State Route 20 (SR 20) 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 15 U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Caro ...

(US 15) in Dillwyn north to SR 3 in

Wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

. SR 20 is a C-shaped route that connects

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

with

Farmville ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network game developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to ''Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plowing l ...

(via US 15) in

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 ...

. The state highway also links Charlottesville to Fredericksburg (via SR 3) by way of

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, within which SR 20 is the main east–west highway and intersects US 15 again in 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 ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. SR 20 is a

Virginia Byway A Virginia Byway is a scenic road designated by the Commonwealth of Virginia as one that can introduce tourists to alternative destinations. According to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), there are over of scenic roads in Virgini ...

from Scottsville to

Route description

SR 20 begins at an intersection with US 15 (James Madison Highway) just west of the town of Dillwyn. The state highway heads north as the two-lane undivided Constitution Route, which passes through the hamlet of Allenslevel, the site of

Buckingham Correctional Center Buckingham Correctional Center is a state prison (close custody male institution) located on 968 acres (3.9 km2) outside the town of Dillwyn in Buckingham County, Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a st ...

. SR 20 crosses the Slate River and passes through the community of Centenary on its way through northwestern Buckingham County to its crossing of the James River. On the north side of the bridge, the state highway enters the town of Scottsville, through which the highway passes as Valley Street. SR 20 meets SR 6 (Main Street) in the center of town. The two highways run together to the north end of town where SR 6 splits west as Irish Road. SR 20 continues through southern Albemarle County as Scottsville Road. The state highway heads through Glendower, where the highway passes close to the historical presidential retreat Pine Knot and

Christ Church Glendower Christ Church Glendower is the oldest (and most centrally located) of the historic Episcopal church buildings in St. Anne's Parish, Albemarle County, Virginia near Scottsville. Christ Church Glendower is located in Keene, built of brick in ...

. North of Keene, SR 20 crosses the

Hardware River The Hardware River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the James River in central Virginia in the United States. It is part of the watershed ...

as the watercourse and the highway passes through a gap between Green Mountain and Carters Mountain, which are part of the

Southwest Mountains The Southwest Mountains of Virginia are a mountain range centered on Charlottesville, parallel to and geologically associated with the Blue Ridge Mountains, which lie about 30 miles (50 km) to the west. Some of the more prominent peaks inc ...

. The state highway follows the west side of the latter mountain to the community of Mill Creek, where the highway expands to 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 ...

at its intersection with SR 53 (Thomas Jefferson Parkway). SR 53 provides access to

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

and

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

's respective estates of

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

and Ash Lawn–Highland. SR 20 passes the entrance to

Piedmont Virginia Community College Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) is a public community college in Charlottesville, Virginia. It offers associate degrees, one-year certificates, continuing education, and workforce training. The campus is located in Albemarle County, V ...

just south of its

partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...

with

Interstate 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 interchange w ...

. SR 20 becomes Monticello Avenue on crossing Moores Creek into the city of Charlottesville. The street reduces to a two-lane undivided road and curves west to Avon Street, onto which the state highway turns north. At Garrett Street, SR 20 continues onto four-lane divided 9th Street, which 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. ...

Piedmont Subdivision it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

into downtown Charlottesville. The state highway passes to the east of the

Downtown Mall The Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, Virginia is one of the longest pedestrian malls in the United States. Located on Main Street, it runs from 6th St. N.E. to Old Preston Ave., where it extends to Water St., for total length of eight blocks. I ...

and meets US 250 Business, which heads eastbound along Market Street and westbound along High Street, which are both two-way streets. The business route joins SR 20 in a concurrency on High Street, which passes by the former

Martha Jefferson Hospital Martha Jefferson Hospital is a Sentara Healthcare-owned nonprofit community hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1903 by eight local physicians. The 176-bed hospital has an employed staff of 1,600 and has 365 affiliated physic ...

. US 250 Business reaches its eastern terminus at

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 ...

