State Route 89 (SR 89) 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 ...

. The state highway runs from the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

state line, where the highway continues as

North Carolina Highway 89 North Carolina Highway 89 (NC 89) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state North Carolina including Mount Airy and Danbury. The entire route spans only two counties in the state: Surry and Stokes. It can be accessed from the Blu ...

(NC 89), north to U.S. Route 58 (US 58) and

US 221 U.S. Route 221 (US 221) is a spur of U.S. Route 21. It travels from Perry, Florida, at US 19/ US 98/ US 27 Alternate to Lynchburg, Virginia, at US 29 Business (Lynchburg Expressway). It travels through the states ...

Galax ''Galax'', the wandplant, wandflower, or beetleweed, is a genus in the flowering plant family Diapensiaceae, containing a single species, ''Galax urceolata'' (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''G. rotundifolia'', ''G. aphylla''). It is native to the sou ...

Route description

SR 89 begins at the North Carolina state line a short distance south of Low Gap, where the highway crosses the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly span ...

. The highway continues south as NC 89, which descends the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...

to the community of Lowgap in the valley of the Fisher River. After entering the watershed of the New River, SR 89 crosses the West Fork of

Chestnut Creek Chestnut Creek is a river in the state of Virginia. See also *List of rivers of Virginia This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Virginia. By drainage basin This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries, arranged in ...

and has an interchange with the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenand ...

, which provides access to the Blue Ridge Music Center to the east. North of the parkway, the state highway intersects SR 613 (Edmonds Road), which leads west to Big Spring Bog Natural Area Preserve. SR 89 heads straight north as Skyline Highway to McCarmant Hill, where the highway leaves Grayson County and enters the

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

of Galax as Main Street. The state highway crosses Chestnut Creek twice before meeting the western end of

SR 97 Route 97, or Highway 97, may refer to: Australia - Olympic Dam Highway, South Australia Canada * British Columbia Highway 97 ** British Columbia Highway 97A ** British Columbia Highway 97B ** British Columbia Highway 97C ** British Columbia ...

(Pipers Gap Road). SR 89 heads through downtown Galax before reaching its northern terminus at US 58 and US 221 (Stuart Drive).

History

The whole route was added to the state highway system in 1928 as State Route 117. It was renumbered State Route 96 in the 1933 renumbering, and in the 1940 renumbering it was renumbered State Route 89 to match

. , page 13

Major intersections

VA 89 Truck

Virginia State Route 89 Truck in

Galax, Virginia Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Galax with neighboring Carroll County for statisti ...

is Meadow Street from SR 89, one block north of the western terminus of SR 97 to US 58/US 221. It runs entirely along the east bank of Chestnut Creek.

References

External links

Virginia Highways Project: VA 89
{{end box 089 State Route 089 State Route 089 1940 establishments in Virginia