State Route 8 (SR 8) 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 the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

state line near Palmetto, where the highway continues south as

North Carolina Highway 8 North Carolina Highway 8 (NC 8) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The route connects the cities of Lexington and Winston-Salem to various recreational and natural sites including Uwharrie National Forest, ...

(NC 8), north to U.S. Route 11 (US 11) in Christiansburg. SR 8 is part of a two-state highway 8 system and is the main north–south highway of

Patrick County Patrick County is a county located on the central southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,608. Its county seat is Stuart. It is located within both the rolling hills and valleys of the Pi ...

, Floyd County, and southern Montgomery County, connecting their respective

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 ...

s of Stuart, Floyd, and Christiansburg with each other and with the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenand ...

. The state highway also links the

New River Valley The New River Valley is a region along the New River in Southwest Virginia in the United States. It is usually defined as the counties of Montgomery (including the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg), Pulaski, Floyd, and Giles and the ...

region of Virginia with

Southside Virginia Southside, or Southside Virginia, has traditionally referred to the portion of the state south of the James River, the geographic feature from which the term derives its name. This was the first area to be developed in the colonial period. Duri ...

via

US 58 U.S. Route 58 (US 58) is an east–west U.S. Highway that runs for from U.S. Route 25E just northwest of Harrogate, Tennessee, to U.S. Route 60 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Until 1996, when the Cumberland Gap Tunnel opened, US 58 ran only ...

and the

Piedmont Triad The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, and H ...

via NC 8.

Route description

SR 8 begins at the North Carolina state line near Palmetto. The road continues south as NC 8, which passes through Lawsonville on its way to

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

. SR 8 heads northwest as Salem Highway, which meets the eastern end of SR 103 (Dry Pond Highway) in Five Forks. The state highway enters the town of Stuart by crossing the South Fork Mayo River. SR 8 follows South Main Street, first passing SR 8 Business, then Wood Brothers Drive. At Blue Ridge Street, the state highway turns west and joins US 58 Business on a concurrency west of the downtown area. Northwest of the town, SR 8 joins US 58 (Jeb Stuart Highway) north through a narrow creek valley to Cruzes Store. SR 8 continues northeast as Woolwine Highway through narrow creek valleys to an intersection with SR 57 (Fairystone Park Highway) near Buffalo Ridge. The state highway crosses the Smith River shortly before meeting the west end of SR 40 (Charity Highway) in Woolwine. East of Rocky Knob, the namesake of an

American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...

, SR 8 curvaceously ascends Blue Ridge Mountain to the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly span ...

at Tuggle Gap. At the gap, the state highway enters Floyd County and has an interchange with the Blue Ridge Parkway. SR 8 continues north as Parkway Lane to the county seat of Floyd, where the highway follows Locust Street and intersects

US 221 U.S. Route 221 (US 221) is a spur of U.S. Route 21. It travels from Perry, Florida, at US 19/ US 98/ US 27 Alternate to Lynchburg, Virginia, at US 29 Business ( Lynchburg Expressway). It travels through the stat ...

(Main Street). The state highway traverses the West Fork of the

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

and climbs over Wills Ridge south of the confluence of the rivers West and East forks. SR 8 crosses over the main stem of the river at the Montgomery county line, where the highway continues as Riner Road through the village of

Riner ''For people with the surname, see Riner (surname).'' Riner is a village in the province of Lleida and autonomous community of Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous commu ...

in the Union Valley. The state highway enters the town of Christiansburg at its

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

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island ...

. SR 8 follows Main Street to its northern terminus at US 11. US 11 heads west as Radford Street and north as Main Street to the center of the town.

History

SR 8 was included in the initial 1918 state highway system as part of State Route 23, which continued north to

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

via present

U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 (US 460) is a spur route of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles (1,054 km) from Norfolk, Virginia, at its parent route U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky, intersecting its parent route once ...

. In the 1933 renumbering, SR 23 was renumbered State Route 8 because the number was used by

U.S. Route 23 } U.S. Route 23 or U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south U.S. Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south as Portsmouth, Ohio, and has sinc ...

. The short piece west from Rich Creek to West Virginia became part of U.S. Route 219 by 1937, and

replaced the entire route north of Christiansburg by 1947.

Major intersections

SR 8 Business

SR 8 Business (SR 8 Bus.) is a

special route In road transportation in the United States, a special route is a road in a numbered highway system that diverts a specific segment of related traffic away from another road. They are featured in many highway systems; most are found in the Int ...

of SR 8 in the town of Stuart. The route is a former alignment of SR 8 in downtown Stuart along Patrick Avenue and Blue Ridge Street (the latter of which is part of US 58 Bus.). The highway was designated after 2011 when a new alignment of SR 8 was constructed allowing the bypass of downtown Stuart especially by heavy truck traffic. The route begins at a signalized intersection with Salem Highway (SR 8) in a small commercial area immediately north of the South Mayo River. SR 8 Bus. and Patrick Avenue, after first heading east, immediately heads north paralleling SR 8. After about , the road travels uphill and curves towards the northeast. At the summit of the hill, SR 8 Bus. reaches Blue Ridge Street which carries US 58 Bus.; SR 8 Bus. turns northwest onto it and after a pair of 90-degree turns, enters the

Stuart Uptown Historic District Stuart Uptown Historic District is a national Historic district (United States), historic district located at Stuart, Virginia, Stuart, Patrick County, Virginia. The district includes 18 contributing buildings and 1 contributing object in the c ...

and passes the

Patrick County Courthouse Patrick County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building located at Stuart, Patrick County, Virginia. It was built in 1822, and is a two-story, brick building consisting of a projecting, three-bay central block with flanking wings in the Jeffe ...

. SR 8 Bus. ends at an intersection with Wood Brothers Drive where SR 8 and US 58 Bus. continue together northwest.

References

External links

Virginia Highways Project: VA 8
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008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh *"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6 * '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film * '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...

State Route 008 State Route 008 State Route 008