State Route 218 (SR 218) 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 In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 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 ...

and US 17 Business in Falmouth east to SR 205 in Tetotum. SR 218 connects suburban communities in Stafford County east of Fredericksburg with rural areas in northern and eastern

King George County King George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 26,723. Its county seat is the town of King George. The county's largest employer is the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center ...

. Most of SR 218 in King George County 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 Virginia ...

Route description

SR 218 begins in Falmouth at the intersection with US 1 (Jefferson Davis Highway) and US 17 Business, which joins US 1 south to cross the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the entir ...

into Fredericksburg and heads west as Warrenton Road to reconnect with

US 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length, 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 ...

. SR 218 heads east as two-lane undivided Butler Road through a suburban area, then 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 ...

prior to the intersection with SR 212 (Chatham Heights Road). SR 218 continues east as White Oak Road and 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. ...

at its

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...

with the Dahlgren Branch at Dahlgren Junction. East of the railroad crossing, the state highway reduces to a two-lane undivided highway that connects residential subdivisions and several small communities east of Fredericksburg, including Sullivan, McCarthys Corner, and

White Oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...

, which contains White Oak Church. After crossing Muddy Creek into King George County, SR 218's name changes to Caledon Road. After passing through the hamlet of

Passapatanzy Passapatanzy is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in King George County, Virginia, King George County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census was 1,283. History It was r ...

, the state highway follows a curvilinear alignment through a forested area. SR 218 passes through the hamlets of Mustoe,

Goby Goby is a common name for many species of small to medium sized ray-finned fish, normally with large heads and tapered bodies, which are found in marine, brackish and freshwater environments. Traditionally most of the species called gobies have b ...

, and Osso and passes roads that head north to the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

beach communities of Belvedere Beach, Fairview Beach, and Somerset Beach. Near the hamlets of Ambar and

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, SR 218 passes along the edge of Caledon Natural Area, a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

that contains old growth forest and is a haven for bald eagles. At Berthaville, SR 218 joins SR 206 (Dahlgren Road) in a concurrency east to

Owens Owens may refer to: Places in the United States *Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota *Owens, Missouri *Owens, Ohio *Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with the name * Owens Br ...

. In Owens, SR 206 heads east toward Dahlgren while SR 218 turns south as Windsor Drive to an intersection with

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 ...

(James Madison Parkway). The state highway curves to the east to cross Upper Machodoc Creek, then turns south onto Tetotum Road. SR 218 passes through the community of Tetotum before reaching its eastern terminus at SR 205 (Ridge Road) just north of the Westmoreland County line at Pine Hill Creek.

Major intersections

References

External links

Virginia Highways Project: VA 218
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218 Year 218 (Roman numerals, CCXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Adventus (or, less frequently, year ...

State Route 218 State Route 218