State Route 68 (SR 68) 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
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 ...
. Known for most of its length as Exeter Road, the state highway runs from the
Lee
Lee may refer to:
Name
Given name
* Lee (given name), a given name in English
Surname
* Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee:
** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname
** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...
–
Wise WISE may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* WISE (AM), a radio station licensed to Asheville, North Carolina
*WISE-FM, a radio station licensed to Wise, Virginia
* WISE-TV, a television station licensed to Fort Wayne, Indiana
Education
* ...
county line near
Keokee, where the highway continues west as SR 606, east to
U.S. Route 23 Business (US 23 Business) in
Appalachia
Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
.
Route description
SR 68 begins at the Lee County line, which is formed by the drainage divide between Craborchard Creek to the west and Pigeon Creek to the east. The roadway continues west into Lee County as SR 606 through Keokee toward
Pennington Gap. SR 68, which is named Exeter Road, descends into the valley of Pigeon Creek and passes through the communities of Exeter, Lower Exeter, and Imboden. East of Lower Exeter, the state highway parallels a rail line that serves the coal mines in the valley. At Pigeon Creek's confluence with Looney Creek, where the streams enter the
Powell River, SR 68 curves north across the rail line, crosses the rail line that parallels Looney Creek, and meets the eastern end of
SR 160 (Inman Road). The state highway continues into the town of Appalachia as Inman Street, which crosses over
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
Appalachia Division before reaching its eastern terminus at US 23 Business (Main Street).
History
The whole length of SR 68, west from
State Route 11 (now US 23 Business) near Appalachia to the county line, was added to the state highway system in 1928 as State Route 119.
It was renumbered as SR 68 in 1933.
Major intersections
References
External links
Virginia Highways Project: VA 68
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State Route 068