Virginia State Route 234
Encyclopedia
State Route 234 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 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 U.S. Route 1 near Dumfries
Dumfries, Virginia
Dumfries is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,937 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dumfries is located at ....

 via Independent Hill
Independent Hill, Virginia
Independent Hill is an unincorporated town in Prince William County, Virginia. It is located along State Route 234 at the intersection with Joplin Road. The only visible remaining businesses seem to be Samsky's Market and Crosby's Crab Company. In early 2006, a realignment of 234 bypassed the...

, a bypass of Manassas, and Catharpin
Catharpin, Virginia
Catharpin is an unincorporated community in Prince William County, Virginia, in the United States. Catharpin lies on State Route 234 to the northwest of Manassas National Battlefield Park.-Geography:...

 to U.S. Route 15 near Woolsey.

SR 234 has a brief overlap with Interstate 66 for three miles (5 km) between SR 234 south (Prince William Parkway
Prince William Parkway
The Prince William Parkway is a road in Prince William County, Virginia. The road carries two designations. Between U.S. Route 1 in Woodbridge and Dumfries Road near Manassas it carries SR 3000...

) and SR 234 north/State Route 234 Business in Manassas.

For information about previous SR 234 alignments that still are useful, see Bannered routes of Virginia State Route 234
Bannered routes of Virginia State Route 234
-Route 234 Business :State Route 234 Business in Manassas is a bannered primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia, and traverses both Prince William County and the City of Manassas...

.

Route description

SR 234 begins at an intersection with US 1 (Jefferson Davis Highway) on the northern edge of the town of Dumfries. The state highway heads northwest as Dumfries Road, a six-lane divided highway that meets I-95 at a partial cloverleaf interchange. North of Dumfries, SR 234 parallels Quantico Creek and follows the border of Prince William Forest Park
Prince William Forest Park
Prince William Forest Park was established as Chopawamsic Recreational Demonstration Area in 1936 and is located in southeastern Prince William County, Virginia, adjacent to the Marine Corps Base Quantico. The park is the largest protected natural area in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region at...

 to the southwest. The state highway also passes many residential subdivisions on the highway's northbound side in the community of Montclair
Montclair, Virginia
Montclair is a census-designated place in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 15,728 at the 2000 census. Montclair is a residential community surrounding a man-made lake and golf course. Development began in the late 1960s and new home construction for the most part...

, where the highway reduces to four lanes at Country Club Drive. SR 234 curves to the north at Independent Hill, which the highway bypasses. The old alignment through the village, which contains the remains of the Greenwood Gold Mine, is designated SR 234 Old. SR 234 passes through the communities of Canova
Canova, Virginia
Canova is an unincorporated community in Prince William County, Virginia. The community is located on Canova Drive, a former section of State Route 234, about 1 mile and a half north of Hoadly Road. The town consists of a church and multiple housing areas...

, Cornwell
Cornwell, Virginia
Cornwell is an unincorporated community in Prince William County, Virginia located on State Route 234 about one mile north of Canova at its intersection with Purcell Road. Though Cornwell is a named location on Mapquest, as of 2006 there is no signage at the location to indicate that the area is...

, and Lake Jackson
Lake Jackson, Virginia
Lake Jackson is a dam on the Occoquan River created in 1927 by Charles W. Alpaugh. It is located in Manassas, Virginia and is surrounded by 600 homes.-History:...

, where the highway crosses the Occoquan River
Occoquan River
The Occoquan River is a tributary of the Potomac River in northern Virginia, in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The river is long, and its watershed covers about . It is formed by the confluence of Broad Run and Cedar Run in Prince William County; Bull Run enters it east-southeast of...

 just east of the community's namesake reservoir. Just north of Lake Jackson, the state highway intersects Prince William Parkway
Prince William Parkway
The Prince William Parkway is a road in Prince William County, Virginia. The road carries two designations. Between U.S. Route 1 in Woodbridge and Dumfries Road near Manassas it carries SR 3000...

 (SR 3000), which connects Manassas and Woodbridge.

