State Route 400 (SR 400) 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 ...

. Locally known as Washington Street, the state highway runs from the south city limit of 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 ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

north to 1st Street, still within Alexandria. SR 400 is a city street connection through

Old Town Alexandria Old Town Alexandria is one of the original settlements of the city of Alexandria, Virginia and is located just minutes from Washington, D.C. Old Town is situated in the eastern and southeastern area of Alexandria along the Potomac River. Old ...

between the two segments of

George Washington Memorial Parkway The George Washington Memorial Parkway, colloquially the G.W. Parkway, is a parkway that runs along the south bank of the Potomac River from Mount Vernon, Virginia, northwest to McLean, Virginia, and is maintained by the National Park Service ( ...

, one heading south toward

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

and one heading north toward District of Columbia. The

Virginia Department of Transportation The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is the agency of the state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. VDOT is headquartered at the Virginia Department of Highways Building in downtown ...

assigned the

unsigned Unsigned can refer to: * An unsigned artist is a musical artist or group not attached or signed to a record label ** Unsigned Music Awards, ceremony noting achievements of unsigned artists ** Unsigned band web, online community * Similarly, the c ...

SR 90005 designation to run concurrently along the entire length of the parkway and of SR 400.

Route description

SR 400 begins at the south city limit of Alexandria at

Hunting Creek Hunting Creek is a cove and tributary stream of the Potomac River between the City of Alexandria and Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commo ...

. The highway continues south into

Fairfax County 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. ...

and Belle Haven as the George Washington Memorial Parkway toward Mount Vernon. SR 400 is a four-lane

divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

through the Jones Point neighborhood before becoming undivided and crossing over the

Capital Beltway The Capital Beltway is a Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area that surrounds Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It is the basis of the phrase "inside th ...

(

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 ...

and I-495) on a freeway cap, a very wide overpass that shields the freeway from view of the crossing highway, between the

Woodrow Wilson Bridge The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge (also known as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge or the Wilson Bridge) is a bascule bridge that spans the Potomac River between the independent city of Alexandria, Virginia, and Oxon Hill in Prince George's County, M ...

over 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 ...

and the Capital Beltway's interchange with

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...

(US 1). The first intersection north of the bridge is with Church Street, which receives a ramp from the westbound Capital Beltway. SR 400 continues through Old Town Alexandria with six lanes and passes the

Davis Chapel Roberts Memorial United Methodist Church is the second oldest Black congregation in Alexandria, Virginia..Alfred Street Baptist Church dates back to 1806. Founded in 1834 and originally known as Davis Chapel, it has served a mostly Black community ...

. The state highway meets the eastern ends of SR 236 (Duke Street) and SR 7 (King Street) in the

Alexandria Historic District The Alexandria Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District in Alexandria, Virginia. Encompassing all of the city's Old Town and some adjacent areas, this area contains one of the nation's best-preserved assemblages of the late-18th ...

, where the

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...

and

Beulah Baptist Church Intro Beulah Baptist Church is a predominantly Black Baptist Church at 320 S. Washington Street in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. The historic building is a two-story brick structure with a gable roof and large stained glass window. Built in 1863 ...

line the southbound side of the street and the statue Appomattox lies in the middle of the street at its intersection with Prince Street. SR 400 continues north past the Christ Church, the

Lloyd House Lloyd House may refer to: People * Lloyd House (politician), Arizona state representative from 1967 to 1968 Buildings ;in the Netherlands *Lloyd Hotel, Dutch national monument in Amsterdam in the United Kingdom *Lloyd House, Birmingham in the Un ...

, and the Lee-Fendall House to its northern terminus at First Street. George Washington Memorial Parkway resumes at this intersection and continues toward Arlington and Washington.

History

Most of SR 400, from Franklin Street to Powhatan Street, was once part of US 1, and the present alignment (roughly) of US 1 was then US 1 Truck.General Drafting
Esso Pictorial Guide to Washington, D.C., and Vicinity, 1942
/ref>

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=title,inline

400 __NOTOC__ Year 400 ( CD) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus (or, less frequently, year 11 ...

State Route 400 U.S. Route 1