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The Highways of Virginia Interstate 66 and Branches 
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I-66
From:I-81 Strasburg (Warren County)
To: DC Line at Rosslyn (City of Arlington)
Total Length: 75 miles
Nationally I-66 runs from Strasburg to a myriad of ramps in western DC, about 77 miles  
ROUTE LOG
EXIT 1 - I-81 (exit 300): 0 - 0
EXIT 6 (old 2) - US 340, US 522: 6 - 6
EXIT 13 (old 3) - VA 79: 7 - 13
FQ-WR LINE: 1 - 14
EXIT 18 (old 4) - SR 688: 4 - 18
EXIT 23 (old 5) - US 17 NB, VA 55 WB: 5 - 23
EXIT 27 (old 6) - US 17 Bus, VA 55 EB: 4 - 27
EXIT 28 (old 7) - US 17 SB, US 17 Bus: 1 - 28
EXIT 31 (old 8) - VA 245: 3 - 31
PW-FQ LINE: 4 - 35
EXIT 40 (old 9) - US 15: 5 - 40
EXIT 43 (old 10) - US 29: 3 - 43
EXIT 44 - VA 234 SB: 1 - 44
EXIT 47 (old 11) - VA 234 NB, VA 234 Bus: 3 - 47
FX-PW LINE: 2 - 49
EXIT 52 (old 12) - US 29: 3 - 52
EXIT 53 (old 13) - VA 28: 1 - 53
EXIT 55 (old 14) - SR 7100: 2 - 55
EXIT 57 (old 15) - US 50: 2 - 57
EXIT 60 (old 16) - VA 123: 3 - 60
EXIT 62 (old 17) - VA 243: 2 - 62
EXIT 64 (old 18) - I-495 (exit 49): 2 - 64
EXIT 66 (old 19) - VA 7: 2 - 66
EXIT 67 (old 20) - VA 267: 1 - 67
AR-FX LINE: 1 - 68
EXIT 68 (old 21) - Westmoreland Rd: 0.5 - 68.5
EXIT 68 (old 22) - US 29, VA 237: 0.5 - 69
EXIT 69 - Sycamore St: 0.5 - 69.5
EXIT 71 (old 23) - VA 120, VA 237: 1.5 - 71
EXIT 72 (old 24) - US 29: 1.25 - 72.25
EXIT 73 (old 25) - US 29: 0.25 - 72.5
EXIT 75 (old 26) - US 50 WB, VA 110, GW PKWY: 2 - 74.5
DC LINE: 0.5 - 75
Creation: First appeared as an unlabeled dotted line between US 29 Gainesville and VA 123 Fairfax in 1961.
Adjustments:In 1962, I-66 was opened around the VA 17 (curr US 17), VA 55 Delaplane exit; also open was from US 29-211 (curr US 29) Gainesville to US 29-211 (curr US 29) Centreville; also the bridge over the Potomac River.
In 1965, I-66 was extended east from Centreville to I-495.
In 1971, the section between I-81 and US 340-522 opened.
In 1979, I-66 opened up between today's Exit 23 and US 17 SB Marshall.
In 1980, I-66 was finished between US 340-522 and Exit 23, as well as from US 17 Marshall to US 29 Gainesville.
The 1982-83 VDOT map shows the last section between I-495 and DC as complete
Posting: Fully posted; I-66 in Fairfax County is perhaps the most overly signed Interstate I've ever seen, with HOV signs, directional signs, services signs, points of interest signs, and speed limit signs all competing for the driver's attention. Washington is the consensus control city for eastbound 66.  Westbound is a different story, with Front Royal, Manassas, Vienna, Strasburg, and even Gainesville being chosen for various signs.
Comments: I-66 is the main east-west road in northern Virginia.  It begins at a maze of incomplete highway ramps at K Street in Washington before curving onto the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.  From there to the Capital Beltway it's HOV-2 eastbound on weekday mornings and HOV-2 westbound weekday evenings.  Somehow making an entire road HOV would seem to violate Interstate standards, but maybe not.  This part is mostly 2 lanes in each direction, a compromise made to Arlington residents when I-66 was built there. Now it is in desperate need of widening...  From I-495 to VA 234 in Manassas, I-66 is 4 lanes in each direction, including a left HOV-2 lane.  The shoulder is open to traffic when the HOV is in operation.  For a while, Dave had an office overlooking I-66 where he could see the Fair Lakes speed trap in daily operation.  West of Manassas, traffic tails off considerably and is 2 lanes in each direction, pending current construction to widen out to US 29 Gainesville.
I-66 totally blows off VA 55 (near Delaplane), VA 55 (near The Plains), and VA 124.
There have been various plans to extend I-66 westward, with the most ambitious reaching to Kansas, Colorado, and beyond.  I seriously doubt any of these will ever happen, although West Virginia will be building the semi-limited-access Corridor H (WV 55) in the approximate place I-66 would go. Kentucky seems to be the most aggressive I-66 proponent today.
In case you're wondering, Dave's exit is 57B.
Detailed additional info about I-66 can be found at Scott Kozel's site

 
 
I-66N   Proposed
Previous I-66N's: I-66N: In April 1958, the D.C. Government proposed I-66N as the number for what had been proposed by D.C. as I-266. Of course, this would've meant that 66N would also be in Virginia. Andy Vick had a site showing many old proposed routings like this but has taken it down. Virginia later proposed this same route to be I-266. It didn't matter, as this freeway was never built.
I-266   Proposed
Previous I-266's: I-266: Once proposed by VDOT (1958) to go from I-66 near the Spout Run Pkwy. across the river to run along the Whitehurst Freeway. Never made it to dotted lines of state official maps.
A. Froehlig found the various proposed routings for I-266:
The originally proposed I-266 alignment was to run into DC basically overlaying right on top of Sprout Run Pkwy. The report itself showed 5 alternatives, with the westernmost running straight up from the curve in I-66 at Lee Hwy and the easternmost touching the tip of Theodore Roosevelt Island. Of course, none of the five were ever built, though it's interesting to note that the western alternatives would have had I-266 as a double-decker freeway UNDERNEATH the Key Bridge.
Visiting the area in person shows this would have been a challenge to build without completely destroying the scenic area around T. Roosevelt Island

Last Update: 9 July 2005

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