Unpaved segment of VA 91

[oscar]

I plan to be down in southwest Virginia later this week, and was thinking about taking VA 91 between Business US 19 in Frog Level and the westernmost fragment of VA 42. (I'll also drive the central fragment of VA 42 southwest of Roanoke on the way home.) That part of VA 91 includes a few miles of unpaved road. Any reason to worry about driving it in a regular passenger car, assuming the weather and my schedule cooperate?

I've driven that car on some unpaved mountain roads, such as Utah's Moki Dugway (UT 261), so I doubt there will be an issue on a primary Virginia route, even if it's the only unpaved one in the state.

[seicer]

It's just gravel. You won't have any problem.

[Mapmikey]

The photo gallery I have from 2007 here - http://www.vahighways.com/va91/va91tazewell.htm - shows 10 different photos of the unpaved part (near the bottom of the page).

If the weather is fine you should have no issues.

This photo is near the top of the mountain:


Mapmikey

[cpzilliacus]

Is this the only part of Virginia's primary system network that is unpaved?

I have certainly never driven on any road in Virginia with a route number less than 600 that was not paved with macadam or asphalt or (somewhat rarely) concrete.

[Mapmikey]

Is this the only part of Virginia's primary system network that is unpaved?

I have certainly never driven on any road in Virginia with a route number less than 600 that was not paved with macadam or asphalt or (somewhat rarely) concrete.

Technically there are some VA 3xx segments that are not paved.

This was the south end of the farm segment of VA 331 near Port Republic in 2007 (might be paved now though).


Mapmikey

[Bitmapped]

I drove all of VA 91 last summer.  The unpaved part is a good gravel road.  You won't have any problems.

[cpzilliacus]

Is this the only part of Virginia's primary system network that is unpaved?

I have certainly never driven on any road in Virginia with a route number less than 600 that was not paved with macadam or asphalt or (somewhat rarely) concrete.

Technically there are some VA 3xx segments that are not paved.

This was the south end of the farm segment of VA 331 near Port Republic in 2007 (might be paved now though).

Why in Sam Hill is this road even on the Virginia primary highway network?

[Mapmikey]

The farm is part of James Madison University.

VA 331 is unique in having a quite separate existence from the rest of VA 331 on JMU's campus in Harrisonburg.

Other colleges have their 3xx route close-in or in the case of community colleges, each location gets a different number...

The separate farm segment was put into the system in 1940 when plenty of normal primary routes were still unpaved...

Mapmikey

[oscar]

As planned, yesterday I drove VA 91 from Frog Level to VA 42, including the unpaved segment, which was a little rough and washboard-y in places, but not a bad drive. I was actually more annoyed with the paved segment north of the unpaved segment, which didn't have a center line and was not quite two lanes wide, so you had to watch for oncoming traffic and slow down/pull over as needed. The segment between the unpaved segment and VA 42 has a center stripe, and is a much better ride.

As I mentioned in another thread, I also planned to (and did) travel the southernmost VA 42 segment east of VA 91, as well as the center segment between US 460 and VA 311, thereby clinching the entire route since I'd already covered the northern segment between VA 269 and US 11. Rather than taking the secondary road north from VA 42/VA 311 to I-64, I turned northwest on VA/WV 311 to I-64, which crosses the VA/WV state line a few times before ending at I-64 near White Sulphur Springs WV.

There is an error US 311 marker on VA 311's Crows segment at the VA 159 junction, about 5 miles south of the WV state line. Photos taken but not yet pulled off my camera.

[cpzilliacus]

The farm is part of James Madison University.

VA 331 is unique in having a quite separate existence from the rest of VA 331 on JMU's campus in Harrisonburg.

That all makes sense.  I was not aware of the JMU connection. 

Thank you for the clarification.

[Mapmikey]

There is an error US 311 marker on VA 311's Crows segment at the VA 159 junction, about 5 miles south of the WV state line. Photos taken but not yet pulled off my camera.

That is a relatively recent development...

Mapmikey