I-195
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I195 view
Photo: The erroneously posted beginning of I-195 (Mapmikey taken 4-6-06)
From:  City of Richmond
To:  City of Richmond
Total Length: 3.60 miles  
ROUTE LOG
I-64 EB (exit 187), I-95 (exit 79): 0 - 0
I-64 WB (exit 186): 0.69 - 0.69
[NB only] VA 197: 0.24 - 0.93
Henrico-Richmond Line: 0.07 - 1.00
Richmond-Henrico Line: 0.37 - 1.37
US 33, US 250: 0.65 - 2.02
[NB only] VA 6: 0.65 - 2.67
VA 76, VA 147: 0.22 - 2.99
[SB only] Rosewood Ave: 0.30 - 3.29
VA 195: 0.31 - 3.60
Creation: The idea of I-195 appears in the June 1968 CTB. The Henrico Board of Supervisors requested the Highway Commission obtain an interstate spur from I-64/95 in the Bryan Park area along the railroad and terminating near VA 161 Boulevard. The CTB agreed to do this and even authorized giving up I-295 mileage west of US 1 north of Richmond if needed to secure interstate funding. Per Scott Kozel's website, approval came from the USDOT in 1969.
Dotted lines appeared beginning on the 1972 Official. Per Kozel, I-195 from I-64/95 to VA 76 opened in July 1975.
Adjustments: I-195 was opened from VA 76 to its VA 195 transition at the McCloy St overpass (northwest of the VA 146 connector to VA 76) in Feb 1976 (Kozel).

1975 Official
I-195 open from VA 76 to I-64/95
1975 Official
1977 Official
I-195 extended to VA 195
1977 Official

Improvements:  I-195 was built as 6-lanes from I-64/95 to VA 76 and 4-lanes from VA 76 to the VA 195 transition.
Posted:  Fully posted; A couple original narrow shields with the state name can be found in Richmond.
For a period up through about 2006, I-195 had specific BEGIN shields but they were in the wrong location - Meadow St overpass east of VA 161 Boulevard. Today the VA 195 BEGIN shields in the other direction are still there but there is no posted delineation at the correct location of the I-195/VA 195 transition. There are tenth-mile markers and 3.2 has VA 195 shield and 3.3 has an I-195 shield.
Multiplexes:  None
Legislative names:  None
Other names:  None
Scenic Byway:  No segments
Comments: When the I-295 Richmond Beltway was redesigned to also bypass Petersburg in the mid 1970s, the plan also included building an interstate freeway west from the current south end of I-295 to I-85. Then I-85 would be re-routed onto this new freeway segment. Current I-85 north to Petersburg would have become I-385. I-295 would become I-95 and the original I-95 north of I-64/95 would've been an extension of I-195. Virginia never did build the freeway segment west back to I-85...
The railroad running down the center of a chunk of I-195 goes back to the 19th century.
I-195 has no exit numbers but does now have mile markers that are a continuation of VA 195's mile markers.
Some photos of I-195 from the late 1970s can be seen here and a few construction photos can be found here.
In April 1977 (CTB), the City of Richmond petitioned the CTB to cancel the I-295 beltway. On pdf page 36 the petition mentions studying extending I-195 to I-85 in Petersburg as a better alternative, should traffic volumes warrant.


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Page last modified 20 December 2014