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| 29th Infantry Division Memorial Highway | ||||
US 29 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byVDOT | ||||
| Length | 248.0 mi[1] (399.1 km) | |||
| Existed | 1931–present | |||
| Tourist routes | ||||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | ||||
| Major intersections | ||||
| North end | ||||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Virginia | |||
| Counties | City of Danville,Pittsylvania,Campbell,City of Lynchburg,Amherst,Nelson,Albemarle,City of Charlottesville,Greene,Madison,Culpeper,Fauquier,Prince William,Fairfax,City of Fairfax,City of Falls Church,Arlington | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a major north–south route in thecommonwealth ofVirginia. It covers 248.0 miles (399.1 km) from theNorth Carolina border at the city ofDanville to theKey Bridge inWashington DC. US 29 roughly bisects Virginia into eastern and western halves and, along withInterstate 81 (I-81) andUS 11 in western Virginia andI-85/I-95 as well asUS 1 farther east, provides one of the major north–south routes through the commonwealth.
Since 1928, when theVirginia General Assembly passed Senate Bill 64, much of US 29 in Virginia is known as theSeminole Trail.[2][3] ThroughNorthern Virginia, it is known as theLee Highway, except inFalls Church, where it acts as the east–west divider for city streets and is called North or South Washington Street,Arlington, where it was renamed Langston Boulevard in July 2021 in honor ofJohn Mercer Langston, andFairfax County, where it was renamed to Route 29 in 2023.[4] On April 7, 1993, the Virginia General Assembly officially designated the entire length of US 29 from the North Carolina border to the Potomac River as the "29th Infantry Division Memorial Highway" in honor of the29th Infantry Division, which, along with the1st Infantry Division, formed the spearhead of the U.S. infantry that landed on the morning of June 6, 1944, onOmaha Beach inNormandy as part of theliberation of France duringWorld War II. In addition, the name of this highway serves to honor many members of theVirginia Army National Guard who serve as part of this National Guard Division today. Signs indicating this designation have been placed periodically on both sides of US 29.
For most of its route through Virginia, US 29 has been constructed to be at least four lanes along its route, with the two short exceptions being where the highway passes throughManassas National Battlefield Park, where it is two lanes wide for approximately three miles (4.8 km), and throughFairfax andArlington counties, where it is sometimes wider. It can also be six and eight lanes in much of northernAlbemarle County.[clarification needed]
US 29 in Virginia has 11bypasses around various cities and towns. These bypasses are around Danville,Chatham,Gretna,Hurt–Altavista,Lynchburg–Madison Heights–Amherst,Lovingston,Charlottesville,Madison,Culpeper,Remington, andWarrenton. In addition,I-66 serves for the most part as a bypass ofManassas and alsoFairfax and Arlington.
US 29 enters Virginia inDanville fromNorth Carolina. WhileUS 29 Business (US 29 Bus.) continues into Danville, US 29 joins the Danville Expressway andUS 58 around the east side of Danville, enteringPittsylvania County and remerging with the business route north of town inBlairs. The interchange where US 29 joins US 58 has ramps that enter North Carolina and ramps that enter Virginia, complete with welcome signs from each state. There is a cloverleaf ramp that dips into North Carolina from Virginia and then crosses the state lines back into Virginia. Along the southeastern quadrant of the Danville Expressway between the North CarolinaUS 360, the route is designated as part ofunsignedState Route 785 (SR 785) for 7.39 miles (11.89 km).[5] Createdc. 2000, SR 785 is numbered in contradiction to the conventional system of numbering in the state, where primary routes are numbered less than 600 and secondary routes at or above this number. It is numbered as such because it is part of the plannedI-785, which will run south along US 29 toI-85 inGreensboro, North Carolina, and is only one of two routes of this type. The other isSR 895 inRichmond for similar reasons.

US 29 then continues north where it has business routes forChatham,Gretna, andHurt while bypassing them before enteringCampbell County.

The next major city isLynchburg. US 29 joins theUS 460 bypass andUS 501 east of Lynchburg, splitting from them just before enteringAmherst County. US 29 again bypassesMadison Heights andAmherst as an expressway, entersNelson County, passes the town ofLovingston, and enters intoAlbemarle County.
