane undivided road. SR 33 turns north onto Nine Mile Road next to

Seven Pines National Cemetery Seven Pines National Cemetery is a national cemetery located in the Seven Pines area of the unincorporated town of Sandston in Henrico County, Virginia. Cemetery records state the name is derived from for a group of seven pine trees planted wit ...

. SR 156 and US 60 expand to a four-lane divided highway again as they begin to follow the northern edge of the Richmond International Airport property. SR 156 and US 60 diverge at Airport Drive, which heads south into the airport and north as part of SR 156. The four-lane divided highway has a cloverleaf interchange with I-64 and, just to the north, intersects Norfolk Southern Railway's Richmond District at grade. SR 156 continues northeast through the community of Highland Springs, where it intersects SR 33 (Nine Mile Road) again. SR 156 has another cloverleaf interchange with I-295. East of the Interstate at Old Hanover Road, the state highway reduces to two lanes and briefly becomes Hanover Road before crossing the

Chickahominy River The Chickahominy is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Virginia. The river, which serves as the eastern bo ...

into Hanover County. SR 156 continues north as Cold Harbor Road, which makes a right-angle turn west at SR 619 (Rockhill Road) to pass by the Gaines' Mill and

Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S ...

units of Richmond National Battlefield Park. After intersecting SR 615 (Creighton Road), which provides access to I-295, the state highway enters a suburban area where the highway makes another right-angle turn west at SR 636 (Walnut Grove Road) and SR 643 (Lee Davis Road). SR 156 crosses over I-295 with no access and passes by the Beaver Dam Creek unit of the battlefield park before entering Mechanicsville. The state highway has a three-quarter diamond interchange with US 360 (Mechanicsville Bypass) just before reaching its northern terminus at US 360 Business (Mechanicsville Turnpike), which completes the missing westbound US 360 to SR 156 movement of the interchange. The road continues northwest as SR 638 (Atlee Road).

Major intersections

Bannered route

Hopewell business route

Virginia State Route 156 Business (SR 156 Business) is a business route of SR 156 through the independent city of Hopewell. The highway runs from SR 156 and SR 106 in Prince George north to SR 156, SR 10, and SR 106 near Jordan Point. SR 156 Business begins as Prince George Drive, which heads northwest as a two-lane undivided road from the SR 156–SR 106 junction and enters the city of Hopewell by crossing Bailey Creek. The highway enters the city as Arlington Road, which immediately expands to four lanes. When Arlington Road splits to the north, SR 156 Business continues on High Street to SR 36 (Winston Churchill Drive). The business route turns northeast onto the four-lane divided highway and runs concurrently with SR 36 until that highway turns onto Arlington Road to head toward downtown Hopewell. SR 156 Business intersects several rail spurs as the highway enters an industrial area. Within the industrial area, the business route intersects SR 10 (Randolph Road). SR 156 Business and SR 10 run concurrently east out of the industrial area. The highways leave the city of Hopewell by crossing Bailey Creek again before the business route reaches its northern terminus at the intersection between SR 156, SR 10, and SR 106.

References

External links

Virginia Highways Project: VA 156
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State Route 156 State Route 156 State Route 156 State Route 156 State Route 156