Just north of Prince William Parkway, Dumfries Road turns north toward the city of Manassas as SR 234 Business. SR 234 continues northwest as Prince William Parkway, a four-lane divided highway western bypass of Manassas. The state highway passes to the east of Manassas Regional Airport
Manassas Regional Airport
Manassas Regional Airport , also known as Harry P. Davis Field, is a city-owned public-use airport located four nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Manassas, in a section of Manassas that was carved out of Prince William County specifically for the purpose of containing...

, which is accessed via Clover Hill Road. Just north of the airport, SR 234 crosses over Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...

's Washington District rail line, which is also used by Virginia Railway Express
Virginia Railway Express
The Virginia Railway Express is a regional/ commuter rail service that connects the Northern Virginia suburbs to Union Station in Washington, D.C., via two lines: the Fredericksburg Line from Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the Manassas Line from Broad Run/Airport station in Bristow,...

's Manassas Line, whose western terminus is at the Broad Run/Airport
Broad Run/Airport (VRE station)
The Broad Run/Airport Virginia Railway Express station is located at 10637 Piper Lane in the Bristow section of unincorporated Prince William County, Virginia, United States, adjacent to Manassas Regional Airport. It is the last station on VRE's Manassas Line, and has parking for 885 cars. The...

 just to the west in the community of Bristow
Bristow, Virginia
Bristow is an unincorporated town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,910 in the 2000 census, and the 2009 estimate was 15,137....

. Just north of the rail line, the state highway meets SR 28 (Nokesville Road) at a three-level interchange featuring flyover ramps from both directions of SR 28 to SR 234. SR 234 continues north past the Prince William Campus of George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...

, which features the Hylton Performing Arts Center
Hylton Performing Arts Center
The Hylton Performing Arts Center is a $46 million performance facility located on the Prince William County, Virginia campus of George Mason University. The center is a joint venture that was funded 60 percent by Prince William County, 30 pecent by the university and 10 percent by the City of...

, then intersects SR 674
Virginia State Route 674 (Prince William County) and Wellington Road (Manassas, Virginia)
State Route 674 is a secondary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia, and traverses western Prince William County. SR 674 is known by only one name, Wellington Road. Wellington Road in Manassas is included in this article because, together, the roads form a major connector between eastern...

 (Wellington Road) and Sudley Manor Drive, which connects Linton Hall
Linton Hall, Virginia
Linton Hall is a census-designated place in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,620 at the 2000 census....

 to the southwest with Bull Run
Bull Run, Virginia
Bull Run is a census-designated place in Prince William County, Virginia. The population was 11,337 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bull Run is located at ....

 to the northeast. SR 234 continues northwest, intersecting Balls Ford Road before reaching a trumpet interchange with I-66. SR 234 joins the Interstate in a concurrency
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...

 east to a partial cloverleaf interchange with Sudley Road, where SR 234 leaves the concurrency and meets the northern end of SR 234 Business.

SR 234 heads north from I-66 as a four-lane divided highway that reduces to two lanes at the entrance to the Manassas Campus of Northern Virginia Community College
Northern Virginia Community College
Northern Virginia Community College, often abbreviated NVCC and colloquially as NOVA, comprises several locations in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., and is both the second largest multi-campus community college in the United States and the largest educational institution in the...

 and enters Manassas National Battlefield Park, site of the First
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...

 and Second
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...

 Battles of Bull Run. The state highway intersects US 29 (Lee Highway) within the battlefield park. After leaving the preserve, SR 234 passes through the community of Sudley Springs
Sudley Springs, Virginia
Sudley Springs is an unincorporated community in Prince William County, in the U.S. state of Virginia.-Reference:...

, where the highway crosses Little Bull Run and curves to the west. The state highway heads through the community of Catharpin
Catharpin, Virginia
Catharpin is an unincorporated community in Prince William County, Virginia, in the United States. Catharpin lies on State Route 234 to the northwest of Manassas National Battlefield Park.-Geography:...

 before reaching its northern terminus at US 15 (James Madison Highway) in the hamlet of Woolsey north of Haymarket.

