State Route 144 (SR 144) 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
SR 36 at
Fort Lee north to
SR 145 at
Centralia
Centralia may refer to:
Places Australia
*Central Australia, sometimes called "Centralia"
Canada
* Centralia, Ontario
** RCAF Station Centralia, a former Royal Canadian Air Force training base
** Centralia (Essery Field) Aerodrome
United State ...
. SR 144's east–west segment is the main highway between
Colonial Heights and both Fort Lee and
Hopewell. The state highway's north–south section connects
U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...
(US 1) and
US 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 ...
in Colonial Heights with
SR 10 in
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
. It was first added to the state highway system in 1930 as State Route 425 (SR 425) and had gained its current routing and designation by 1987.
Route description
SR 144 begins at a four-way intersection with SR 36 (Oaklawn Boulevard) at the northeastern corner of Fort Lee. The south leg of the intersection is Sisisky Boulevard, which serves as one of the entrances to the military base. SR 144 heads west as Temple Avenue, a 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 ...
that crosses a rail line and passes through an industrial area in far northern
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 ...
before crossing the
Appomattox River
The Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in central and eastern Virginia in the United ...
, which is split in two by Halls Island. While crossing the river, the state highway passes through a sliver of
Chesterfield County before entering the
independent city
An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province).
Historical precursors
In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
of Colonial Heights. SR 144 passes through a commercial area that includes the
Southpark Mall and the world's largest
Arby's
Arby's is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants system wide and third in terms of revenue. In October 2017, '' Food & Wine'' called Arby's "America's second largest sandwich chain (after Subway)".
Ar ...
restaurant. West of the mall, the state highway has a
trumpet interchange
In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using ...
with
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
(I-95, Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike) that is supplemented by a ramp from northbound SR 144 to northbound I-95. West of the freeway, SR 144 reaches the western end of Temple Avenue and turns north to
run concurrently with US 1 and US 301 along the city's main north–south thoroughfare, Boulevard.
SR 144, US 1, and US 301 follow Boulevard north through Colonial Heights, where the five-lane highway with a
center left-turn lane
A reversible lane (British English: tidal flow) is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours, by having overhead traffic lights and li ...
passes under
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
North End Subdivision
The North End Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Virginia and North Carolina. The line runs from Richmond, Virginia, to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, for a total of 123.2 miles. At its north end the line continues south f ...
. The highways enter Chesterfield County by crossing
Swift Creek into Chesterfield County and become Jefferson Davis Highway. SR 144 splits northwest from the U.S. Highways to follow two-lane undivided Harrowgate Road through a suburban area to Chester. There, the state highway has a brief concurrency with four-lane undivided SR 10 (West Hundred Road) to cross the North End Subdivision rail line. SR 144 continues north on two-lane undivided Chester Road, which the highway follows to its northern terminus at SR 145 at Centralia. SR 145 heads west as Centralia Road toward
Chesterfield Court House and north as a continuation of Chester Road through an interchange with the
SR 288 freeway.
History
What would become SR 144 was first commissioned in 1930 as SR 425. It was significantly shorter than today's route, only running from State Route 407 in Chester to State Route 410 in Centralia. The route was given its current designation during the
1933 Virginia state highway renumbering. In 1943, it was extended west along SR 407 for a short length, then south to US 1 and US 301 using the routing of what was at the time State Route 621, a secondary road; the
Commonwealth Transportation Board The Commonwealth Transportation Board, formerly the State Highway and Transportation Board, regulates and funds transportation in Virginia. It oversees the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Membership
The Board consists of seventeen members:
* ...
's justification for replacing it with SR 144 was that it was "a heavily traveled feeder road serving a rapidly developing portion of
hesterfield County. In 1987, SR 144 was again extended a total of ; first south along US 1 and US 301 from its previous terminus and then east along Temple Avenue to its current terminus at SR 36.
Major intersections
References
External links
Virginia Highways Project: VA 425
{{s-end
144 144 may refer to:
* 144 (number), the natural number following 143 and preceding 145
* AD 144, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century AD
* 144 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
* 144 (film), ''144'' (film), a 2015 Indian com ...
State Route 144
State Route 144
State Route 144