U.S. Route 501 in Virginia

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 501 in Virginia. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 501.

U.S. Route 501
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Route information
Maintained by VDOT
Length:	111.42 mi (179.31 km)
Major junctions
South end:	US 501 near Cluster Springs
	SR 96 in Cluster Springs US 58 / US 360 in South Boston SR 129 in South Boston SR 360 in Halifax SR 40 in Brookneal SR 24 in Rustburg US 29 / US 460 in Lynchburg US 221 in Lynchburg SR 122 in Big Island SR 130 in Glasgow
North end:	US 60 in Buena Vista
Location
Counties:	Halifax, Campbell, City of Lynchburg, Bedford, Amherst, Rockbridge, City of Buena Vista
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced Virginia Routes Interstate U.S. Primary Secondary Byways History Turnpikes ← I‑495 US 522 →

U.S. Route 501 (US 501) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Buena Vista, Virginia. In Virginia, the U.S. Highway runs 111.42 miles (179.31 km) from the North Carolina state line near Cluster Springs north to its northern terminus at US 60 in Buena Vista. US 501 is the primary highway between Lynchburg and both South Boston in Southside Virginia and Durham in North Carolina's Research Triangle. North of Lynchburg, the highway parallels the James River through the Blue Ridge Mountains to the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley.

Route description

North Carolina to Lynchburg

US 501 enters Halifax County, Virginia south of Cluster Springs. The U.S. Highway is a two-lane road at the North Carolina state line but immediately expands to a four-lane divided highway named Huell Matthews Highway. US 501 parallels the Mayo River north to the hamlet of Mayo, where the highway meets the western end of SR 96 (Virgilina Road) and crosses the Hyco River. The U.S. Highway passes through Cluster Springs to the community of Riverdale just south of South Boston. US 501 becomes an undivided highway and intersects US 58 and US 360, which together head west as Philpott Road and east as Bill Tuck Highway. US 501 crosses the Dan River into the town of South Boston. Just north of the river, the highway has a grade crossing of Norfolk Southern Railway's Danville–Richmond rail line and splits into a one-way pair: Broad Street northbound and Main Street southbound. Both directions intersect SR 304 (Seymour Drive). When Main Street veers northeast as two-way SR 129, southbound US 501 continues on two-way Wilborn Avenue to the northern end of the one-way pair.

US 501 continues through South Boston on Wilborn Avenue, a five-lane road with center turn lane. The U.S. Highway becomes four-lane divided Halifax Road at Hamilton Boulevard. US 501 receives the northern end of SR 129 (Old Halifax Road) shortly before leaving the town of South Boston. The U.S. Highway enters the town of Halifax and becomes Main Street, a three-lane road with center turn lane, at its grade crossing of Norfolk Southern's Durham District. US 501 continues to the county courthouse, where the highway intersects the very short SR 349 (Edmunds Boulevard) and SR 360 (Mountain Road), which runs concurrently with the U.S. Highway through the northern part of the town. The two highways diverge: SR 360 heads northeast as Bethel Road and US 501 heads northwest as two-lane L.P. Bailey Memorial Highway. which crosses Banister Lake, an impoundment of the Banister River, as it leaves the town of Halifax.

US 501 passes through Volens and Acorn on its way to the hamlet of North Halifax, where the highway begins to run concurrently with SR 40 (Stage Coach Road). The highways cross the Roanoke River into the town of Brookneal in Campbell County and pass under Norfolk Southern's Altavista District rail line. The highways continue as Lusardi Drive to Lynchburg Avenue in the center of town; SR 40 turns southeast while US 501 turns north west onto the street just north of the highways' grade crossing of the Durham District rail line. US 501 leaves the town as Brookneal Highway, which parallels the rail line through the communities of Naruna and Gladys on its way to Rustburg, the county seat of Campbell County. The U.S. Highway intersects SR 24 (Colonial Highway) at the southern edge of the village. The highways have a short concurrency before SR 24 continues east as Village Highway and US 501 heads northwest as Campbell Highway. North of Rustburg, US 501 expands to a four-lane divided highway into the independent city of Lynchburg, where the highway meets US 29 and US 460 (Richmond Highway) at a partial cloverleaf interchange. US 501 Business and US 460 Business head straight on Campbell Avenue while US 501 joins the freeway heading southwest.

Lynchburg to Buena Vista

US 501 runs concurrently with US 29 and US 460 southwest along the northern slope of Candlers Mountain to a full Y interchange where US 501 heads northwest from the freeway. The U.S. Highway has an intersection with SR 128 (Mayflower Drive) and Candlers Mountain Road just east of the highway's crossing of Norfolk Southern's Danville District. SR 128 joins US 501 on Candlers Mountain Road between the intersection and the highway's cloverleaf interchange with US 29 Business (Lynchburg Expressway). US 501 exits onto the expressway while SR 128 continues west to its terminus. US 501 and US 29 Business head southwest along the freeway until the business route exits onto Wards Road to head toward Danville. US 501 curves northwest and has a cloverleaf interchange with US 460 Business (Timberlake Road), crosses Norfolk Southern's Blue Ridge District, and has a diamond interchange with Graves Mill Road. The freeway ends at US 221 (Lakeside Drive). US 501 heads north along Old Forest Road as a five-lane road with center turn lane before turning onto a two-lane segment of the Lynchburg Expressway. This segment has a partial cloverleaf interchange with Wiggington Road before ending at US 501 Business (Boonsboro Road).