History

Most of SR 234 southeast of Manassas, for 15.85 miles (25.51 km) from State Route 28 in Manassas towards State Route 31 (U.S. Route 1) at Dumfries, was added to the state highway system in 1928 as State Route 709. The final 2.50 miles (4.02 km) were added in 1929, making SR 709 a continuous Manassas-Dumfries route.

In the other direction, from Manassas northwest towards Gilberts Corner
Gilberts Corner, Virginia
Gilberts Corner is an unincorporated area at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 and U.S. Route 15 in Loudoun County, Virginia to the east of Aldie....

, 6.42 miles (10.33 km) were added in 1930 and 1931. In 1932, the rest of the road to Gilberts Corner, now State Route 705 and U.S. Route 15 north of Catharpin
Catharpin, Virginia
Catharpin is an unincorporated community in Prince William County, Virginia, in the United States. Catharpin lies on State Route 234 to the northwest of Manassas National Battlefield Park.-Geography:...

, was added to the state highway system.

SR 709 became State Route 234 in the 1933 renumbering, as did State Route 721 (Brunswick, Maryland
Brunswick, Maryland
Brunswick is a city in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,870 at the 2010 census.- History :The area now known as Brunswick was originally home to the Susquehanna Indians. In 1728 the first settlement was built, and the region became known as Eel Town, because the...

 to south of Purcellville
Purcellville, Virginia
Purcellville is a town in the Loudoun Valley of Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. The population was 3,584 at the 2000 census, but has undergone considerable growth since then. Purcellville is the major population center for western Loudoun and the Loudoun Valley...

, now State Route 287 and part of State Route 690). The gap from U.S. Route 50 at Aldie
Aldie, Virginia
Aldie is an unincorporated village located on the John Mosby Highway between Gilbert's Corner and Middleburg in Loudoun County, Virginia. It is located in a gap between the Catoctin Mountain and Bull Run Mountain, through which the Little River flows...

 (west of Gilberts Corner) northwest to Philomont
Philomont, Virginia
Philomont is a small unincorporated rural village in western Loudoun County, Virginia. The name is derived from the Greek word philo meaning "beloved" and the French word mont or "mountain"; Philomont means "Beloved Mountain."-History:...

 on State Route 734 and then north towards Purcellville on SR 690 was never filled.

In the 1940 renumbering, the northern piece of SR 234 (through Purcellville) became part of State Route 17. SR 234 was rerouted to continue northwest on SR 734 from Philomont to Bluemont
Bluemont, Virginia
Bluemont is an unincorporated village in Loudoun County, Virginia located at the base of Snickers Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountain. At 680 feet , it is the highest community in Loudoun County...

 (also never transferred to the primary system), where it absorbed the short State Route 245 to State Route 7. At the same time, a short piece of SR 234 south of Gilberts Corner also became U.S. Route 15. Also around that time, SR 234 was rerouted to head west rather than northwest from Catharpin
Catharpin, Virginia
Catharpin is an unincorporated community in Prince William County, Virginia, in the United States. Catharpin lies on State Route 234 to the northwest of Manassas National Battlefield Park.-Geography:...

, using a longer piece of new US 15 (from Woolsey north to Gilberts Corner). The piece at Bluemont was transferred to the secondary system in 1943, truncating SR 234 back to Gilberts Corner and beyond to its current end at US 15.

In 2005, the Commonwealth of Virginia designated Route 234 between U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 66 as the Ronald Wilson Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 Memorial Highway.

Recent construction

The 2005 widening of SR 234 to four lanes in the areas of Independent Hill
Independent Hill, Virginia
Independent Hill is an unincorporated town in Prince William County, Virginia. It is located along State Route 234 at the intersection with Joplin Road. The only visible remaining businesses seem to be Samsky's Market and Crosby's Crab Company. In early 2006, a realignment of 234 bypassed the...

 and Canova
Canova, Virginia
Canova is an unincorporated community in Prince William County, Virginia. The community is located on Canova Drive, a former section of State Route 234, about 1 mile and a half north of Hoadly Road. The town consists of a church and multiple housing areas...

 have resulted in some minor realignments. A former stretch of SR 234 through Canova has been renamed Canova Drive, and SR 234 was moved about 1 block east. At Independent Hill, Bristow Road has been extended onto former SR 234, and SR 234 itself was realigned about 300 meters north.

