State Route 31 marker

State Route 31

Route information
Maintained by VDOT
Length24.56 mi[1][2][3] (39.53 km)
ExistedJuly 1, 1933[4]–present
Major junctions
South end US 460 / SR 628 in Wakefield
Major intersections SR 10 in Surry
North end SR 5 / SR 199 in Williamsburg
Location
CountryUnited States
StateVirginia
CountiesSussex, Surry, James City, City of Williamsburg
Highway system
← SR 30→ SR 32

State Route 31 (SR 31) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 24.56 miles (39.53 km) from U.S. Route 460 (US 460) in Wakefield north to SR 5 and SR 199 in Williamsburg. SR 31 is the primary north–south highway of Surry County, where the highway serves the towns of Surry and Dendron. The state highway also connects Williamsburg with Jamestown. The sections of SR 31 on either side of the James River are connected by the Jamestown Ferry.

Route description

View north along SR 31 north of SR 10 in Surry

SR 31 begins at an intersection with US 460 in the town of Wakefield in Sussex County. The state highway heads east on Main Street, which continues west of US 460 as SR 628. At the eastern town limit, SR 31 veers north onto Birch Island Road. The state highway becomes Rolfe Highway when it enters Surry County right before the highway crosses the Blackwater River. SR 31 heads northeast through town of Dendron and the hamlet of Elberon. The state highway runs concurrently with SR 10 (Colonial Trail) while passing through the town of Surry. North of Surry, SR 31 passes Smith's Fort Plantation before reaching the Scotland terminal of the Jamestown Ferry across the James River. The Jamestown Ferry is the only crossing of the James River between the James River Bridge in Newport News and the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge near Hopewell.[5]

SR 31 resumes at the Jamestown terminal of the ferry at Glass House Point in James City County. The state highway, which heads northeast as Jamestown Road, passes Jamestown Festival Park and has an intersection with SR 359, a short connector between SR 31 and Colonial Parkway. SR 31 leaves Jamestown and crosses over Powhatan Creek and Lake Powell. The state highway passes through the suburban area surrounding Williamsburg before reaching its northern terminus at SR 199 (Humelsine Parkway) just inside the city limits. Jamestown Road continues northeast as SR 5 beyond SR 199; westbound SR 5 joins SR 199 in a short concurrency west toward Richmond.[5]

History

The first piece of the present SR 31 to exist as a state highway ran from Williamsburg southwest to Jamestown. It was a spur of State Route 9[6] (roughly current U.S. Route 60), and was present in the initial 1918 system.[7] SR 9 was renumbered as State Route 39 in the 1923 renumbering, and the Yorktown spur became State Route 392.

The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry began operations February 26, 1925 from the Jamestown end of SR 392 to Scotland across the James River.[8]

The road on the Scotland side was added to the state highway system from 1926 to 1931, at first as an extension of State Route 351,[9] but soon as part of SR 392. In the 1928 renumbering the route was renumbered State Route 510.

Capitol Landing Road from Williamsburg to Magruder was added to the state highway system in 1932[10][11] as State Route 542.[12] Later that year, both SR 510 and SR 524 became State Route 31, connected by Francis Street in Williamsburg (U.S. Route 60, formerly State Route 39).

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1][2][3]kmDestinationsNotes
SussexWakefield0.000.00 US 460 (South County Drive) / SR 628 (West Main Street) – Courtland, Suffolk, WaverlySouthern terminus
SR 617 (Rocky Hock Road) – Bacons Castleformer SR 196 east
Surry​14.6523.58
 SR 10 west (Colonial Trail West) – Hopewell, Richmond		South end of concurrency with SR 10
Surry15.6925.25
 SR 10 east (Colonial Trail East) / SR 626 (Oakwood Drive) – Suffolk, Smithfield, Chippokes Plantation State Park		North end of concurrency with SR 10
James River20.1032.35 Jamestown-Scotland Ferry
James City​
 SR 359 (Jamestown Festival Parkway) / SR 614 north (Greensprings Road) – Jamestown Settlement, Colonial Parkway, Historic Jamestowne
​

 SR 681 (Sandy Bay Road) to SR 5 west – Dunbar, truck route to SR 615
​ SR 615 (Ironbound Road)
City of Williamsburg24.5639.53 SR 5 (Jamestown Road) / SR 199 – Downtown Williamsburg, William & Mary Hall, Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center via Parkway, Busch GardensNorthern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. 1 2 "Daily Traffic Volume Estimates Jurisdiction Report: Sussex County" (PDF). Virginia Department of Transportation. 2009. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  2. 1 2 "Daily Traffic Volume Estimates Jurisdiction Report: Surry County" (PDF). Virginia Department of Transportation. 2009. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  3. 1 2 "Daily Traffic Volume Estimates Jurisdiction Report: James City County" (PDF). Virginia Department of Transportation. 2009. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  4. ↑ "New Numbers of Va. Highways Effective July 1". The Richmond Times-Dispatch. May 10, 1933. p. 5. Retrieved January 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. 1 2 Google (2011-07-09). "Virginia State Route 31" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
  6. ↑ "Minutes of Special Meetings of the State Highway Commission held in Culpeper, Amelia, and Richmond, Virginia, May 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, 1920" (PDF). (103 KB), page 6
  7. ↑ "Minutes of the First Meeting of the State Highway Commission Created Under the Acts of 1922, Held July 5th, 1922, Richmond, Va" (PDF). (150 KB), Proposed "State Highway System" for Virginia, as Recommended by the State Roads Committee, January, 1918
  8. ↑ VDOT: Jamestown-Scotland Ferry
  9. ↑ "Minutes of a Special Meeting Held by the State Highway Commission at Roanoke, and Richmond, Virginia, May 5, and 7, 1926" (PDF). (237 KB), pages 19 and 22
  10. ↑ "Minutes of the Meeting of the State Highway Commission of Virginia, Held in Marion, May 25, 1932" (PDF). (149 KB), page 10
  11. ↑ "Minutes of the Meeting of the State Highway Commission of Virginia, Held in Richmond, June 10, 1932" (PDF). (212 KB), page 15
  12. ↑ "Minutes of the Meeting of the State Highway Commission of Virginia, Held in Richmond, June 10, 1932" (PDF). (212 KB), page 6
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