Virginia State Route 337 - History

History

By 1939, SR 337 existed along 21st Street and Hampton Boulevard from Granby Street (part of State Route 27, State Route 170 after 1940) near downtown Norfolk north to the Newport News Ferry at Sewell's Point. This route and its extension to downtown, using Hampton Boulevard, 21st Street, Granby Street, Princess Anne Road, Bank Street, Main Street, and Commercial Place to the Portsmouth Ferry in downtown Norfolk, had been designated as a state highway in 1932, to be maintained by Norfolk with aid from Virginia under Chapter 415, Acts of 1932. It was initially part of U.S. Route 17, but in the early 1930s US 17 was rerouted west of Norfolk via the James River Bridge, bypassing both ferries. The part south of 21st Street and Granby Street was still SR 27, but the rest became SR 337 (or was unnumbered for several years).

In 1942 or 1943, U.S. Route 460 was moved onto its current alignment between downtown Suffolk and South Norfolk, using U.S. Route 58, the Norfolk Bypass (State Route 13, now U.S. Route 13), and former State Route 170 (moved then to a more easterly alignment between Great Bridge and downtown Norfolk). The part of former US 460 from Main Street and Washington Street in downtown Suffolk to Park Avenue and Bainbridge Boulevard in South Norfolk became an extension of SR 337. In South Norfolk, SR 337 then followed US 460 and former SR 170 north on Bainbridge Boulevard and northeast on Poindexter Street. US 460 continued northeast on Wilson Road, but SR 337 replaced SR 170 northwest on Liberty Street into Norfolk and north on Main Street over the old Berkley Bridge. In downtown Norfolk, it continued along former SR 170 on Main Street and Bank Street, merging with SR 170 at Brambleton Avenue. The routes continued together along Bank Street, Princess Anne Road, and Granby Street to the former south end of SR 337 (21st Street).

An alternate route was formed in 1947 in South Norfolk and Norfolk by request of those two cities. The route was completely locally maintained, receiving none of the state funds that were typically assigned to numbered routes in cities. It began at the intersection of Bainbridge Boulevard and Poindexter Street, and traveled north on Bainbridge Boulevard and northeast on Main Street to end at Liberty Street. This alternate became the main route in 1953, with a corresponding transfer in state funding. The portion of Liberty Street between Poindexter Street and Main Street thus became unnumbered, while the piece of Poindexter Street that had carried SR 337 continued to carry U.S. Route 460. However, at the same time, a new alternate route was created, entirely concurrent with US 460 (Poindexter Street, Wilson Road, Campostella Road, and Brambleton Avenue) between Bainbridge Boulevard in South Norfolk and Bank Street in downtown Norfolk. It was eliminated by 1957.

When the Berkley Bridge replacement was being planned, it was temporarily assigned the State Route 337 Alternate designation in 1951, pending the completion of the "Norfolk Traffic Study". The bridge opened in 1952, and in 1953 SR 337 was rerouted to use it. The new alignment began at the intersection of Main and Liberty Streets and used Liberty and State Streets to reach the bridge. On the downtown side it exited onto City Hall Avenue, rejoining the former SR 337 at Bank Street. Part of the former SR 337 was deleted, but U.S. Route 58 continued to use Main Street between Commercial Place (the Portsmouth Ferry approach) and the north end of the old Berkley Bridge until the Downtown Tunnel opened. Southbound traffic, at least after the tunnel opened, used Liberty Street from the south end of the bridge to State Street.

Also in 1953, the new U.S. Route 58 bypass of downtown Suffolk (now U.S. Route 58 Business) was completed. US 58 was rerouted onto the bypass, and SR 337 was extended west from Main Street in downtown Suffolk (where US 58 had previously turned) along Washington Street to the west end of the bypass, where it continues to end today.

In 1957, once the relocation of Bank Street (now St. Pauls Boulevard) and reconstruction of Monticello Avenue north of Brambleton Avenue was completed, the numbered routes in Norfolk were modified. Coming off the bridge into downtown Norfolk, SR 337 instead turned east at City Hall Avenue, running onto Tidewater Drive along with U.S. Route 58. At Virginia Beach Boulevard, where US 58 turned east, SR 337 turned west, turning north on Monticello Avenue (U.S. Route 460) and west on 21st Street to rejoin its former route.

In 1962, SR 337 was rerouted off 21st Street to use the rebuilt Brambleton Avenue. It turned off Tidewater Drive at Brambleton (there U.S. Route 460), running west and northwest to the new Midtown Tunnel interchange. It turned north there onto Hampton Boulevard, rejoining the old route at 21st Street. 21st Street was dropped from the state highway system; the piece of Virginia Beach Boulevard that had been used by SR 337 was reassigned to U.S. Route 58, which ran concurrent with the new SR 337 between Bank Street (St. Pauls Boulevard) and the Midtown Tunnel.

The final changes in the alignment of SR 337 were caused by Interstate Highways. Interstate 564 replaced part of State Route 170, which had shared a terminus with SR 337 at the Naval Air Station Norfolk, in 1979. The northern section, from the end of I-564 along Admiral Taussig Boulevard to SR 337, became an extension of SR 337. In the late 1980s, Interstate 464 was completed to Interstate 264 between the Downtown Tunnel and Berkley Bridge, resulting in a reconfiguration of the interchange where SR 337 had joined I-264 to cross the bridge. Both bridge ramps now serve Berkley Avenue, which SR 337 now uses to get between the bridge and State Street. A direct connection was also built at that time from the Jordan Bridge to the intersection of Bainbridge Boulevard and Poindexter Street, in conjunction with a full interchange at I-464. The section on Park Avenue was removed, along with the concurrency with U.S. Route 460 and State Route 166, in favor of the direct connection.