During the late 1990s the SR 234 Bypass was constructed to route through traffic from I-66 to the southeast around downtown Manassas. The existing portion of SR 234 was renamed SR 234 Business.

A completed portion of the bypass was used prior to it being open to traffic as a scene in the 1998 disaster film
Disaster film
A disaster film is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject...

, Deep Impact
Deep Impact (film)
Deep Impact is a 1998 science-fiction disaster-drama film released by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks in the United States on May 8, 1998. The film was directed by Mimi Leder and stars Robert Duvall, Elijah Wood, Téa Leoni, and Morgan Freeman...

. About 2,100 extras and 1,870 vehicles were used to stage the traffic jam scene for that film.

Future construction will extend Route 234 from its current southern terminus at U.S. Route 1 through the communities of Southbridge and Harbor Station down to the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

. A separated grade interchange will facilitate traffic through the intersection between Route 234 and U.S. 1. There is a proposal currently being considered by the Virginia Department of Transportation
Virginia Department of Transportation
The Virginia Department of Transportation is the agency of state government responsible for transportation in the state of Virginia in the United States. Headquartered in Downtown Richmond, VDOT is responsible for building, maintaining, and operating the roads, bridges and tunnels in the...

 (VDOT) for the Tri-County Parkway that would include extending SR 234 (the "Manassas Bypass") along Pageland Road to Catharpin
Catharpin, Virginia
Catharpin is an unincorporated community in Prince William County, Virginia, in the United States. Catharpin lies on State Route 234 to the northwest of Manassas National Battlefield Park.-Geography:...

 where it would meet up with the present SR 234 . This would have the effect of making the portion of SR 234 between Pageland Road and I-66 part of SR 234 Business.

Major intersections

The entire route is in Prince William County
Prince William County, Virginia
-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...

.

{| class=wikitable
!Location
!Mile

!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=2|Dumfries
Dumfries, Virginia
Dumfries is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,937 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dumfries is located at ....


|0.00
|
|Southern terminus
|-
|0.55
|
|I-95 Exit 152; partial cloverleaf interchange
|-
|rowspan=2|Independent Hill
Independent Hill, Virginia
Independent Hill is an unincorporated town in Prince William County, Virginia. It is located along State Route 234 at the intersection with Joplin Road. The only visible remaining businesses seem to be Samsky's Market and Crosby's Crab Company. In early 2006, a realignment of 234 bypassed the...


|
|Bristow Road west
|rowspan=2|Old alignment of SR 234
|-
|8.93
|
SR 234 Old south (Independent Hill Road)
|-
|rowspan=2|Lake Jackson
Lake Jackson, Virginia
Lake Jackson is a dam on the Occoquan River created in 1927 by Charles W. Alpaugh. It is located in Manassas, Virginia and is surrounded by 600 homes.-History:...


|
|
|
|-
|14.68
|
|
|-
|
|18.20
|
|Three-level interchange
|-
|
|20.31
|
|
|-
|
|22.75
|
|I-66 Exit 44; trumpet interchange; south end of concurrency with I-66
|-
|Bull Run
Bull Run, Virginia
Bull Run is a census-designated place in Prince William County, Virginia. The population was 11,337 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bull Run is located at ....


|25.02
|
|I-66 Exit 47; partial cloverleaf interchange; north end of concurrency with I-66
|-
|Groveton
Groveton, Virginia
Groveton is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Nearby CDPs are Mount Vernon, Virginia , Belle Haven, Fairfax County, Virginia and Hybla Valley, Virginia . The population was 14,598 at the 2010 census, down from 21,296 in 2000 due to a reduction in area...


|26.33
|
|
|-
|Haymarket
Haymarket, Virginia
Haymarket is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 879 at the 2000 census, but the 2009 is 1,252. Haymarket is home to the Haymarket Senators of the Valley Baseball League...


|33.92
|
|Northern terminus

External links

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