ARLINGTON COUNTY VIRGINIA AND TURNBERRY TOWER

 

Arlington County is a county in the state of Virginia. The county is in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C.  In 2020, the county's population was estimated at 238,643, making Arlington County the sixth-largest county in Virginia by population and the largest unincorporated community in the United States.  The Turnberry Tower, located in the Rosslyn neighborhood, is a 26-story high-rise, and is the tallest condominium building in the Washington D.C. Metro.

TURNBERRY TOWER

EAST RIVER MOUNTAIN TUNNEL

The East River Mountain Tunnel is a 5,142-foot vehicular tunnel that carries Interstate 77 and U.S. Route 52 through East River Mountain between the communities of Bluefield, West Virginia and Rocky Gap, Virginia. The East River Mountain Tunnel is one of only two land vehicular tunnels in the United States that cross a state line, the other being the Cumberland Gap Tunnel (Kentucky and Tennessee). The state line falls almost exactly across the midpoint of the tunnel, with 51% of the tunnel residing in West Virginia and the remaining 49% on the Virginia side.

SOUTHWEST VIRIGINA IS CLOSER TO 9 OTHER STATE CAPITALS THAN IT IS TO RICHMOND

Every state, other than Alaska and Hawaii, has at least some part of their territory that is closer to some other state’s capital. In most instances, a state may have locations that are closer to one or two other state’s capitals than its own.

Twelve states have places that are closer to four other state capitals. Four states – New York, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia – all have places that are closer to six other capitals.

Only three states hit the closer-to-seven-other-state-capitals mark. There’s a tiny part of western North Carolina, along the Tennessee-Georgia line, a little piece of southwest New York along the Pennsylvania line, and of course, Southwest Virginia.

Only Southwest Virginia has places that are closer to not only 8, but also 9 other state capitals.

The city of Norton, most of Wise County, about half of Scott County, and most of Lee County are all closer to 8 other state capitals, a mark no other state can match.

Then there is the city of Ewing in Lee County. Ewing is closer to 9 other state capital cities than it is to its own.

Mileage from Ewing, Virginia to Capital Cities
Richmond, VA	350
Frankfort, KY	129
Charleston, WV	164
Nashville, TN	177
Atlanta, GA	201
Columbia, SC	233
Columbus, OH	234
Indianapolis, IN	257
Raleigh, NC	286
Montgomery, AL	329

WRONG WAY CONCURRENCY

Since highways in the United States and Canada are usually signed with assigned cardinal directions based on their primary orientation, it is possible for a stretch of roadway shared between two highways to be signed with conflicting, even opposite, cardinal directions in a wrong-way concurrency. For example, near Wytheville, Virginia, there is a concurrency between I-77 (which runs primarily north–south, as it is signed) and Interstate 81 (which runs primarily northeast–southwest, but is also signed north–south).

Because of the way they intersect, the section of Interstate where they overlap has the two roads signed for opposite directions, leading to the town's nickname of "Which-Way-Ville". 

One might simultaneously be on I-77 northbound and I-81 southbound, while actually traveling due westbound.

[Note: I happened to be driving northbound on I-81 in Virginia for the first time last year. When we reached the point where I-81 and I-77 joined, SIRI told me to continue southbound on I-77, rather than continue northbound on I-81. I immediately assumed that I must have gotten into the wrong lane somewhere, but fortunately I continued on and eventually saw a sign that indicated I was on I-81 northbound. Coming back the opposite way a few days later, I was able to figure out what happened because there was a sign where I-81 and I-77 merged that indicated that I-77 northbound exit was 10 miles ahead].

There is more. U.S. Route 11 and U.S. Route 52 are in concurrency with each other and with the I-77/I-81 concurrency.

Since U.S. Routes 11 and 52 are in concurrency, but signed in opposite directions, these two routes also form a wrong way concurrency. Therefore, I-77, I-81, U.S. 11 and U.S. 52 form a double wrong-way concurrency. This is the only double wrong-way concurrency in the U.S.

Wait, think I am done yet? No way. How can U.S. 52 be signed north-south when it is an even numbered route and even numbered routes are east-west routes? The answer is that although U.S. 52 is an east-west route, the Virginia segment of Route 52 is signed such that U.S. 52 North corresponds to the general westward direction of the highway and vice-versa.

Confused? The pictures and diagram below may help.