The George Washington Memorial Parkway follows the western shore of the Potomac River from Mount Vernon to the far end of the Beltway - except in Alexandria, because the city was well established along the riverside before the Parkway was conceived. That is where VA 400 comes in, connecting the two pieces of the Parkway through the city on, of all things, Washington Street. All photos on this page are northbound, except one.


Just west of the end of the Parkway at Mount Vernon, VA 235 comes down from US 1 to here with these misshapen shields.


Starting out from Mount Vernon. The Parkway is very similar to Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts - four lanes sometimes divided, with at-grade intersections but a couple of grade-separated ones as well.

Why the decimal?


One of my top 5 unique signs is this one. Caution, bridge monsters may reach down and eat your truck. Do Not Enter Fireplace. Keep both wheels on the ground to avoid collisions. Certain buses are allowed on a small piece of the Parkway for connectivity purposes.


Probably original stone arch bridge, for decorative purposes.


1960's white shield, 1970's black shield that looks like it's from Oregon. Now we're in Arlington.


SB at I believe Gibbon St. US 1 parallels VA 400, and all of the G.W. Parkway south of I-395.


Very wrong Interstate shields with very wrong fonts. It's amazing how one route can be signed so many different unusually wrong ways.


More shield wrongness approaching the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge. However, there are no ramps to or from I-66 here, so all traffic must go west. The next exit on US 50 WB would take one north to the Key Bridge and US 29.


More Parkway scenery from the northern section. North of Spout Run Parkway, it runs through a few parks and loses sight of the river for the most part.


Looking southward and eastward (especially downward) from a scenic rest stop parking lot.


The first shield has the wrong font, and the second has the wrong shape and an extra word. VA 123 runs southwest from here, but it also runs southeast to the Chain Bridge, which is technically North on 123.

To I-95
To US 1
Onto I-395
To I-66
Onto US 50
G.W. Parkway on Steve Anderson's dcroads.net
Back to Virginia Roads
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