(Long Street). SR 20 turns east onto US 250 to cross the Free Bridge over the

Rivanna River The Rivanna River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the James River in central Virginia in the United States. The Rivanna's tributaries or ...

to leave the city limits. SR 20 heads north from the Charlottesville vicinity along Stony Point Road, which parallels the west flank of the Southwest Mountains. The state highway passes the communities of

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

, Eastham, Stony Point, and Rosena. SR 20 enters Orange County and its name changes to Constitution Highway south of Barboursville, which contains the ruins of the namesake estate. The state highway has a short concurrency with

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 ...

(Spotswood Trail) in which the highways pass under

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 ...

Washington District The Washington District is a Norfolk Southern Railway line in the U.S. state of Virginia that connects Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and Lynchburg, Virginia, Lynchburg. Most of the line was originally built from 1850 to 1860 by the Orange and ...

. SR 20 heads northeast and intersects SR 231 (Blue Ridge Turnpike) north of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. The state highway continues east and closely parallels the railroad through Montpelier Station, which is named for

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

's estate Montpelier on the south side of the tracks. SR 20 continues east to the town of Orange, where the highway enters town as Main Street. At the Holladay House, the state highway turns south onto Caroline Street while Main Street continues east SR 20 Business. SR 20 passes the James Madison Museum before US 15 (Madison Street) joins the highway in a concurrency to pass under the Washington District rail line after the counties sole remaining tractor crossing. The state highway turns east onto Berry Hill Road and passes under another Norfolk Southern rail line before receiving the other end of SR 20 Business (Byrd Street). SR 20 becomes Constitution Highway again on leaving the town of Orange. The state highway passes Orange County Airport and intersects

US 522 U.S. Route 522 (US 522) is a spur route of US 22 in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The U.S. Highway travels in a north-south direction, and runs from US 60 near Powhatan, Virginia, to its northern terminus a ...

(Zachary Taylor Highway) between Unionville and Rhoadesville. SR 20 briefly passes through part of

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park is a unit of the National Park Service in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and elsewhere in Spotsylvania County, commemorating four major battles in the American Civil War: Fredericksburg, Chancel ...

near the site of the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Arm ...

before reaching its northern terminus at SR 3 (Germanna Highway) in the community of Locust Grove just west of the

Spotsylvania County Spotsylvania County is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the July 2021 estimate, the population was 143,676. Its county seat is Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, Spotsylvania Courthouse. History At the time ...

line.

History

SR 20 was first created in 1933 with the renumbering of SR 316 between US 15 in Dillwyn and SR 6 in Scottsville and a separate section to the north that replaced SR 702 between SR 231 in Somerset and SR 3 in Wilderness. In 1941, the southern section was extended north from SR 6 to US 250 in Charlottesville, and the northern section was extended south from SR 231 to US 33 in Barboursville. In 1950, the two sections of SR 20 were finally connected via a replacement of SR 613 between Charlottesville and Barboursville. In May 2019, the intersection of SR 20 and I-64 was changed. Travelers exiting I-64 west and turning left onto SR 20 south now have a dedicated lane to turn into. As a result, travelers only have to cross SR 20 north and then merge with SR 20 south.

Future

Two new roundabouts have been approved to be implemented along SR 20. The first would be at the intersection of SR 20 and SR 231 in Somerset. Construction is expected to begin in 2020. The second roundabout would be at the intersection of SR 20 and US 33 just south of Barboursville. This project might also include reconstruction of the intersection of SR 738 and US 33, just south of the SR 20/US 33 intersection. Funding has been approved, but no dates for construction completion have been announced.

Major intersections

Orange business route

SR 20 Business is a

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...

of SR 20 in the town of Orange. The business route runs between intersections with SR 20 on either side of town. SR 20 Business begins as Main Street where SR 20 turns south onto Caroline Street next to the Holladay House. The business route intersects US 15 (Madison Street) and meets Norfolk Southern Railway's Washington District at grade. SR 20 Business turns southeast onto Byrd Street to rejoin SR 20 on a tangent.

References

External links

Virginia Highways Project: VA 20
{{end box 020 State Route 020 State Route 020 State Route 020 State Route 020 020