For the next few miles of US 29's route north of Lovingston, it enters mountainous terrain in the far western Piedmont close to theBlue Ridge Mountains. Several miles later, the route then continues north toCharlottesville, intersectingI-64 and bypassing downtown Charlottesville. US 29 rejoins its congested business route just north of downtown, continuing north as a six-lane road through a commercial area north of the city. Past Charlottesville, it converts back to four lanes and continues throughGreene andMadison counties and then turns northeast towardCulpeper.US 15 joins US 29 around Culpeper and heads toWarrenton, enteringNorthern Virginia.

US 29/US 15 is joined byUS 17 south of Warrenton inFauquier County and continues around the town, with US 17 splitting off. US 29/US 15 continues mostly eastward toGainesville where US 15 splits and US 29 intersectsI-66 for the first time. US 29 continues intoFairfax County, where it passes along the boundary of the city ofFalls Church, where the road has two different names. The portion of the street running northbound is located in the city of Falls Church is called Washington Boulevard and has differentstreet addresses than the other side running southbound in Fairfax County, where it was named the Lee Highway until 2023 after which it only uses the route number. The road continues intoArlington, having intersected I-66 five more times before crossing into Washington, DC.
US 29 originated in 1931 as a replacement ofUS 170 from Danville to Lynchburg. It was then added toSR 18 between Lynchburg and Charlottesville and toSR 28 between Charlottesville and Culpeper. The route originally ended at US 15 in Culpeper. In 1934, US 29 was extended to run concurrently with US 15 to Warrenton, and withUS 211 to Washington DC (US 211 now ends atUS 29 Bus. in Warrenton).[6]
The portion of what is now US 29 from the North Carolina state line to Warrenton was named the Seminole Trail by an act of theVirginia General Assembly on February 16, 1928. Although it was apparently not part of theNational Auto Trails initiative early in the 20th century, the Seminole Trail is believed to have originated as part of an effort to promote the road as a through route toFlorida, home of theNative AmericanSeminole tribe. Many road maps of the 1930s and 1940s list the Seminole Trail on highways in Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, and ultimately Florida.[7]
In an October 4, 2006, meeting of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, theUniversity of Virginia athletic department and basketball coachDave Leitao suggested that Seminole Trail in Charlottesville should be renamed Cavalier Way. The board did not act on this suggestion.[8]
The Gainesville interchange project took place at the interchange between the Lee Highway (US 29) and I-66 at the junction with Linton Hall Road (SR 619) starting in July 2011, with board planning on it dating back to 2006. The project was worth $230 million (equivalent to $315 million in 2024[9]) and included interchanges at many other heavily traveled roads in the area due to the rapid growth in development inGainesville andHaymarket, along with it being a major area drivers departure off of I-66 to travel towards other major cities along the Lee Highway, such as Charlottesville. The reasoning for this inclusion of other interchanges is because of the lack of road development to accommodate the new heavy traffic in the area. The plan included asingle-point urban interchange design and bridges over train tracks to ease traffic flow on the Lee Highway onto I-66. The Lee Highway was also widened around the interchange to combat this issue. What was once a two-lane country road is now a four-lane suburban highway. Land was acquired by theVirginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) at the intersection of US 29 and Linton Hall Road/SR 619. The entire project was completed and opened to the general public on July 9, 2015.
The Charlottesville interchange project took place at the intersection of US 29 and Rio Road/SR 631, with construction starting in mid-2015 and ending in December 2016.[10] Adiamond interchange was built, with two lanes from each direction of US 29, deemed the "local lanes", exiting from main traffic and meeting Rio Road at a traffic signal. The project cost $69.7 million (equivalent to $89 million in 2024[9]).
The Lynchburg interchange project took place at the intersection of US 29/US 460/US 501 and Odd Fellows Road, with construction starting in January 2016 and ending in August 2018. A diamond interchange was constructed at a cost of about $30 million (equivalent to $36.8 million in 2024[9]). The interchange was built to reduce congestion on Candlers Mountain Drive/US 501 and to make access to Mayflower Drive/SR 128 easier.[11][12] As part of the construction,roundabouts were constructed on Odd Fellows Road at its intersection with Mayflower Drive, west of the interchange, and Top Ridge Road, east of the interchange.[13]
A western US 29 bypass around Charlottesville was originally proposed in 1979. Engineering and environmental work on the project began in late 1984, and the location was approved by theCommonwealth Transportation Board in 1990.

Acquisition ofright-of-way for the project began in 1991 and continued until 2001. No additional right-of-way has been purchased since then. VDOT owns 36 properties that are currently leased and occupied.
