Virginia State Route 7

Virginia State Route7 (VA7) is a major primary state highway and busy commuter route in Northern Virginia, United States. It travels southeast from Downtown Winchester to Washington Street (SR400) in Downtown Alexandria. Its route largely parallels those of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail and the Potomac River. Between its western terminus and I-395, SR7 is part of the National Highway System. In 1968, the Virginia State Highway Commission designated the road as the "Harry Flood Byrd Highway" between Alexandria and Winchester to commemorate Harry F. Byrd Sr. (1887–1966).

Route description

SR7 begins downtown in the independent city of Winchester, as East Piccadilly Street at an intersection of Cameron Street (Route11/Route522), and it continues through the east end of the city, along North East Lane, National Avenue, and finally Berryville Avenue. SR7 exits the city into surrounding Frederick County, where its name changes to Berryville Pike and it becomes a four-lane highway. SR7 continues across the overpass of I-81 and then into Clarke County.

SR7 enters Clarke County from Frederick County, crossing Opequon Creek, and continues towards the town of Berryville. Business SR7 splits off just west of Berryville and passes through the town, while the main route bypasses the town to the north. Both routes cross Route340, and Business SR7 rejoins SR7 just east of the town. SR7 crosses the Shenandoah River and its name changes to the Harry Flood Byrd Highway. SR7 crosses the Loudoun–Clarke county line and the Appalachian Trail at the summit of Snickers Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

SR 7 descends out of the Blue Ridge Mountains and enters the rural western area of Loudoun County as Leesburg Pike at Snickers Gap. It intersects the northern end of the Snickersville Turnpike, and then it passes just north of the village of Bluemont (formerly Snickersville). Next SR7 curves just south of Jefferson County, West Virginia.

SR7 becomes a divided, limited-access highway with a speed limit of 55mph (89km/h) just west of Round Hill, where another Business SR7 splits off to serve the towns of Round Hill, Purcellville, and Hamilton, while the main road runs outside of the towns as a bypass. Business SR7 rejoins the main road at the interchange with SR9 in Paeonian Springs.

SR7 continues towards the well-developed eastern half of Loudoun County as a four-lane divided highway with some at-grade intersections, and it passes through Clarke's Gap in Catoctin Mountain. Another Business SR7 splits off on the western side of Leesburg, the county seat of Loudoun County. The main road continues as the Leesburg Bypass, and merges with the bypass of Route15 around the southern side of Leesburg, while the business route passes through town as Market Street. SR7 Business intersects with King Street (Business Route15) by the county courthouse in the center of Leesburg.

The Virginia Department of Transportation has plans to widen the section of SR7 between SR9 and East Market Street. However, due to highway budget restrictions, this project was put on hold in June 2008. In December 2014, construction began on the widening of this section of SR7. In addition to widening Westbound SR7 from two to three lanes, the median was modified to limit left turns into and out of Roxbury Hall Road, Leeland Orchard Road, White Gate Place, and Beechnut Place. In addition to the work on SR7, roundabouts were installed at the interchange between SR7 and SR9. The southern roundabout combined the separate intersections of the on and off ramps from SR7 and Colonial Highway/Dry Mill Road into one.

The SR7 bypass crosses the Washington & Old Dominion Trail just before the US15 bypass splits off from SR7 in eastern Leesburg, and then SR7 Bus. rejoins the main highway near the same location. SR7 continues on through the eastern half of Leesburg, with six lanes. It crosses Goose Creek and passes through Ashburn.

SR7 was rebuilt as a controlled-access highway through eastern portions of Loudoun County. To accomplish this, highway interchanges were constructed replacing the ordinary intersections at Belmont Ridge Road, Claiborne Parkway, Ashburn Village Boulevard, and Loudoun County Parkway while closing the intersection of Lexington Drive. A new overpass was constructed to carry Sycolin Road across SR7 in Leesburg, which opened to traffic on August 11, 2014. An additional interchange was also opened at Battlefield Parkway in Leesburg on June 28, 2021.

SR 7 continues as a controlled-access freeway and passes by numerous housing subdivisions, businesses, and shopping areas between an interchange with SR 28 and the Fairfax County line in Sterling.

