View south at the north end of SR 70 at US 58 in Jonesville
SR 70 begins at the Tennessee state line in the valley formed by Blackwater Creek. It follows that creek past Blackwater, but soon leaves it to ascend Powell Mountain, which it crosses at Hunter Gap. SR 70 comes down off that mountain and then rises again, crossing Wallen Ridge before descending again and crossing the Powell River on Sewell Bridge. From there it heads north across a relatively flat area, ending at US 58 in the eastern part of Jonesville.[2]
History
The road from Jonesville south via Blackwater to Tennessee was part of the Trail of the Lonesome Pine, an auto trail from Detroit to Florida. In 1924, a group of citizens from far western Virginia appeared before the State Highway Commission, asking them to take it over as a state highway. A member of the Tennessee Legislature stated that be was sure that it would be designated a state highway in Tennessee if Virginia took over their part.[3] The northernmost two miles (3 km) were added later in 1924[4] as SR 1010, and a further 8 miles (13 km) were added in 1927.[5] SR 1010 was renumbered to SR 103 in the 1928 renumbering, and the final 3.5-mile (5.5 km) piece from Blackwater to Tennessee was added that year.[6]
In the 1933 renumbering, SR 103 south of Jonesville was combined with the remaining piece of SR 11, which ran from Jonesville northeast to Lebanon along present U.S. Route 58 Alternate (and its old alignments) and SR 71, to form State Route 64. (SR 11 had continued to Bluefield, West Virginia along US 19.)[7] In late 1940, most of SR 64 was renumbered as SR 70, running from Tennessee to St. Paul, to match Tennessee's SR 70. North of St. Paul, SR 64 replaced the former SR 70 (now SR 63), while SR 64 remained on its old alignment from St. Paul southeast to Dickensonville, and switched places with SR 71 to end at Hansonville. Additionally, while SR 64 had gone from Pennington Gap towards Big Stone Gap via Woodway, the new SR 70 replaced SR 66 via Dryden; the old SR 64 from Woodway towards Big Stone Gap became SR 65.[8]
US 58 Alt. was formed in the early 1950s, and replaced all of SR 70 east of Jonesville, truncating it to its current length.[9] In 1954, SR 70 became a secondary route, SR 798, over objections.[10][11] It was added back to the primary system in 1962, after being reconstructed, including the building of a new bridge over the Powell River.[12]
^State Highway Commission of Virginia (July 20, 1954). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond, VA: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 29.
^State Highway Commission of Virginia (August 3–5, 1954). "Minutes of the Meeting of the State Highway Commission of Virginia: Conference at Mountain Lake and Inspection Trip in that Area" (PDF) (Report). Mountain Lake, VA: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 3.
^State Highway Commission of Virginia (June 21, 1962). "Minutes of Meeting" (PDF) (Report). Richmond, VA: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 14.
External links
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For the former State Route 70 see State Route 70 Virginia 1933 1940 State Route 798 Lee County Virginia redirects here The number is now used on a minor 0 3 mile 1 0 5 km dead end street off State Route 642 State Route 70 SR 70 is a primary state highway in Lee County Virginia running from the Tennessee state line to U S Route 58 in Jonesville Its continuation in Tennessee also numbered State Route 70 continues south to the North Carolina state line at North Carolina Highway 208 State Route 70Route informationMaintained by VDOTLength11 88 mi 1 19 12 km Existed1940 presentTouristroutesVirginia BywayMajor junctionsSouth endSR 70 near Kyles Ford TNNorth endUS 58 in JonesvilleLocationCountryUnited StatesStateVirginiaCountiesLeeHighway systemVirginia RoutesInterstate US Primary Secondary Byways History HOT lanes SR 69 SR 71 Contents 1 Route description 2 History 3 Major intersections 4 References 5 External linksRoute description Edit View south at the north end of SR 70 at US 58 in Jonesville SR 70 begins at the Tennessee state line in the valley formed by Blackwater Creek It follows that creek past Blackwater but soon leaves it to ascend