State Route 40 (SR 40) 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 southern part of 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 ...

. It runs from SR 8 at Woolwine east to SR 10 at Spring Grove, about half the width of Virginia. It is the longest state-numbered (not U.S. or Interstate) route in Virginia.

Route description

SR 40 begins at SR 8 at the small community of Woolwine. It heads northeast along the eastern side of the Blue Ridge, crossing streams and foothills via a curving route. Around Endicott, the highway starts to turn east, away from the ridge, and straightens out as the terrain becomes flatter. Between Ferrum and Rocky Mount, SR 40 parallels the

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 ...

's north–south Winston-Salem District. The route intersects U.S. Route 220 Business (US 220 Business) in downtown Rocky Mount and the newer

US 220 U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a spur route of US 20. It runs in a north–south layout in the eastern United States, unlike its parent route as well as conventionally even-numbered highways which run east-west. US 220 extends for fr ...

bypass to the east, soon splitting from SR 122, which leads northeast to

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, and turning directly east. After it leaves Rocky Mount, SR 40 heads east, largely along a newer alignment that utilizes cuts and fills to provide a straight and level path. Approaching Gretna, it intersects the

US 29 U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida to the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland in the Southern United States, connecting the Florida Panhandle to the Baltimore-Washington ...

bypass, and then US 29 Business in downtown Gretna. This portion of the highway ends where it meets

US 501 U.S. Route 501 (US 501) is a spur of U.S. Route 1. It runs 355 miles (571 km) from Buena Vista, Virginia at U.S. Route 60 to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at U.S. Route 17 Business. It passes through the states of Virginia, North Carolina a ...

at North Halifax, turning north and crossing the

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the App ...

into Brookneal.

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

street maps and

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

topographic map In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but historic ...

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and SR 40 split in downtown Brookneal, with

heading northwest and SR 40 leaving to the northeast, but soon turning east. The highway passes through Phenix on its way to Charlotte Court House, where it intersects SR 47 with a brief

overlap Overlap may refer to: * In set theory, an overlap of elements shared between sets is called an intersection, as in a Venn diagram. * In music theory, overlap is a synonym for reinterpretation of a chord at the boundary of two musical phrases * Ove ...

. Inside Keysville, SR 40 meets the north end of SR 59 and crosses US 15/360 Business, and then crosses the

US 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 Car ...

US 360 U.S. Route 360 (US 360) is a spur route of US 60. The U.S. Highway runs entirely within the state of Virginia from US 58 Business, Virginia State Route 293 (SR 293), and SR 360 in Danville east to SR 644 in Reedville. US 360 connects Danvill ...

bypass outside the town limits. Just beyond, the short SR 385 provides access to

Southside Virginia Community College Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) is a public community college with two campuses in Virginia, one near Alberta in Brunswick County, and the John H. Daniel Campus, just outside Keysville in Charlotte County. It is part of the Virgin ...

. SR 40 joins SR 49 at Lunenburg, overlapping that route to downtown

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. From Victoria east to downtown Kenbridge, where it meets the west and north ends of SR 137 and SR 138, SR 40 parallels the abandoned

Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. History ...

. The route leaves Kenbridge to the northeast, running past the north end of SR 46 to a junction with US 460 Business in downtown Blackstone. After a short overlap with US 460 Business, SR 40 leaves to the east, while the business route continues northeast back to

US 460 U.S. Route 460 (US 460) is a spur route of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles (1,054 km) from Norfolk, Virginia, at its parent route U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky, intersecting its parent route once ...

. Because SR 40 is south of US 460 Business on both sides of the overlap, SR 40 does not intersect US 460 here. Outside the town limits, SR 40 crosses through

Fort Pickett Fort Pickett is a Virginia Army National Guard installation, located near the town of Blackstone, Virginia. Home of the Army National Guard Maneuver Training Center, Fort Pickett is named for the United States Army officer and Confederate Gen ...

. The route crosses

US 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 ...

in McKenney and

I-85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 65, I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with Interstate 95, I ...

at exit 42 just to the east. After bypassing Stony Creek to the south, SR 40 crosses

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 ...

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 ...

at exit 31; a short State Route 40 Business follows the original route through Stony Creek, returning to SR 40 on the east end via a short overlap with US 301. Between

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

and a point east of Homeville (where SR 40 crosses SR 35), a secondary route to the south is the former alignment, now named Old Forty Road. Beyond Homeville, the last stretch of the highway heads northeasterly, crossing

in Waverly before ending at SR 10 at Spring Grove. State Route 646, a secondary highway, continues northeast beyond SR 10 to the former end of SR 40 in Claremont.

Major intersections

Special routes

Victoria Truck Route

Virginia State Truck Route 40 in

Victoria, Virginia Victoria is an incorporated town in Lunenburg County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,725 at the 2010 census, which was down from the 1,821 reported in 2000. History Lunenburg County in the Southside region was established on May ...

is Tidewater Avenue from Court Street to West 6th Street, and Railroad Avenue from Tidewater Avenue and West 6th Street to Main Street. Most of the route is concurrent with Virginia State Route 49 Truck

Stony Creek Business Route

State Route 40 Business is a former segment of SR 40 that was converted into a business route that runs through "downtown" Stony Creek. It runs along Lee Avenue from a realigned section of SR 40 west of the town, crosses the

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. ...

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 ...

and then turns south in a multiplex with

(

Blue Star Memorial Highway Blue Star Memorial Highways are highways in the United States that are marked to pay tribute to the U.S. armed forces. The National Council of State Garden Clubs, now known as National Garden Clubs, Inc., started the program in 1945 after World W ...

), where it ends at SR 40 west of Exit 31 on

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 ...

. US 301 continues from here south towards Emporia, the Carolinas, Georgia, and northern and western Florida. The former segment on the other side of I-95 is a .39 mile local dead end street named Redbank Road that is designated Virginia Secondary Route 317.

References

External links

Virginia Highways Project: VA 40
{{S-end 040 State Route 040 State Route 040 State Route 040 State Route 040 State Route 040 State Route 040 State Route 040 State Route 040 State Route 040 State Route 040 State Route 040 Rocky Mount, Virginia