SR 7 is named Leesburg Pike all the way across Fairfax County, where it is mainly a suburban route. It enters Fairfax County at the intersection of Dranesville Road (SR228), approximately half a mile west of the interchange with the Fairfax County Parkway (SR286) and Algonkian Parkway. It continues through Fairfax County, passing by subdivisions in Great Falls, Vienna, and Reston. Then it passes through Tysons, where it has interchanges with the Dulles Access and Toll Roads (SR267) and SR123. In between these two intersections, the Washington Metro's Silver Line runs through its median. After passing south of the Tysons Corner Center shopping mall, it interchanges with the Capital Beltway (I-495) in McLean and interchanges with I-66 a half mile (0.8km) west of the West Falls Church Metro Station.

SR7 enters Falls Church and becomes Broad Street and marks the north/south division for city streets. The road intersects with Washington Street (US29) in the city's center and crosses the Washington & Old Dominion Trail in the city's west end. SR7 re-enters Fairfax County as Leesburg Pike and passes through Seven Corners, named for the five roads that intersect, including Hillwood Avenue (SR338) and Arlington Boulevard (Route50), which is grade separated from the rest of the intersection. From there, it travels to Bailey's Crossroads, where it interchanges with Columbia Pike (SR244).

SR7 enters Alexandria from Fairfax County and briefly forms the border between Alexandria and Arlington County, and then interchanges with I-395. It continues as King Street through Alexandria, passing by Alexandria City High School, George Washington Masonic National Memorial, Union Station (Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express), and the King Street–Old Town Metro station. SR7 ends at the intersection of King Street and Washington Street (SR 400) in Old Town Alexandria, one quarter of a mile (0.4km) west of the Potomac River.

Future

Intersection at Baron Cameron Avenue

On August 19, 2019, a third left-turn lane was added from SR 7 west to Baron Cameron Avenue. This was in place of constructing a partial interchange at the intersection, for which SR 7 east lanes would travel under Baron Cameron Avenue; the project was never started, as the Virginia Department of Transportation failed to allocate sufficient funding for the project and lack of competition led to higher than forecasted bids for the Route 7 widening.

Fairfax County widening project

The Virginia Department of Transportation is working on widening SR 7 from four to six lanes and adding shared-use paths along SR 7 between Reston Avenue and Jarrett Valley Drive in Fairfax County. The project is expected to cost $313.9 million and should be completed by mid-2024.

Renaming the highway in Loudoun County

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted to rename the section of SR 7 within Loudoun County from Harry Byrd Highway to Leesburg Pike on December 7, 2021. This is in an effort to restore historical names and remove segregationist and Confederate symbols throughout the county.

Route 690 interchange

On May 1, 2026, a groundbreaking ceremony took place for a highway interchange with Virginia State Route 690. The project is meant to relive traffic on Virginia State Route 287 and to improve access to Mountain View Elementary and Woodgrove High School. The project's budget is $64.5 million with planned completion set for winter of 2029.

Major intersections

Special routes

Berryville business route

State Route 7 Business (SR7 Bus.) is a business route in the U.S. state of Virginia. It follows Main Street through downtown Berryville.

Purcellville business route

State Route 7 Business (SR7 Bus.) is a business route in the U.S. state of Virginia. It runs 9.28 miles (14.93km) from SR7 just west of Round Hill to SR9 just west of Leesburg, where the roadway continues east and south as SR699. The route provides access from the main route, SR7, to Purcellville. The route has multiple names along its length including Loudoun Street, Main Street, and Colonial Highway. The route was formed in two segments. The first one was formed in 1980, and the second one was formed in 1987.

The route's western end is at its parent route, SR 7. It then intersects New Cut Road and Main Street, both part of SR 719. It meets SR 7 once again at a diamond interchange. After that, the route meets State Route 287 (SR 287) at a roundabout. The route's eastern end is at State Route 9 (SR 9) (Charles Town Pike), where it goes east and south as SR 699 (Dry Mill Rd.).

The first segment of the route was commissioned in 1980 between SR 287 and SR 9. The second segment of the route was commissioned in 1987 between SR 287 and SR 7. These segments were both designated along the former alignment of its parent route, SR 7.

Leesburg business route

State Route 7 Business (SR7 Bus.) is a business route in the U.S. state of Virginia. It follows Market Street through downtown Leesburg. In downtown Leesburg, SR 7 Bus. intersects with US 15 Bus.

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