U.S. Route 220

U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a north–south U.S. Route in the eastern United States. The highway extends for 680 miles (1,090 km) from an intersection with US 1 in Rockingham, North Carolina, to a junction with Chemung Street in Waverly, New York, just north of its interchange with New York State Route 17 (NY 17; future Interstate 86 or I-86). Some sections of the route are part of the Appalachian Development Highway System's Corridor O as well as I-73 in North Carolina. US 220 is a spur route of US 20; however, the two routes do not intersect nor do they connect via other spurs of US 20.

US 220 was assigned in 1926 as part of the establishment of the U.S. Highway System. At the time, it extended from Cumberland, Maryland, to the New York–Pennsylvania border at Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania. One year later, US 220 was realigned north of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to connect to the New York state line at South Waverly; this supplanted most of what was originally designated U.S. Route 711. US 220 was extended south through Virginia by 1935 and to its current southern terminus by 1941.

U.S. Route 220 in Pennsylvania

U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a U.S. Highway that runs from Rockingham, North Carolina north to Waverly, New York. In the state of Pennsylvania, the route runs 248 miles (399 km) from the Maryland border in Cumberland Valley Township, Bedford County northeast to the New York border in South Waverly, Bradford County a short distance south of the national northern terminus in New York. Through the state, US 220 passes through the cities and towns of Bedford, Altoona, State College, Lock Haven, Williamsport, and Towanda. US 220 is concurrent with the entire completed Pennsylvania segment of Interstate 99 (I-99) between I-70/I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) in Bedford and I-80 near Bellefonte. US 220 is also a freeway around Bedford, along the I-80 concurrency between Bellefonte and Mill Hall, between Mill Hall and Jersey Shore, from the western end of Williamsport to near Halls (where it is concurrent with I-180 east of downtown Williamsport), and near the New York border. The remainder of US 220 in Pennsylvania is mostly a two-lane surface road.

U.S. Route 220 in Virginia

In the U.S. state of Virginia, U.S. Route 220 (US 220) is a major north-south state highway that extends from the North Carolina state line through Roanoke to the West Virginia state line. South of Roanoke, US 220 is a four-lane highway within the proposed Interstate 73 corridor. US 220 narrows to two lanes north of Roanoke, connecting to Interstate 64 near Clifton Forge and then paralleling the Appalachian Mountains north-northeasterly in the direction of Cumberland, Maryland.

Route description

US 220 enters Virginia just north of the community of Price, North Carolina. From the state line to Roanoke, US 220 is a four-lane mix of freeway bypasses and 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) at-grade rural highway. Some high traffic areas and non-divided stretches have speed limits of 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) or lower. In particular, the stretch through Boones Mill is not divided; the town is also well known as a speed trap. This segment follows the same general alignment as the Norfolk Southern Railway's Winston-Salem District, opened in 1892 by the Roanoke and Southern Railway.