Virginia State Highway 7
Encyclopedia : V : VI : VIR : Virginia State Highway 7
| Route 7 | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Length: | 70 mi (113 km) |
| Direction: | East-West |
| Major cities: | Alexandria, VA Falls Church, VA Sterling, VA Ashburn, VA Leesburg, VA Purcellville, VA Winchester, VA |
| East end: |  VA 400 in Alexandria, VA
|
| Major junctions: |
I-395 in Alexandria, VA US 50 in Falls Church, VA US 29 in Falls Church, VA I-66 in Falls Church, VA  VA 267 in Tysons, VA]] CY 7100 in Dranesville, VAVA 28 in Sterling, VA VA 267 in Leesburg, VAUS 15 in Leesburg, VA US 340 in Berryville, VA I-81 in Winchester, VA |
| West end: |
US 11/US 522 in Winchester, VA |
| System | Virginia State Highways |
Route
Alexandria
Route 7 begins in Old Town Alexandria just blocks from the Potomac River as King Street. It continues through Alexandria, passing by the George Washington National Masonic Monument and T.C. Williams High School. Route 7 intersects Interstate 395 and briefly forms the border between Alexandria and Arlington before entering Fairfax County.Fairfax County
Route 7 is known as Leesburg Pike throughout Fairfax County. It is mainly a suburban route. It intersects Route 244, Columbia Pike, in Bailey's Crossroads. From there, it travels to Seven Corners, aptly named because of the seven roads that intersect, including US 50, which is actually off-grade from the rest of the intersection.After Seven Corners, Route 7 enters the city of Falls Church and turns into Broad Street, intersecting US 29.
Route 7 re-enters Fairfax County and promptly intersects Interstate 66. It then passes through Tysons Corner, intersecting VA 123 and the Dulles Toll Road. Route 7 continues through Fairfax County, passing by subdivisions and shopping centres. The final interchange in Fairfax County is Fairfax County Parkway and Algonkian Parkway.
Loudoun County
Route 7 enters Loudoun County in Sterling as Harry F. Byrd Highway. The road widens to six lanes throughout the first half of the county. Route 7 passes by numerous subdivisions and shopping centres before its interchange with VA 28. From there, Route 7 passes through Ashburn, across Goose Creek, and into Leesburg, the county seat of Loudoun County.Route 7 splits into a business route and bypass. The bypass merges with the US 15 Bypass around the southern half of the town, while the business route passes through the town and intersects Business 15 in downtown Leesburg, at the county court house.
Business and Bypass 7 meet on the western side of Leesburg, and continues into rural western Loudoun as a four-lane divided highway with some at-grade intersections. Route 7 has an interchange with VA 9 in Paeonian Springs. The interchange is VA 9's southern terminus, as well as the eastern terminus of another Business Route 7. Business Route 7 serves the towns of Hamilton, Purcellville, and Round Hill. The bypass maintains a 60 mph speed limit as a divided limited-access highway. After Round Hill, Route 7 is no longer a limited-access highway, but maintains a 55 mph speed limit. As the road approaches the western edge of the county, it climbs its only mountain on the route, which is that of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Clarke County
Route 7 crosses the Loudoun-Clarke County line at the summit of the mountain. The highway keeps its name as Harry Byrd Highway and its four lanes. It crosses the Shenandoah River, and passes to the north of Berryville, once again splitting into business and bypass routes. At Berryville, Route 7 has an interchange with US 340. Route 7 continues to Frederick County.Frederick County
Route 7 enters Frederick County and changes names to Berryville Pike. The four-lane highway continues across Interstate 81, into the city of Winchester. Route 7 continues through the east end of the city into downtown, and ends downtown at an intersection with US 11 and US 522.Intersections
In addition to numerous at-grade intersections, Route 7 has off-level interchanges with the following routes:
- Interstate 395
- Columbia Pike (VA 244)
- U.S. Highway 50
- Interstate 66
- Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)
- Virginia State Highway 123
- Virginia State Highway 267
- Fairfax County Parkway/Algonkian Parkway
- Cascades Parkway (Secondary Route 1794)
- Algonkian Parkway (Secondary Route 1582)
- Virginia State Highway 28
- Claiborne Parkway (Secondary Route 901)/Lansdowne Boulevard (Secondary Route 2400)
- U.S. Highway 15 bypass in Leesburg
- Dulles Greenway
- Virginia State Highway 9
- U.S. Highway 340
- Interstate 81
Route 7 splits into business and bypass routes three times in Loudoun County.
West of Interstate 395, Route 7 is part of the National Highway System.
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