State Route 644 (SR 644) in

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

, United States, is an secondary state highway officially named Old Keene Mill Road west of

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 ...

and Franconia Road to the east. While only a secondary state highway, it serves as a major

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highway ...

through southern Fairfax County, acting as the main street through

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

and

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

, as well as serving

Burke Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...

, West Springfield, and Rose Hill and connecting them towards

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

and Huntington near 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 ...

Route description

Intersection of Rolling Road and Old Keene Mill Road

SR 644, signed as Old Keene Mill Road, begins at SR 286 (Fairfax County Parkway) in

as a two-lane road and heads northeast. The road then crosses SR 643 (Lee Chapel Road), at where it becomes a four-lane divided road, and then SR 640 (Sydenstricker Road), which spurs off southeast. SR644 then crosses

Pohick Creek Pohick Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 tributary stream of the Potomac River in Fairfax County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It takes its nam ...

and enters West Springfield where it intersects with SR 638 (Rolling Road). The road continues east and eventually crosses

Accotink Creek Accotink Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary stream of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. At Springfie ...

and enters

. In Springfield, SR 644 widens to six lanes and has a short controlled-access segment—completed during the Springfield Interchange project in 2001—which crosses

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 ...

, where Old Keene Mill Road transitions to Franconia Road, and passes north of Springfield Town Center where it forms an interchange with SR 781 (Commerce Street), Loisdale Road, and Frontier Drive. After passing through the interchanges, SR 644 continues east through Springfield then crosses over the

Washington Metro Blue Line The Blue Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 27 stations in Fairfax County, Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia; the District of Columbia; and Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The Blue Lin ...

and

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. ...

into

, acting as the main thoroughfare through it. In Franconia, the road intersects Beulah Street and then South Van Dorn Street, which are both signed as SR 613. After crossing South Van Dorn Street, SR 644 enters Rose Hill and narrows to four lanes and then down to two at the center of the CDP. SR 644 continues east then terminates at SR 611 (Telegraph Road) near Huntington.

History

Franconia and Loisdale Roads, in the shadow of the interstate

Franconia Road once served as a

rolling road Maryland Route 166 (MD 166) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs from Interstate 195 (I-195) in Arbutus north to MD 144 in Catonsville. MD 166 consists of two sections: a short freeway section that serves ...

for transporting

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

to the port in

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

. In March 1999, the I-95/SR 644 interchange began reconstruction in 1999 with completion in November 2001, improving access to Springfield. This was part of the 1999–2007

Springfield Interchange The Springfield Interchange, also known as the Mixing Bowl, is the interchange of Interstate 95, Interstate 395, and Interstate 495 in Springfield, Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. The interchange is located at exit 57 on the Capital Beltwa ...

reconstruction project which improved the I-95/I-395/I-495 corridors in the area. Alongside improving the interchange with I-95, another new interchange was constructed at Commerce Street (SR 781), Loisdale Road, and Frontier Drive, improving access to the Springfield Mall (now called Springfield Town Center).

Major intersections

References

{{reflist Transportation in Fairfax County, Virginia 644 Fairfax