State Route 63 (SR 63) 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
U.S. Route 58 Alternate
U.S. Route 58 Alternate (US 58 Alt.) is a alternate route to US 58 in western Virginia. The route is a northern bypass to US 58 which stays closer to the Tennessee border and serves Gate City and Bristol.
Route description Jonesville to Norto ...
(US 58 Alternate) in
St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
north to
SR 80 and
SR 83 in
Haysi.
Route description
SR 63 begins at an intersection with US 58 Alternate (Bull Run Road) in the town of St. Paul. The state highway heads east through town as Wise Street, which passes under
Norfolk Southern Railway's
Clinch Valley District. The highway intersects
SR 270 (4th Street) in the center of town. SR 63 parallels the
Clinch River
The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in Ki ...
and
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
Kingsport Subdivision
The Kingsport Subdivision (also KP Subdivision) is a 133.2-mile (214.4 km) railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. It was formerly part of the Huntington West Division. It bec ...
, formerly the
Clinchfield Railroad
The Clinchfield Railroad was an operating and holding company for the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway . The line ran from the coalfields of Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to the textile mills of South Carolina. The 35-mile segmen ...
, east to Lick Creek. The highway and railroad turn north to follow Lick Creek out of St. Paul and cross the
Wise–
Russell county line. The state highway heads north as Dante Road to
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...
, where the rail line diverges to pass through the Sandy Ridge Tunnel. SR 63 crosses Sandy Ridge and the
Tennessee Valley Divide
The Tennessee Valley Divide is the boundary of the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and its tributaries.
The Tennessee River drainage basin begins with its tributaries in southwestern Virginia and flows generally west to the confluence of t ...
at Flint Gap and enters
Dickenson County. SR 63 descends as Dante Mountain Road into the valley of McClure Creek and rejoins the Kingsport Subdivision at Trammel. The state highway heads northwest through the village of
Nora
Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to:
* Nora (name), a feminine given name
People with the surname
* Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer
* Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian
Places Australia
* Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...
, where McClure Creek merges with Open Fork to become the
McClure River.
SR 63 begins to
run concurrently with SR 83 (Dickenson Highway) at
Fremont; SR 83 heads west toward
Clintwood, 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 ...
of Dickenson County. The two highways diverge after passing through the town of
Clinchco. SR 83 and the railroad continue to follow the river to Haysi while SR 63 turns onto Big Ridge Road. The state highway ascends and has a winding path atop Big Ridge. SR 63 leaves the ridge to descend to the town of Haysi. The state highway passes over the Kingsport Subdivision at the south end of the railroad's short tunnel and crosses
Russell Fork of the
Big Sandy River just north of its confluence with the McClure River. SR 63 turns east and becomes the town's Main Street before the highway reaches its northern terminus in the center of town at its three-way intersection with SR 80 and SR 83, which follow Main Street east and Sandlick Drive south to cross Russell Prater Fork at its confluence with Russell Fork.
Major intersections
References
External links
Virginia Highways Project: VA 63
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