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 ...
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 ...
state line in Paynesville, where the highway continues as
West Virginia Route 83
West Virginia Route 83 is an east–west state highway located within McDowell County, West Virginia. The western terminus is at the Virginia state line six miles (10 km) west of Jolo, where WV 83 continues west as Virginia State Route 83. T ...
McDowell County, West Virginia
McDowell County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,111. Its county seat is Welch. McDowell County is the southernmost county in the state. It was created in 1858 by the Virginia Genera ...
.
Route description
SR 83 begins at an intersection with US 23 Business (Main Street) in the town of Pound. The state highway heads northeast as Clintwood Highway, a two-lane undivided road that crosses the Pound River and exits the town. SR 83 passes through the hamlet of Meade before reaching the Wise–Dickenson county line at Georges Fork Gap, just east of which the highway intersects SR 361, the access road to
Red Onion State Prison
Red Onion State Prison (ROSP) is a supermax state prison located in unincorporated Wise County, Virginia, near Pound. Operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC), it houses about 800 inmates.SR 72 (Coeburn Road) to Clintwood, 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 Dickenson County. SR 83 enters the town on Main Street, turns onto Mullins Avenue, then continues on Fremont Avenue, which has a sharp curve as it ascends Baker Ridge and leaves the town. The state highway re-assumes the name Dickenson Highway and descends to and crosses the
Cranes Nest River
The Cranes Nest River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 13, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located in Dickenson County, Virginia, Dickenson County ...
. SR 83 summits Hill Ridge at Bearpen Gap before descending to the hamlet of Fremont, where the highway crosses over
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
Kingsport Subdivision
The Kingsport Subdivision (also KP Subdivision) is a 133.2-mile (214.4 km) railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. It was formerly part of the Huntington West Division. It bec ...
and the
McClure River
The McClure River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 13, 2011 tributary of the Russell Fork in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located in Dickenson County in th ...
and intersects SR 63 (Dante Mountain Road).
SR 83 runs concurrently with SR 63 and parallels the river and railroad to the town of Clinchco. At the north end of the town, the two state highways diverge for separate routes to Haysi. SR 63 ascends onto and follows Big Ridge to the town while SR 83 follows the Kingsport Subdivision and the McClure River to the town. On arriving in the town of Haysi, SR 83 veers east away from the river and railroad and crosses
Russell Fork
The Russell Fork, 1975 Board on Geographic Names decision is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 13, 2011 tributary of the Levisa Fork in southwestern Virginia and sout ...
to intersect SR 80 (Helen Henderson Highway). The two highways head north into the center of town on Sandlick Drive, which crosses Russell Prater Creek at its confluence with Russell Fork and meets the northern end of SR 63 (Main Street). SR 83 and SR 80 turn east onto Main Street and follow Russell Prater Creek to the north end of town, where SR 80 heads north as Breaks Park Road. SR 83 continues east as Dickenson Highway along the creek into Buchanan County.
SR 83 follows Russell Prater Creek to the hamlet of
Prater
The Prater () is a large public park in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria. The Wurstelprater, an amusement park that is often simply called "Prater", lies in one corner of the Wiener Prater and includes the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris wheel.
Name
The n ...
, then follows War Fork to its source at Lovers Gap. The state highway follows Big Lick Branch and Big Prater Creek and passes to the south of
Grundy Municipal Airport
Grundy Municipal Airport was a public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Grundy, a town in Buchanan County, Virginia, United States. It was publicly owned by the Town of Grundy a ...
Levisa Fork
The Levisa Fork (also known as the Levisa Fork River or the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River) is a tributary of the Big Sandy River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Nati ...
and joins
US 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 ...
on a four-lane undivided highway through Tookland and
Royal City
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a ...
to the town of Grundy, which the two highways enter on Riverside Drive. In the center of the Buchanan County seat, SR 83 turns east onto two-lane undivided Edgewater Drive and passes by the Buchanan County Courthouse and the
Appalachian School of Law
The Appalachian School of Law (ASL) is an ABA-approved private law school on a four building campus in Grundy, Virginia, a small town near the convergence of Virginia, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The school offers a three-year Juris Doctor de ...
. The state highway exits Grundy on Slate Creek Road, which follows Slate Creek through the hamlet of
Stacy
Stacy or Stacey may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
* Stacy, California, an unincorporated community
* Stacy, Kentucky
* Stacy, Minnesota, a city
* Stacy, Virginia, a village
People
* Stacy (given name)
* Stacy (singer) (born 199 ...
. Near the source of Slate Creek, SR 83 veers north and ascends to the top of State Line Ridge, where the highway reaches its eastern terminus at the West Virginia state line in Paynesville. The road continues as WV 83, which parallels the state line through the West Virginia section of Paynesville before descending from the ridge to Bradshaw.