A history of roads in Virginia: State system approved; WWI interrupts progress

Route 1 near Dumfries as it appeared (from left) in 1919, the early 1930s, 1989 and 2006.

During its 1918 session in Richmond, the General Assembly approved establishment of the first state highway system, a network of 4,002 miles for which construction and maintenance would be the direct responsibility of the highway commissioner and his staff.

Among the roads to be included was the old Valley Turnpike between Winchester and Staunton, which still was being operated as a toll road in 1918. As late as 1926, it remained the only hard-surfaced road of much distance.

The so-called Richmond-Washington Highway, the often muddy predecessor of U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 95, also was included in the system. At the time, it was gravel and soil except for a short section of concrete south of Alexandria and a short macadamized segment north of Richmond. As on many roads, cars frequently had to be pulled by other vehicles or by horses through swamp-like areas in rainy weather and in winter thaws. A fully paved Route 1 was not completed until 1927.

In 1918, the legislature also continued the convict road force, but limited its use to the new state system. In 1922, a law authorized the commission to expand the system each year by an amount of mileage equal to 21 /2 percent of the original system. Subsequent additions also were made by other legislative action.

In an extra session in 1919, the General Assembly made a significant change in commission organization. It was expanded from four to five members, who were to be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. More importantly, members were to be private citizens chosen to represent major geographic regions of the state. In addition, the governor was to appoint the commissioner, who would administer day-to-day operations.

Virginia’s road development was about to be interrupted, however, by circumstances far beyond the state’s borders with the outbreak of World War I. Coleman spoke of it this way:

“The year opened up with orders from the federal government restricting the use of all cars and the practical confiscation of road materials for war purposes. The declaration of war by this country was followed immediately by a serious labor shortage and a consequent increase in the cost of labor and materials. These restrictions and increased costs were largely on such road materials as steel, cement, stone, gravel, sand, bitumens, and so forth… Approximately 80 percent of the engineers and specially trained men of the department entered the service of their country… We are making every effort to meet this condition with the funds at hand.”

The state’s population had exceeded 2.3 million and more than 145,000 motor vehicles were registered.

Next up: Financing the roads

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