Arlington Boulevard

Arlington Boulevard is a major arterial road in Arlington County, Fairfax County, and the independent City of Fairfax in Northern Virginia in metropolitan Washington, DC, United States. It is designated U.S. Route 50 for its entire length and is part of the National Highway System.

Arlington Boulevard serves to bisect Arlington County into its northern and southern sections in popular parlance and for designation of street directional affixes according to the county's street-naming system.

Route

Arlington Boulevard begins in the east at an interchange with Interstate 66, Virginia State Route 110, and the George Washington Memorial Parkway (I-66 Exit 75) at the foot of the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge over the Potomac River to Washington, DC. It proceeds westward soon turning south along the edge of Fort Myer army post. Most of the junctions in this section are grade-separated interchanges. At an interchange with Washington Boulevard (VA 27), the road turns west again and continues in that direction for the remainder of its length.

Arlington Boulevard has interchanges with VA 120 (Glebe Road) in Arlington County and VA 7 (Leesburg Pike)/VA 338 (Hillwood Avenue)/SR 613 (Wilson Boulevard) at Seven Corners and I-495 (Capital Beltway) in Fairfax County.It terminates just inside Fairfax City at a traffic circle with US 29 (Lee Highway and Fairfax Boulevard) and Old Lee Highway. VA 237, which arrives at the circle as Lee Highway concurrent with US 29, also concurs with US 50 on Arlington Boulevard for less than 1/3 mile before turning south onto Pickett Road.

History

Arlington Boulevard has a shorter history than many other major arterial roads in the region and was only built in the first half of the 20th century in several stages beginning in the west in progressing east. The entire route was complete in 1938 with the final section around Fort Myer. The road was originally called Lee Boulevard but, with Lee Highway being another major route in Northern Virginia, the name was changed to Arlington Boulevard in the early 1950s.

Between 1935-37, the US 50 designation was attached to the road even though it had yet to be completed past Glebe Road, then VA 9. Before that, the road was VA 236, a number now assigned to the nearby Little River Turnpike.

The completed Arlington Boulevard's eastern terminus was originally the George Washington Memorial Parkway crossing in the District of Columbia at Columbia Island. With the completion of the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge in 1964, Arlington Boulevard's terminus was moved to its present location.

Arlington Boulevard is currently undergoing major improvements in Arlington County and "the long-range vision is to transform Arlington Boulevard into a parkway route through the County, one that is made safer for bus riders, bicyclists and pedestrians and one that serves as an appropriate gateway into the County." [ [http://www.arlingtonva.us/NewsReleases/Scripts/ViewDetail.asp?Index=1425 "Arlington Boulevard Improvement Process to Begin."] Arlington County Government Press Release. 15 November 2003.]

Notes

ee also

*U.S. Route 50 in Virginia
*Streets and highways of Arlington County, Virginia

External links

* [http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/EnvironmentalServices/dot/planning/studies/rt50/RT_50.pdf Arlington Boulevard Improvement Map]