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According to bestitude, State Route 895 or SR-895, also called Pocahontas Parkway, is a toll road in the U.S. state of Virginia. The interstate connects Interstate 95 and Interstate 295 southeast of Richmond, the state capital. State Route 895 is 14 miles long.

Travel directions

The western terminus of State Route 895.

The Pocahontas Parkway begins at an interchange with Interstate 95 in south Richmond and is a continuation of State Route 150. The highway goes directly over the James River with a high viaduct and heads east through wooded areas. The highway ends near the airport at an interchange with Interstate 295.

History

The bridge over the James River at I-95.

State Route 895 was originally planned as Interstate 895, but this was not allowed by the FHWA because the road was planned as a toll road. Construction of the highway began in October 1998 and on May 22, 2002, the toll road was opened for 14 kilometers.

Traffic intensities

The highway has 2×2 lanes and has an intensity of only 15,000 vehicles per day.

Toll

The Pocahontas Parkway is a toll road, operated by Globalvia.

Robert O. Norris Bridge

According to biotionary, the Robert O. Norris Bridge is a bridge in the United States, located in the state of Virginia. The bridge spans the Rappahannock River estuary and is 2 miles long.

Characteristics

The 3,045-meter bridge spans the Rappahannock River, 80 kilometers east of the capital Richmond as the crow flies. The bridge is single-lane and the main span of 197.5 meters is constructed as a truss bridge. The bridge deck here is a maximum of 33.5 meters above the water. The bridge is located in a rural area with State Route 3 in Virginia running over it. The bridge is toll-free.

History

In the 1930s, there were first proposals to build a bridge over the Rappahannock River to replace ferry services. The concrete planning started after the Second World War, and the bridge was subsequently constructed between 1954 and 1957 and opened to traffic on August 30, 1957. The bridge was originally a toll road, the toll collection was removed in 1976.

The bridge is named after Robert O. Norris, Jr. (1880-1960), a senator in the Virginia Senate between 1928 and 1956.

Future

It has been proposed to replace the bridge with a wider 4-lane bridge.

Traffic intensities

In 2012, 9,400 vehicles crossed the bridge every day, a relatively high number given that there are no places of any size nearby. There are mainly scattered buildings in the region.

Skyline Drive

Skyline Drive is a National Scenic Byway and Tourist Highway in the United States. The road runs over the Blue Ridge through Shenandoah National Park in the state of Virginia. Skyline Drive is 169 kilometers long.

Travel directions

The highest point of Skyline Drive at 3680 ft / 1122 meters.

The road begins near Waynesboro at a junction with Interstate 64. It is a continuation of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The route first runs at an altitude of 600 – 800 meters, but further north above 1,000 meters. Parts of the route are above 1,100 meters. The road leads through wooded areas over the Blue Ridge, a steep ridge and encompasses Shenandoah National Park. The road ends at Front Royal on US 340.

Characteristics

Mary’s Rock Tunnel from Skyline Drive.

Skyline Drive is a two-lane road that runs through wooded areas. Intersections with other roads are continuously grade-separated, so that the road is quite isolated from other roads. The number of intersecting east-west routes is limited. There are no villages on the route and there are also no facilities such as gas stations and restaurants along the road.

Skyline Drive is not formally a toll road, but one must pay to access Shenandoah National Park, through which Skyline Drive runs. It is actually a toll road.

The speed limit is generally 35 miles per hour. There are 70 viewpoints along the way.

History

Skyline Drive was built by the Works Progress Administration, an agency tasked with reducing unemployment during the depression of the 1930s on major public projects. The road was built between 1931 and 1939. In 2008, the road also became a National Historic Landmark.

Varina-Enon Bridge

The Varina-Enon Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in the United States, located in the state of Virginia, southeast of Richmond. The bridge spans the James River.

Characteristics

The bridge is a 1,396 meter long bridge, including bridges, with a main span of 192 meters over the James River. The bridge has two I-shaped pylons of 92 meters height. The pylons have cables attached in the middle of the bridge, creating two separate bridge decks with 3 lanes each and a left and right hard shoulder. The total width is 33.2 meters. The bridge deck is 46 meters above the James River. Over the bridge, Interstate 295 in Virginia runs from Petersburg to Richmond. From the bridge you have a good view of the surroundings.

History

In the 1980s, cable-stayed bridges were a design that was little used. The Varina-Enon Bridge was one of the United States’ first major cable-stayed bridges and opened to traffic on July 18, 1990.

Traffic intensities

Every day, 34,000 vehicles cross the bridge, which is lightly used given the available 2×3 lanes.