The bypass was projected to be 6.2 miles (10.0 km) long, from the US 250 bypass to current US 29 north of the South ForkRivanna River. It would have been two lanes in each direction with no other exits, to decrease possible interruption of commercial and residential growth in the area.
In 1998, a lawsuit was filed challenging the project, alleging that the environmental impact review of the project violated theNational Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In 2001, a federal court ruled in favor of VDOT on the suit but required the agency to complete a supplementalenvironmental impact statement (EIS) addressing the road's impacts on the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir and the mitigation to minimize those impacts. That document was completed and accepted by theFederal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 2003.
In 1996, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) inserted language into its Transportation Improvement Program that prevented additional funds from being allocated to construction of the western bypass. That language was removed by the MPO Policy Board in July 2011.[14]
All activities on the US 29 Charlottesville bypass project were suspended in March 2014 following notification from the FHWA that a new supplemental EIS would be required before the environmental process could be completed. The new supplemental EIS was required due to the history of litigation and controversy associated with the project.[15]
The Charlottesville City Council voted on May 6, 2018, to add a long-range development plan for a diamond interchange at the intersection of US 29 and Hydraulic Road/SR 743 at an estimated cost of $63 million to $80 million (equivalent to $77.3 million to $98.1 million in 2024[9]).[16]
All exits are unnumbered.
| County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City ofDanville | 0.0 | 0.0 | Continuation intoNorth Carolina;SR 785 begin | |||
| 0.1 | 0.16 | – | South end of US 58 overlap | |||
| 0.7 | 1.1 | – | Corning Drive | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| 1.3 | 2.1 | – | Elizabeth Street | |||
| 3.7 | 6.0 | – | ||||
| 5.6 | 9.0 | – | ||||
| 6.4 | 10.3 | – | River Park Drive –Dan Daniel Memorial Park | |||
| 7.2 | 11.6 | – | North end of concurrency with US 58; future northern terminus of I-785;SR 785 end | |||
| Pittsylvania | | 9.6 | 15.4 | — | ||
| | 15.4 | 24.8 | — | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| | 16.0 | 25.7 | — | North end of freeway; southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| Chatham | 23.4 | 37.7 | — | South end of expressway; northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| | 24.8 | 39.9 | — | |||
| | 25.7 | 41.4 | — | |||
| | 27.0 | 43.5 | — | North end of expressway | ||
| | 33.0 | 53.1 | — | South end of expressway; northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| | 35.0 | 56.3 | — | |||
| | 37.2 | 59.9 | — | North end of expressway; southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| | 41.6 | 66.9 | — | South end of expressway | ||
| | 44.7 | 71.9 | — | |||
| Campbell | | 48.6 | 78.2 | — | ||
| | 49.5 | 79.7 | — | |||
| Altavista | 50.8 | 81.8 | — | |||
| | 51.9 | 83.5 | — | North end of expressway | ||
| Yellow Branch | 61.3 | 98.7 | ||||
| | 67.9 | 109.3 | South end of freeway section; south end of concurrency with US 460 | |||
| City ofLynchburg | 68.6 | 110.4 | University Boulevard | Southbound entrance only | ||
| 69.4 | 111.7 | — | University Blvd. not signed northbound; SR 670 not signed southbound | |||
| 70.0 | 112.7 | — | South end of concurrency with US 501 | |||
| 71.2 | 114.6 | — | Odd Fellows Road | |||
| 72.3 | 116.4 | — | North end of freeway section; north end of concurrency with US 501 | |||
| Campbell | | 74.3 | 119.6 | — | South end of freeway; north end of concurrency with US 460 | |
| Amherst | | 76.0 | 122.3 | — | ||
| | 80.0 | 128.7 | — | |||
| Sweet Briar | 87.0 | 140.0 | — | |||
| Amherst | 88.9 | 143.1 | — | |||