US 501 heads northwest on two-lane Boonsboro Road, which becomes Lee Jackson Highway when it exits the city of Lynchburg into Bedford County. The U.S. Highway curvaceously crosses Fleming Mountain and descends into the James River gorge at Coleman Falls. US 501 follows the south bank of the river through Big Island, where the highway meets the northern end of SR 122 (Big Island Highway) and has an interchange with the Blue Ridge Parkway. North of Big Island, the U.S. Highway crosses the river and immediately intersects SR 130 (Elon Road) on the Amherst County side. The two highways have a curvaceous crossing of the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains before descending to the town of Glasgow at the mouth of the Maury River. The two routes follow the river upstream a short distance before SR 130 (Wert Faulkner Highway) crosses the river into the town. US 501, now named Glasgow Highway, parallels the river and Norfolk Southern's Roanoke District rail line north to the city of Buena Vista, which the highway enters as Magnolia Avenue. South of the downtown area, US 501 veers onto Sycamore Street while US 501 Business continues along Magnolia Avenue. At 22nd Street, the U.S. Highway veers onto Beech Avenue, which receives the northern end of US 501 Business (Park Avenue) west of Southern Virginia University. Two blocks to the north, US 501 reaches its northern terminus at US 60 (29th Street).

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Halifax	​	0.00	0.00		US 501 south – Roxboro	Southern terminus of US 501 in Virginia; North Carolina state line
	​	2.46	3.96		SR 96 east (Virgilina Road) – Virgilina
	South Boston (Riverdale)	10.94	17.61		US 58 / US 360 / US 501 Truck north (Bill Tuck Highway) – Danville, Clarksville, Richmond, South Hill
	South Boston	11.56	18.60		SR 304 east (Seymour Drive)
		11.78	18.96		SR 129 north (North Main Street)
					Edmunds Street	former SR 152
					US 501 Truck south (Hamilton Boulevard)
	South Boston (Centerville)	14.62	23.53		SR 129 south (Old Halifax Road) / SR 884 west (Powell Road) – South Boston
	Halifax	16.92	27.23		SR 360 west (Mountain Road)	South end of concurrency with SR 360
		17.70	28.49		SR 360 east (Bethel Road) – Crystal Hill, Richmond	North end of concurrency with SR 360
	Volens				SR 603 (Cody Road) – Republican Grove, Cody	former SR 126 north
	North Halifax	38.25	61.56		SR 40 west (Stage Coach Road) / SR 632 east (Hog Wallow Road) – Gretna	South end of concurrency with SR 40
Campbell	Brookneal	40.07	64.49		SR 40 east (Lynchburg Avenue) – Charlotte CH, Patrick Henry Boys Home	North end of concurrency with SR 40
	Gladys				SR 652 (Pigeon Run Road) / SR 761 (Long Island Road) – Long Island, Altavista	former SR 126 south
	Rustburg	59.59	95.90		SR 24 west (Colonial Highway) to US 29 – Roanoke	South end of concurrency with SR 24
		60.51	97.38		SR 24 east (Village Highway) – Concord	North end of concurrency with SR 24
City of Lynchburg		68.47	110.19		US 29 north / US 460 east / US 460 Bus. west / US 501 Bus. north (Campbell Avenue) – Charlottesville, Appomattox, Washington	interchange; south end of concurrency with US 29 and US 460
		70.83	113.99		US 29 south / US 460 west – Roanoke, Danville	interchange; north end of concurrency with US 29 and US 460
		71.42	114.94		SR 128 east (Mayflower Drive) / SR 670 south (Candlers Mountain Road) – Liberty University	South end of concurrency with SR 128
		71.82	115.58		US 29 Bus. north (Lynchburg Expressway) / SR 128 west (Candlers Mountain Road) – Charlottesville	interchange; north end of concurrency with SR 128; south end of concurrency with US 29 Business; south end of freeway; US 501 south follows exit 8B
		72.16	116.13	9	US 29 Bus. south – Danville	north end of concurrency with US 29 Business
		73.67	118.56	10	US 460 Bus. (Timberlake Road / Fort Avenue)	signed as exits 10A (east) and 10B (west)
		74.88	120.51	11	Graves Mill Road	former SR 126
					to Breezewood Drive	southbound access only
		76.12	122.50		US 221 (Lakeside Drive) – Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest, Lynchburg College	intersection; north end of freeway
					Old Forest Road	former SR 291 north
		77.66	124.98		Wiggington Road - Peaks View Park	interchange
		79.52	127.98		US 501 Bus. south (Boonsboro Road)
Bedford	Big Island	91.28	146.90		SR 122 south (Big Island Highway) – Bedford
	​				Blue Ridge Parkway	Interchange
Amherst	​	95.75	154.09		SR 130 east (Elon Road) – Lynchburg	South end of concurrency with SR 130
Rockbridge	​	102.12	164.35		SR 130 west (Wert Faulkner Highway) – Glasgow, Natural Bridge	North end of concurrency with SR 130
City of Buena Vista		110.52	177.86		US 501 Bus. north (Magnolia Avenue)
		111.30	179.12		US 501 Bus. south (Park Avenue)
		111.42	179.31		US 60 (29th Street) to I‑81	Northern terminus of US 501
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

External links

• Virginia Highways Project: US 501

U.S. Route 501
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