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. ...

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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