| 90.3 | 145.3 | — | North end of freeway;folded diamond interchange; SR 739 is former southern terminus ofSR 150 | |||
| | 92.2 | 148.4 | ||||
| Nelson | | 96.7 | 155.6 | FormerSR 150 | ||
| | 97.1 | 156.3 | Former northern terminus ofSR 150 | |||
| Colleen | 100.7 | 162.1 | South end of concurrency with SR 56 | |||
| Lovingston | 105.0 | 169.0 | North end of concurrency with SR 56 | |||
| 105.8 | 170.3 | |||||
| Woods Mill | 112.3 | 180.7 | South end of concurrency with SR 6 | |||
| | 116.2 | 187.0 | North end of concurrency with SR 6 | |||
| Albemarle | Crossroads | 125.5 | 202.0 | FormerSR 230 north | ||
| | 134.2 | 216.0 | — | South end of freeway; I-64 exit 118 | ||
| | 134.8 | 216.9 | — | |||
| | 136.2 | 219.2 | — | South end of concurrency with US 250 | ||
| | 136.5 | 219.7 | — | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| | 136.9 | 220.3 | — | Leonard Sandridge Road –University of Virginia | Northbound exit and entrance only | |
| | 137.7 | 221.6 | — | |||
| City ofCharlottesville | 138.2 | 222.4 | — | North end of freeway; north end of concurrency with US 250 | ||
| Albemarle | | 140.2 | 225.6 | Interchange | ||
| 144.3 | 232.2 | |||||
| Greene | Ruckersville | 152.1 | 244.8 | |||
| Burtonville | 155.2 | 249.8 | formerSR 243 west | |||
| Madison | | 161.4 | 259.7 | South end of concurrency with SR 230 | ||
| | 161.9 | 260.6 | North end of concurrency with SR 230; south end of concurrency with SR 231 | |||
| | 163.3 | 262.8 | North end of concurrency with SR 231; northbound exit and southbound entrance | |||
| | 163.4 | 263.0 | formerSR 27 | |||
| | 164.2 | 264.3 | formerSR 230 | |||
| | 165.3 | 266.0 | ||||
| Culpeper | | 179.0 | 288.1 | — | South end of expressway | |
| | 179.9 | 289.5 | — | South end of concurrency with US 15 | ||
| | 181.4 | 291.9 | — | |||
| | 183.7 | 295.6 | ||||
| Inlet | 185.2 | 298.1 | — | North end of expressway | ||
| | 192.1 | 309.2 | ||||
| Fauquier | | 194.5 | 313.0 | |||
| | 194.8 | 313.5 | ||||
| Opal | 198.9 | 320.1 | Interchange; south end of concurrency with US 17 | |||
| | 203.6 | 327.7 | ||||
| Warrenton | 205.3 | 330.4 | Interchange | |||
| 206.5 | 332.3 | Interchange; north end of concurrency with US 17 | ||||
| Buckland | 213.0 | 342.8 | ||||
| Prince William | | 214.0 | 344.4 | North end of concurrency with US 15 | ||
| Gainesville | 217.0 | 349.2 | Interchange | |||
| 217.8 | 350.5 | Interchange; I-66 exit 43 | ||||
| Manassas National Battlefield Park | 221.8 | 357.0 | ||||
| Fairfax | Bull Run | 224.7 | 361.6 | |||
| Centreville | 226.3 | 364.2 | I-66 exit 52 | |||
| 227.2 | 365.6 | |||||
| Willow Springs | 228.6 | 367.9 | ||||
| | 230.3 | 370.6 | Interchange | |||
| Jermantown | 232.3 | 373.9 | ||||
| City ofFairfax | 233.1 | 375.1 | South end of concurrency with US 50 | |||
| 234.0 | 376.6 | |||||
| 235.8 | 379.5 | Fairfax Circle (traffic circle with cut-through); north end of concurrency with US 50; south end of concurrency with SR 237 | ||||
| Fairfax | | 236.0 | 379.8 | |||
| Merrifield | 236.7 | 380.9 | ||||
| 238.7 | 384.2 | |||||
| | 239.0 | 384.6 | ||||
| City ofFalls Church | 241.5 | 388.7 | ||||
| 241.8 | 389.1 | |||||
| Arlington | East Falls Church | 242.4 | 390.1 | North end of concurrency with SR 237 | ||
| Glebewood | 244.6 | 393.6 | ||||
| Waverly Hills | 244.7 | 393.8 | South end of concurrency with SR 309; no left turn northbound | |||
| 244.8 | 394.0 | North end of concurrency with SR 309 | ||||
| Cherrydale | 245.5 | 395.1 | Eastern terminus of SR 309 | |||
| Lyon Village | 246.1 | 396.1 | I-66 exit 72 | |||
| 246.2 | 396.2 | Western terminus of SR 124 | ||||
| Rosslyn | 247.0 | 397.5 | I-66 exit 74; southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||
| 247.6 | 398.5 | I-66 exit 74 | ||||
| 247.7 | 398.6 | No southbound entrance | ||||
| Potomac River | 248.0 | 399.1 | Continuation into theDistrict of Columbia | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
| Previous state: North Carolina | Virginia | Next state: District of Columbia |