State Route 80 is a primary state highway

State highway

State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 in the southwest part of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. It runs from the Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 state line at Breaks Interstate Park

Breaks Interstate Park

Breaks Interstate Park, also referred as the "Grand Canyon of the South", is located in southeastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia at the northeastern terminus of Pine Mountain...

 east to U.S. Route 11 near Meadowview

Meadowview, Virginia

Meadowview is a census-designated place in Washington County, Virginia, United States. The population was 967 at the 2010 census...

. Kentucky Route 80 and Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

's Route 80 continue the number west to Matthews, Missouri

Matthews, Missouri

Matthews is a city in New Madrid County, Missouri, United States. The population was 605 at the 2000 census.The former actor Conlan Carter, who appeared on the television series The Law and Mr. Jones with James Whitmore and Combat! with Rick Jason and Vic Morrow, both on ABC, was reared in Matthews...

.

The entire length of SR 80 is part of U.S. Bicycle Route 76

U.S. Bicycle Route 76

U.S. Bicycle Route 76 is a cross-country bicycle route east of the Mississippi River in the United States. It is one of the two original U.S. Bicycle Routes, the other being U.S. Bicycle Route 1. U.S. Bicycle Route 76 runs from the midwestern state of Illinois to the eastern seaboard state of...

.

Description

Buchanan County
Kentucky Route 80 runs alongside the Russell Fork from Millard to just shy of the Virginia state line. There it turns northeasterly along the west bank of Grassy Creek, which lies inside Virginia and forms the line between Buchanan and Dickenson Counties, in order to avoid the deep gorge through Breaks Interstate Park

Breaks Interstate Park

Breaks Interstate Park, also referred as the "Grand Canyon of the South", is located in southeastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia at the northeastern terminus of Pine Mountain...

. Route 80 soon crosses into Virginia, and continues to parallel Grassy Creek until the split with Hunts Creek, where it (and the county line) turns southeast to follow that creek. About halfway to the community of Breaks

Breaks, Virginia

Breaks, Virginia is a small Virginia community located in Breaks, Virginia is a small [[Virginia]] community located in Breaks, Virginia is a small [[Virginia]] community located in [[Buchanan county,Breaks is located very close to the [[Kentucky]] border and is east of [[Breaks Interstate Park]]...

, SR 80 crosses the creek and county line.

Dickenson County
SR 80 passes the community of Breaks, leaving Hunts Creek there and running past the entrance to Breaks Interstate Park

Breaks Interstate Park

Breaks Interstate Park, also referred as the "Grand Canyon of the South", is located in southeastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia at the northeastern terminus of Pine Mountain...

. It runs south through Camp Branch Gap, and then continues in a general southerly direction alongside small creeks and over two summits to State Route 83

State Route 83 (Virginia)

Virginia State Route 83 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 23 Business in Pound east to the West Virginia state line in Paynesville, where the highway continues as West Virginia Route 83...

 east of Haysi. SR 80 and SR 83 overlap west alongside Russell Prater Creek into Haysi, where they meet State Route 63 at the point where Russell Prater Creek empties into the Russell Fork. The two routes turn south, but SR 83 soon splits to the west to follow the McClure River

McClure River

The McClure River is a tributary of the Russell Fork in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located in Dickenson County in the southwestern part of the state. Via the Russell Fork, the Levisa Fork, the Big Sandy River, and the Ohio River, it is part of the Mississippi River...

. SR 80 continues southeasterly along the Russell Fork past Martha Gap and Birchleaf

Birchleaf, Virginia

Birchleaf is a community in Dickenson County, Virginia, United States. The population was 761 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Birchleaf is located approximately 5 miles SE of the town of Haysi, Virginia. The Russell Fork of the Levisa River runs through the center of the community...

 to the point where the Russell Fork turns east; SR 80 continues next to Fryingpan Creek past Colley, then alongside Priest Fork to Sportsman Lake and through Abner Gap to the Abner Branch, rejoining the Russell Fork at Bee.

Buchanan County
SR 80 and the Russell Fork continue past Davenport

Davenport, Virginia

Davenport is an unincorporated community in Buchanan County, Virginia, United States. Davenport is located on Virginia State Route 80 south of Grundy. Davneport has a post office with ZIP code 24239....

 and Council

Council, Virginia

Council is an unincorporated community in Buchanan County, in the U.S. state of Virginia....

. The fork ends as the road approaches Sandy Ridge and the Tennessee Valley Divide

Tennessee Valley Divide

The Tennessee Valley Divide is the eastern and southern boundary of the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and its tributaries.The Tennessee Valley Divide begins near the northeasternmost source of the Tennessee River, in the vicinity of Bluefield, West Virginia. From there, the divide...

, which it climbs Big A Mountain via a series of hairpin curves.

