VA 40, Parts 2 & 3 (8/2/11 & 11/15/11)

For this intended blog post, I had originally planned to post a trip I took in February across VA 38 and 13, but instead I wanted to see how my new car did on trips for future use. For that, I decided to travel a route that I'd been wanting to finish for about a year now, and that's driving the segment of VA 40 between US 1/I-85 McKenney and VA 10 Spring Grove. I drove the route eastbound, in two different parts: first I drove from McKenney to Stony Creek on August 2nd, and then on November 15 from I-95, originally planning to come home via US 460 Waverly but decided to keep going.

First, the 2 photos I took on 8/2/11. Here I was coming off I-85 to a set of VA 40 trailblazers.

VA 40 reassurance and distance sign just east of I-85.

Now the second trip, east from Stony Creek. Here's a snazzy VA 40 westbound trailblazer coming off I-95. VA 40 is divided for a bit at this point.

The first eastbound VA 40 reassurance shield past I-95.

This is the view of pretty much all VA 40 in Sussex County outside of civilization.

VA 40 now bypasses Sussex Courthouse and Homeville, but SR 735 (formerly part of VA 308) is one way to get there. SR 626 to the north goes to VA 35 and then parallels VA 40 for a time.

SR 735 goes to Sussex, then Yale, then becomes VA 308 at the prison.

The first VA 40 distance sign past SR 735.

Not much between Sussex and Homeville, where VA 40 meets VA 35.

This looks to be a big chunk of Homeville.

Looking east up VA 40 at the VA 35 intersection. More empty space ahead.

Looking south down VA 35 towards VA 40's old routing in Homeville.

The few miles of VA 40 between Homeville and Waverly were uneventful, save for the old route rejoining the current one. Here I was entering Waverly's industrial section at the southwest side of town.

Past the industrial section I was getting closer to downtown, where the speed limit dropped to 25.

Here I was approaching US 460 in downtown Waverly, crossing the railroad tracks when I found this rare-for-Virginia JCT assembly. Also of note is that my ABS cut off here.

The US 460-VA 40 intersection has had these cool black-background trailblazers for as long as I can remember.

VA 40 northeast of US 460 in Waverly is more residential but becomes more rural after a couple miles before finally leaving town.

A few miles past Waverly VA 40 crosses this bridge over the Blackwater River from Sussex to Surry County.

SR 615 connects VA 40 at Gwaltney Corner with VA 31 in Dendron.

VA 40 ending in Spring Grove. What's up with those VA 10 shields?

VA 40 used to continue straight from Spring Grove to Claremont. Here I turned west on VA 10 and went home.

Slightly off-center VA 10 distance sign.

VA 10 in Cabin Point. The blurry shield in the background is SR 613, which goes to Claremont. Behind me is SR 602, which is posted as Cabin Point Road all the way out to I-95.

VA 10 entering Prince George County from Surry County.

VA 10 in Burrowsville in eastern Prince George County.

One-piece SR 1201 trailblazer in Burrowsville. The road off to the left in the background in this photo is SR 9331, which is posted with a white rectangle that I missed.

Long-abandoned Unocal 76 station in Burrowsville.

Turning from VA 10 to SR 609, which was part of VA 10 from 1918 to 1935, then VA 37 from 1935 to 1940, then part of VA 106 for a few years.

Beginning down SR 609, which was quite rustic.

SR 609 approaching SR 635.

The abandoned E.H. Cummings Jr. Store at the intersection of SR 609 and SR 635.

From there I took SR 710 to VA 156 to SR 616, which goes by Prince George High School to Prince George courthouse to meet VA 106. The VA 106 shield on the right is pretty derpy.

Finally, a good picture of the Prince George roundabout's southbound diagram.

From Prince George I took VA 106 to SR 603 (Baxter Rd), which is a cutoff to US 460 Business in east Petersburg. Just past VA 109 I found this new green sign that shows access to I-95, I-85, mainline US 460, and US 301.

US 460 Business splits to the right down Winfield Road, where an ancient overhead still exists. If you can't read that, it says "Crater Road To Downtown".

US 460 Business reassurance marker on Winfield Road.

Winfield Road can't be driven eastbound in its entirety anymore. To drive it eastbound you have to drive it westbound all the way and turn around just before the I-95 offramp. In this picture you can see the old 4-lane alignment that has reverted to 2 lanes.

The reason I turned around on Winfield Road was to photograph these faded trailblazers, which long predate US 460 mainline being removed from this route.

Lastly, a newer set of trailblazers, though the US 460 trailblazer still lacks the Business banner.

From here I went home, the car still doing well. All in all, a great trip. I clinched all of VA 40 east of Blackstone and drove through the Prince George countryside. Barring another trip, my next road post will highlight a few previous trips from 2011.