State Route 244
Columbia Pike
Length:	8.19 mi[1][2] (13.18 km)
Formed:	1933
West end:	SR 236 in Annandale
East end:	SR 27 at the Pentagon
Virginia Routes < SR 243 SR 245 > Primary - Secondary - History

State Route 244, also known as Columbia Pike, is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is a four-lane road that runs from State Route 236 (Little River Turnpike) in Annandale, Fairfax County east to State Route 27 at the Pentagon in Arlington County. A mile is the name of a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... km redirects here. ... Annandale is an unincorporated place located in Fairfax County, Virginia. ... The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located at 48 N. Rotary Road, Arlington, Virginia 22211 (Map). ... This article is about the idea of state highways State Highway, and is more formally known as Route 139 State highway, and state route are terms that usually apply to numbered highways that are primarily administered and financed by a state government in countries that are divided into states. ... A state of the United States is any one of the fifty subnational entities referred to as a state (although four officially favor the term commonwealth) which, along with the District of Columbia, under the provisions of the United States Constitution form the United States of America. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Virginia State Highway 236 is an east-west surface route in Northern Virginia, between Virginia State Highway 400 in Alexandria and U.S. Highway 29 in Fairfax. ... Annandale is an unincorporated place located in Fairfax County, Virginia. ... Official website: http://www. ... 1945 map of the Pentagon road network, including what is now Route 27 State Route 27 is a freeway in Arlington County, Virginia, United States, and is the portion of Washington Boulevard east and south of U.S. Route 50. ... The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located at 48 N. Rotary Road, Arlington, Virginia 22211 (Map). ... This article is the current U.S. Collaboration of the Week. ...

History

Columbia Pike dates to 1808 when the U.S. Congress chartered the Columbia Turnpike Company to build a road through the newly-formed Alexandria County, then in the District of Columbia. The purpose of this road was to provide access westward from the new Long Bridge that predated the 14th Street Bridge complex. The road was built in 1809 on a pre-existing cow path as the Washington Graveled Turnpike and was also known as the Washington Road, the Columbian Road, and the Arlington Turnpike. Seal of the U.S. Congress. ... Alexandria County was part of the original 10-mile square created as the District of Columbia in 1791 pursuant to Article I, Section 17, of the United States Constitution. ... ... The northbound bridge (Arland D. Williams Jr. ... The 14th Street Bridge is a complex of three bridges which carry Interstate 395 and U.S. Highway 1 traffic across the Potomac River, connecting Arlington, Virginia and Washington DC. The bridge is also known for being the location of the Air Florida Flight 90 airplane crash on January 13...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture paved the road with concrete in 1928 from the bridge west to Palmer's Hill in Barcroft as part of an experimental testing program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ... Pavement in American English refers to the durable surface for an area intended to sustain traffic, which can be either vehicular traffic or foot traffic. ... The most common form of concrete consists of Portland cement, construction aggregate (generally gravel and sand) and water. ... Lake Barcroft is a census-designated place located in Fairfax County, Virginia. ...

Columbia Pike was first numbered as State Route 720 in 1930 from U.S. Route 1 near the Long Bridge west for around 1 mile (1.6 km). In the 1933 renumbering, it was renumbered State Route 244 and the numbering was extended to first to State Route 7 at Bailey's Crossroads and then, between 1934 and 1937, further west to its current terminus at SR 236 in Annandale. By 1944, SR 244 was truncated to the Pentagon; the piece curving away from the original alignment became a state highway in 1964. U.S. Route 1 in Virginia runs north-south through South Hill, Petersburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Alexandria (where it is known as Richmond Highway) on its way from North Carolina to the 14th Street Bridge into the District of Columbia. ... Virginia State Highway 7 (also known simply as Route 7) is a major surface highway and busy commuter route in Northern Virginia. ... Baileys Crossroads is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. ... The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located at 48 N. Rotary Road, Arlington, Virginia 22211 (Map). ...

Contemporary Columbia Pike

The road is a center for Arlington's immigrant community, with many stores, restaurants, and other businesses representing south Arlington's cultural diversity. Also, a weekly farmer's market is held each Sunday during the warmer months of the year.

Arlington County is beginning to implement a revitalization program that aims to make Columbia Pike south Arlington's "main street", while avoiding the gentrification that has occurred along the Wilson Boulevard corridor. Recent efforts by the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization include the replacement of older traffic signals with newer and more aesthetic ones, and the addition of brick texture to crosswalks. County officials also teamed up with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to increase mass transit service along the corridor. This new program called Pike Ride remodeled bus stops and doubled bus frequency along Columbia Pike. Additionally, the Arlington County and Fairfax County Boards of Supervisors has approved plans of bringing railed streetcars to Columbia Pike along an either a 5 or 6 mile stretch from the Pentagon to the Skyline area. [1] [2] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Jackson Graham Building, where Metro headquarters is located. ... a historic postcard showing electric trolley-powered streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, where Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888 A streetcar is a railway vehicle designed to carry passengers on tracks, usually laid in city streets. ...

References

1. ^ 2005 Virginia Department of Transportation Jurisdiction Report - Daily Traffic Volume Estimates - Fairfax CountyPDF
2. ^ 2005 Virginia Department of Transportation Jurisdiction Report - Daily Traffic Volume Estimates - Arlington CountyPDF

• Social History of Columbia Heights

To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

External links

• Virginia Highways Project: VA 244
• Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization
• Arlington's Urban Villages- Columbia Pike
• Washington Post article about proposed street cars along Columbia Pike