Powell Mountain which it crosses at Hunter Gap SR 70 comes down off that mountain and then rises again crossing Wallen Ridge before descending again and crossing the Powell River on Sewell Bridge From there it heads north across a relatively flat area ending at US 58 in the eastern part of Jonesville 2 History EditThe road from Jonesville south via Blackwater to Tennessee was part of the Trail of the Lonesome Pine an auto trail from Detroit to Florida In 1924 a group of citizens from far western Virginia appeared before the State Highway Commission asking them to take it over as a state highway A member of the Tennessee Legislature stated that be was sure that it would be designated a state highway in Tennessee if Virginia took over their part 3 The northernmost two miles 3 km were added later in 1924 4 as SR 1010 and a further 8 miles 13 km were added in 1927 5 SR 1010 was renumbered to SR 103 in the 1928 renumbering and the final 3 5 mile 5 5 km piece from Blackwater to Tennessee was added that year 6 In the 1933 renumbering SR 103 south of Jonesville was combined with the remaining piece of SR 11 which ran from Jonesville northeast to Lebanon along present U S Route 58 Alternate and its old alignments and SR 71 to form State Route 64 SR 11 had continued to Bluefield West Virginia along US 19 7 In late 1940 most of SR 64 was renumbered as SR 70 running from Tennessee to St Paul to match Tennessee s SR 70 North of St Paul SR 64 replaced the former SR 70 now SR 63 while SR 64 remained on its old alignment from St Paul southeast to Dickensonville and switched places with SR 71 to end at Hansonville Additionally while SR 64 had gone from Pennington Gap towards Big Stone Gap via Woodway the new SR 70 replaced SR 66 via Dryden the old SR 64 from Woodway towards Big Stone Gap became SR 65 8 US 58 Alt was formed in the early 1950s and replaced all of SR 70 east of Jonesville truncating it to its current length 9 In 1954 SR 70 became a secondary route SR 798 over objections 10 11 It was added back to the primary system in 1962 after being reconstructed including the building of a new bridge over the Powell River 12 Major intersections EditThe entire route is in Lee County Locationmi 1 kmDestinationsNotes 0 000 00 SR 70 south RogersvilleTennessee state line southern terminusJonesville11 8819 12 US 58 Wilderness Road Northern terminus1 000 mi 1 609 km 1 000 km 0 621 miReferences Edit a b c 2005 Virginia Department of Transportation Jurisdiction Report Daily Traffic Volume Estimates Lee County PDF 230 KiB Google August 7 2014 Virginia State Route 70 Map Google Maps Google Retrieved August 7 2014 State Highway Commission of Virginia January 8 9 1924 Minutes of Meeting PDF Report Richmond VA Commonwealth of Virginia pp 3 4 State Highway Commission of Virginia April 10 11 1924 Minutes of Meeting PDF Report Richmond VA Commonwealth of Virginia p 6 State Highway Commission of Virginia March 11 1927 Minutes of Meeting PDF Report Richmond VA Commonwealth of Virginia p 7 State Highway Commission of Virginia August 9 10 1928 Minutes of Meeting PDF Report Richmond VA Commonwealth of Virginia p 12 Virginia Highways Project VA 64 State Highway Commission of Virginia October 10 1940 Minutes of Meeting PDF Report Richmond VA Commonwealth of Virginia p 12 Virginia Highways Project US 58 ALT State Highway Commission of Virginia July 20 1954 Minutes of Meeting PDF Report Richmond VA Commonwealth of Virginia p 29 State Highway Commission of Virginia August 3 5 1954 Minutes of the Meeting of the State Highway Commission of Virginia Conference at Mountain Lake and Inspection Trip in that Area PDF Report Mountain Lake VA Commonwealth of Virginia p 3 State Highway Commission of Virginia June 21 1962 Minutes of Meeting PDF Report Richmond VA Commonwealth of Virginia p 14 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Virginia State Route 70 Route map KML file edit help Template Attached KML Virginia State Route 70KML is from Wikidata Virginia Highways Project VA 70 lt SR 109 Spurs of SR 101923 1928 SR 1011 gt lt SR 102 District 1 State Routes1928 1933 SR 104 gt Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Virginia State Route 70 amp oldid 1017152925, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
