State Route 208 (SR 208) 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. The state highway runs from
U.S. Route 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 Ohio. ...
(US 250) at
Ferncliff east to
US 1 and
US 1 Business at
Four Mile Fork. SR 208 is a major southwest–northeast highway through
Louisa and
Spotsylvania counties. The state highway connects the counties' respective
seats of
Louisa and
Spotsylvania Courthouse
Spotsylvania Courthouse is a census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, located 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Fredericksburg. Recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census designated place (CDP), t ...
, where the old route of the highway is
SR 208 Business, with each other and with
Fredericksburg near the highway's eastern terminus. SR 208 also has a direct connection with
Interstate 64 (I-64) at Ferncliff and an indirect connection to
I-95 near Fredericksburg.
Route description
SR 208 begins at an intersection with US 250 (Three Notch Road) in the hamlet of Ferncliff along the southern edge of Louisa County. The state highway heads north as Courthouse Road, a two-lane undivided road that passes through a
diamond interchange with I-64 and crosses the
South Anna River The South Anna River is a principal tributary of the Pamunkey River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in central Virginia in the United States. Vi ...
. SR 208 enters the town of Louisa and intersects
US 33 and
SR 22 (Main Street) at the east end of downtown. The three highways
run concurrently east until US 33 splits southeast as Jefferson Highway toward
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, ...
. SR 208 and SR 22 continues east along Davis Highway, which passes to the north of
Louisa County Airport and parallels
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
Piedmont Subdivision to the town of Mineral. The highways enter the town from the north as Piedmont Avenue. SR 22 reaches its eastern terminus at the highways' intersection with
US 522, which heads south along the same roadway but with a different name, Mineral Avenue. Eastbound SR 208 and northbound US 522 turn east onto 1st Street and have a grade crossing of the railroad, then turn north onto Louisa Avenue.
SR 208 and US 522 head north from Mineral as Zachary Taylor Highway. The two highways split, which the U.S. Highway continuing northwest toward
Culpeper and the state highway heading east on New Bridge Road. SR 208 uses the New Bridge to cross Lake Anna, an impoundment of the
North Anna River
The North Anna River is a principal tributary of the Pamunkey River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in central Virginia in the United States. ...
, northwest of the
North Anna Nuclear Generating Station and southeast of
Lake Anna State Park. SR 208 continues through Spotsylvania County as Courthouse Road, which passes through
Brokenburg and crosses the Ta River, one of four main tributaries of the
Mattaponi River
The Mattaponi River is a tributary of the York River estuary in eastern Virginia in the United States.
History
Historically, the Mattaponi River has been known by a variety of names and alternate spellings, including ''Mat-ta-pa-ment'', Matapa ...
on its way to
Post Oak, where the highway makes a sharp turn east at SR 606 (Post Oak Road). The state highway passes
Spotsylvania High School before turning north at SR 648 (Block House Road); Courthouse Road continues east as SR 208 Business toward
Snell.
SR 208 follows Block House Road north across the Po River, another Mattaponi tributary, and expands to a four-lane
divided highway south of where SR 648 splits north on Block House Road. The state highway continues northeast and bypasses Spotsylvania Courthouse to the west. Just north of the county seat, SR 208 receives the other end of SR 208 Business (Courthouse Road) and passes the entrance to the
Spotsylvania Courthouse
Spotsylvania Courthouse is a census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, located 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Fredericksburg. Recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census designated place (CDP), t ...
unit of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. The state highway continues northeast as Courthouse Road, which crosses the Ni River, the northernmost Mattaponi tributary, and Massaponax Creek and passes through the suburban area southwest of Fredericksburg. SR 208 crosses over I-95 with no access before reaching its northern terminus at a four-leg intersection with US 1 (Jefferson Davis Highway) and US 1 Business (Lafayette Boulevard) at Four Mile Fork. The business route heads northeast into the
independent city of Fredericksburg. US 1 connects SR 208 with I-95 and
US 17 via an interchange between Four Mile Fork and
Massaponax to the south.
Major intersections
Spotsylvania Courthouse business route
State Route 208 Business (SR 208 Business) is a business route of SR 208 in Spotsylvania County. Known as Courthouse Road, the highway runs from SR 208 near Post Oak east and north to SR 208 in Spotsylvania Courthouse. SR 208 Business begins at its intersection with SR 208 (Courthouse Road) and SR 648 (Block House Road) east of Post Oak. The two-lane highway heads east to the hamlet of Snell, where the highway turns north at an oblique intersection whose south and east legs are SR 738 (Partlow Road) and SR 606 (Morris Road), respectively. SR 208 Business crosses the Po River at Snells Bridge and enters Spotsylvania Courthouse. There, the highway turns northeast where SR 613 (Brock Road) continues straight. SR 208 Business passes the county courthouse and other county offices before reaching its northern terminus at SR 208 (Courthouse Road) north of the village.
References
External links
{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
Virginia Highways Project: VA 208
208
Year 208 ( CCVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Geta (or, less frequently, year 961 ''Ab urbe condita' ...
State Route 208
State Route 208