U.S. Route 501 Regional Coalition
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501 Map Data

Corridor View

 

Regional View
Regional View

 

Accident Summary
Accident Summary

In the past 4 years, from January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2007, for every three (3) miles along route 501 there was an average of:

- 5.767461 accidents
- 3.228858

These numbers have decreased from the numbers for January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2003:

- 6.3 accidents
- 3.9 injuries

Details 
(January 1, 2004 - December 31, 2007)

Source:  Virginia Department of Transportation

 

Top 10 Projects


PDF: 501 Regional Coalition Improvement Projects

 

 
Coalition members unanimously recommend that highway funds be invested in completing these projects as quickly as possible:

Top 10 Projects:
  1. Construct Rts. 501/29/460 Lynchburg/Rustburg Bypass (Southern Leg)
  2. Straighten curves from Eagle Eyrie to Coleman Falls (Bedford)
  3. Construct eastward bypass from Rt. 360 to Rt. 501 (Halifax)
  4. Construct interchange at Rt. 501 & Rt. 221 (Lynchburg)
  5. Construct southern bypass from Rt. 501 to Rt. 58 (Halifax)
  6. Widen road from Judith Creek bridge to Eagle Eyrie to 36', provide truck climbing lane northbound (Bedford)
  7. Four-lane Rt. 501 from just south of Rt. 615 to Campbell County (Halifax)
  8. Four-lane Rt. 501 from Brookneal to Winfall (Campbell)
  9. Improve Rt. 501 from Boonsboro to Eagle Eyrie through phased projects (Bedford)
  10. Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 628: construct right and left turn lanes (Halifax)

More Projects:

  1. Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 642: construct right and left turn lanes (Halifax)
  2. Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 633: (northern intersection) provide northbound left turn lane (Campbell)
  3. Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 933: provide northbound left turn lane (Campbell)
  4. Evaluate Intersections of Rts. 652, 635, with 501 in Gladys (Campbell)
  5. Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 360 in town of Halifax: signalize and install left and right turn lanes (Halifax)
  6. Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 633 (southern intersection) provide southbound left turn lane (Campbell)
  7. Intersection of Rt. 501 and Rt. 917 (Northern entrance) provide northbound left turn lane (Campbell)
  8. Sydnor-Jennings Elementary School (approximately 0.5 mile south of Volens); construct right and left turn lanes (Halifax)
  

Work in Progress

1. Approximately 2 miles south of the village of Gladys, replace an existing culvert/bridge that crosses a stream.

Completed Projects
Completed Projects Map

1. Eight locations between Lynchburg and Big Island. Relocated ditch lines and widened and paved the shoulders.

2. Intersection of US Route 501 and Swinging Bridge Road (Route 605)

3. Intersection of US Route 501 and Lewis Ford Road (Route 643)

4. Intersection of U.S. Route 501 and Route 603 in Volens.

5. Safety improvements from Candlers Mountain Road to Boonsboro Road. (Pavement Markers).

6. A center turning lane will be added to US Route 501 for northbound traffic turning left onto Browns Mill Road. (Route 686)

7. Intersection of Route 40 at Four Forks.

8. Improvements along Route 501/460 as part of the new Route 460 Bypass.

9. Safety projects at the intersection of Routes 501 and 24 in Campbell County.

10. Engineering/environmental studies for Brookneal Bypass.

The case for improving 501

  • U.S. 501 is a vital traffic corridor serving one of the nation’s most active areas of economic development—the region from Interstate 81 near Lexington to the Research Triangle in North Carolina.
     
  • 501 serves a key role in the economic life of this region; thousands of trucks traverse it daily, supporting businesses and industries that are already located here. The road’s condition also impacts the economic development potential of the land around it. Consequently, many area companies have begun to lend their support to improvement efforts.

     Times have changed since 501 was built, but the road hasn’t. Back then, engineers couldn’t have foreseen the weight and size of modern cars and trucks, or how fast they would go. The highway needs improvement to accommodate these changes.
     
  • U.S. 501 improvements have not kept pace with traffic growth, causing safety problems that affect hundreds of thousands of Virginia residents (as well as visitors to the region).
     
  • Representatives from every county and city along the 501 corridor have been working together with private industries and businesses to form a regional consensus list of improvement priorities.
     
  • All localities in the 501 Regional Coalition agree that a regional, long-term solution is needed—ultimately four-laning from I-81 to the North Carolina border. (The existing corridor in Bedford County is not conducive to four-laning, but does need significant safety improvements. An alternate corridor would need to be identified to continue four-laning to I-81.)
     
  • Current and future generations of Virginians stand to benefit from regional thinking and from the regional improvement of U.S. 501.

The U. S. Route 501 Coalition Top Priorities

  1. Construct Rt. 501/29/460 Lynchburg/Campbell Bypass (Southern leg).  (Lynchburg)
  2. Reconstruct roadway to provide standard shoulders and guardrails between Rt. 612 and .5 mi north of Rt. 672.  (Bedford)
  3. Construct eastward bypass from US Rt. 360 to Rt. 501.  (Halifax)
  4. Construct improvements at Rt. 501 & Rt. 221.  (Lynchburg)
  5. Construct southern bypass from Rt. 501 to Rt. 58.  (Halifax)
  6. Reconstruct roadway section from Rt. 672 to Rt. 652 to provide standard shoulders and guardrails.  (Bedford)
  7. Four-lane Rt. 501 from just south of Rt. 615 to Campbell County.  (Halifax)
  8. Four-lane Rt. 501 from Brookneal to Winfall.  (Campbell)
  9. Reconstruct roadway section from Rt. 652 to Rt. 761.  (Bedford)
  10. Intersection of Route 501 and Route 628: construct right and left turn lanes. (Halifax)
  11. Intersection of Route 501 and Route 642: construct right and left turn lanes.  (Halifax)
  12. Intersection of Route 501 and Route 633: (northern intersection) provide northbound left turn lane.  (Campbell) 
  13. Intersection of Route 501 and Route 933: provide northbound left turn lane.  (Campbell) 
  14. Evaluate Intersections of Routes 652, 635 with 501 in Gladys.  (Campbell) 
  15. Intersection of Route 501 and State Route 360 in town of Halifax: signalize and install left and right turn lanes.  (Halifax)  
  16. Intersection of Route 501 and Route 633 (southern intersection) provide southbound left turn lane.  (Campbell)
  17. Intersection of Route 501 and Route 917 (northern entrance) provide northbound left turn lane.  (Campbell)
  18. Sydnor-Jennings Elementary School (approximately 0.5 miles south of Volens); construct right and left turn lanes.  (Halifax)
501’s problems have been evident for decades.

In fact, efforts to improve the roadway reach back half a century! On March 10, 1954, Lynchburg’s newspaper reported that “members of the Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce’s highway committee met with other road experts yesterday to come up with suggestions for improving the stretch between Lynchburg and Glasgow on Rt. 501.”

 "Examining bad curves" photo

EXAMINING BAD CURVES on the Lynchburg side of the foot of Locke's Mountain on Rt. 501 are (left to right) E.A. Ware, J.C. Oliver, A.T. Taylor and Carter Glass, Jr. The group will make a report to the Virginia Highway Commission on their findings of road conditions between Lynchburg and Glasgow on Rt. 501.
( Courtesy of the Lynchburg News, March 10, 1954.)


U.S. 501 Regional Coalition
PO Box 100, Rustburg, VA 24588
jmdavidson@co.campbell.va.us
(434) 332-9595