Russell County
SR 80 descends from Big A Mountain into a relatively flat area, where it runs cross-country and next to small creeks via Honaker, the junction vith State Route 67

State Route 67 (Virginia)

State Route 67 is a primary state highway in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Virginia. It runs from State Route 80 near Honaker east to U.S. Route 460 at Raven, east concurrently with US 460 and U.S. Route 460 Business into downtown Richlands, and north to State Route 616 at Jewell...

, and a bridge over the Clinch River

Clinch River

The Clinch River rises in Southwest Virginia near Tazewell, Virginia and flows southwest through the Great Appalachian Valley, gathering various tributaries including the Powell River before joining the Tennessee River in East Tennessee.-Course:...

 at Blackford to U.S. Route 19 at Rosedale. There it turns southwest with US 19, alongside Elk Garden Creek, to Smithfield, where it splits to the south. SR 80 again runs cross-country past Rockdell, where it begins to climb Clinch Mountain

Clinch Mountain

Clinch Mountain is a mountain ridge in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Virginia, lying in the ridge-and-valley section of the Appalachian Mountains...

, which it crosses (into Washington County) at Hayters Gap.

Washington County
SR 80 descends from Hayters Gap to the East Fork Wolf Creek. There it turns southwest, following the creek to the community of Hayters Gap, and then following Wolf Creek through a gap in Little Mountain to the North Fork Holston River at the community of River Bridge. It crosses the river and follows Logan Creek uphill to Lindell

Lindell, Virginia

Lindell is an unincorporated community in Washington County, in the U.S. state of Virginia.-Reference:...

, where the land levels out. It continues to follow Logan Creek past Yellow Springs and Giesley Mill, then crossing a low summit to Meadow View. SR 80 crosses Interstate 81 at a half diamond south of Meadow View, providing access only towards the southwest on I-81, and then ends at U.S. Route 11 at Cedarville. State Route 803, formerly part of SR 80, continues southeast from Cedarville to Lodi

Lodi, Virginia

Lodi is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Virginia, United States. Lodi is located on Virginia State Route 91 south of Glade Spring. It owes its name to the Italian city of Lodi....

.

History

The road from Lodi

Lodi, Virginia

Lodi is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Virginia, United States. Lodi is located on Virginia State Route 91 south of Glade Spring. It owes its name to the Italian city of Lodi....

 to Cedarville, now State Route 803, was planned as part of State Route 12, the predecessor to U.S. Route 58, in 1923. The next year, however, SR 12 was realigned to pass through Damascus, and the road from State Route 10 (now U.S. Route 11) at Cedarville towards Lodi for five miles (8 km) was added to the state highway system as State Route 125, a spur of SR 12. The next year it was extended southeast the rest of the way to SR 12 at Lodi and northwest 1.1 miles (1.8 km) to Meadowview

Meadowview, Virginia

Meadowview is a census-designated place in Washington County, Virginia, United States. The population was 967 at the 2010 census...

.

Five miles (8 km) of road northwest from Meadowview and three miles (5 km) southeast from State Route 11 (now U.S. Route 19) near Rosedale were added to the state highway system in 1928 as State Route 111, and SR 125 was renumbered as part of SR 111 that same year. The gap was closed in 1930 and 1931.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Buchanan Buchanan County, Virginia As of the census of 2000, there were 26,978 people, 10,464 households, and 7,900 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 11,887 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...		0.00		Western terminus
Dickenson Dickenson County, Virginia As of the census of 2000, there were 16,395 people, 6,732 households, and 4,887 families residing in the county. The population density was 49 people per square mile . There were 7,684 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile...	Haysi Haysi, Virginia Haysi is a town in Dickenson County, Virginia, United States. The population was 186 at the 2000 census. The pronunciation of the final syllable is that of "sigh".-Geography:Haysi is located at ....	10.09		West end of concurrency with SR 83
		11.18
		11.52		East end of concurrency with SR 83
Buchanan Buchanan County, Virginia As of the census of 2000, there were 26,978 people, 10,464 households, and 7,900 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 11,887 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...	No major intersections
Russell Russell County, Virginia As of the census of 2000, there were 30,308 people, 11,789 households, and 8,818 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 people per square mile . There were 13,191 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...	Honaker Honaker, Virginia Honaker is a town in Russell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,449 at the 2010 census.-History:Honaker was settled as early as 1772 when William Ferrill established a homesite in the area...	39.09
	Rosedale	43.59		West end of concurrency with US 19
	Smithfield	46.16		East end of concurrency with US 19
Washington Washington County, Virginia As of the census of 2000, there were 51,103 people, 21,056 households, and 14,949 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 22,985 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile...	Meadowview Meadowview, Virginia Meadowview is a census-designated place in Washington County, Virginia, United States. The population was 967 at the 2010 census...			Diamond interchange
		67.37

}