State Route 197 (SR 197) is a primary state highway 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 147 in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

east to

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 ...

(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 Richmond.

Route description

SR 197 begins at an intersection with SR 147 (Cary Street) in the Windsor Farms neighborhood of Richmond. The state highway heads northeast on Malvern Avenue, a four-lane undivided street that passes through a residential area and intersects SR 6 (Patterson Avenue) and

Monument Avenue Monument Avenue is a tree-lined grassy mall dividing the eastbound and westbound traffic in Richmond, Virginia, originally named for its emblematic complex of structures honoring those who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. ...

. North of Broad Street, which carries

US 33 U.S. Route 33 (US 33) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs northwest–southeast for from northern Indiana to Richmond, Virginia, passing through Ohio and West Virginia en route. Although most odd-numbered U.S. routes are north–s ...

and

US 250 U.S. Route 250 (US 250) is a route of the United States Numbered Highway System, and is a spur of U.S. Route 50. It currently runs for from Richmond, Virginia to Sandusky, Ohio. It passes through the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohi ...

, SR 197 enters an industrial area and leaves the city of Richmond. The state highway follows Westwood Avenue through

Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...

. SR 197 expands to a

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 ...

as it passes under Interstate 195 (I-195, Beltline Expressway) with no access, then 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. ...

RF&P Subdivision The RF&P Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation. It runs from Washington, D.C., to Richmond, Virginia, over lines previously owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. ...

. North of the railroad tracks, Westwood Avenue splits to the east at a partial

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, usi ...

; there is no direct access from westbound Westwood Avenue to eastbound SR 197 or from westbound SR 197 to eastbound Westwood Avenue. SR 197 continues as Saunders Avenue, which re-enters the city of Richmond just north of the Westwood Avenue interchange and has a short split section just south of its junction with Laburnum Avenue. SR 197 continues east along four-lane divided Laburnum Avenue, which also heads west as an unnumbered street a short distance to a partial

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-195 just south of its junction with

I-64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

and

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

(Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike). SR 197 passes under the two Interstates just south of their divergence point and passes an entrance to westbound I-64. The state highway continues east through a residential area where it intersects SR 161 (Hermitage Road); in the center of the intersection is a statue of

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

General

A.P. Hill Ambrose Powell Hill Jr. (November 9, 1825April 2, 1865) was a Confederate general who was killed in the American Civil War. He is usually referred to as A. P. Hill to differentiate him from another, unrelated Confederate general, Daniel Harvey H ...

. After intersecting Brook Road, SR 197 reaches its eastern terminus at US 1 and US 301 (Chamberlayne Avenue) in the

Ginter Park Ginter Park is a suburban neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia built on land owned and developed by Lewis Ginter. The neighborhood's first well known resident was newspaperman Joseph Bryan, who lived in Laburnum, first built in 1883 and later rebui ...

neighborhood. Laburnum Avenue continues as a partial circumferential highway of Richmond through Henrico County that provides access to

Richmond Raceway Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...

and East Highland Park and eventually ends at the junction of SR 5 and SR 895.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{AttachedKML, display=title,inline
Virginia Highways Project: VA 197

197 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 '' Ab urbe con ...

State Route 197 State Route 197