US 11/17/50/522, Winchester


US 50 eastbound follows an intuitively straight route through the city. US 50 westbound doesn't - it's signed with US 522 north all the way up to VA 37, even though that's almost definitely not the official route. These photos are westbound/northbound entering Winchester, west of I-81, at Apple Blossom Drive. US 17 still exists here (right up to meeting US 11), but has stopped being signed.

Gerrard St. WB between Kent St. and Cameron St. This functions as a U-turn jughandle for westbound/northbound traffic.


And Kent St. SB, ignoring US 522 and the nascent US 17.


Winchester's new cutouts look fantastic. This doesn't.


One more ugly assembly mixed in among the pretty cutouts, heading north into the center of the city. Let's put it this way - none of these routes is exactly following an ideal routing. One-way one-lane streets that haven't been paved in decades don't cut it, either. Winchester has full maintenance of the routes inside its boundaries, and is doing little beyond these signs. If they really want US 50 WB traffic to go this way, they should sign it more consistently.


Taken southbound, but out Lou Corsaro's window, so looking north in Winchester. This is only US 522 at this point, I'm almost certain.


The last westbound/northbound cutout reassurances I have for Winchester.


Now heading back south/east for more cutouty Winchestery goodness (if you count the overhead as being cutouts). These are definitely on the multiplex, so the TO is erroneous.


Gerrard St. EB (US 11 NB/US 50 EB/US 522 SB) with a choice of U-turning (and following US 11) onto Cameron St. back into the city, or else heading out of it. I think VA 7 is signed straight ahead to keep traffic out of downtown Winchester.


The unwieldy multiplex, all of which should not have TO shields, turns from Millwood Avenue onto Apple Blossom Drive (the intersections were reconfigured to leave Millwood one-way WB for a block) and then turns left onto Jubal Early Drive. There are plenty of reassurance assemblies, but they're all WRONG!


On the WB side, pointing along that one-way Millwood Ave.

Leaving Winchester, eastbound/southbound just before US 522 leaves US 50/17.


Somewhat outside Winchester, US 50/17 finally split and 17 gets to run alone for the first time. Seven miles later, it's multiplexed again with VA 55 and I-66.

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US 50 alone


Notice the anti-RIDOT black-background I-66 shield in the first photo. The multiplex then breaks up in the second photo, with RIDOT-friendly white-background shields this time. The left assembly in the second photo is on VA 236, and the right one is on US 29 SB/US 50 WB. Both are courtesy Lou Corsaro.


All state routes in Virginia are supposed to be signed with at least these white tags, including here the westbound frontage road for US 50, in the Falls Church area.


N. Meade St. NB at US 50, just after it left I-66, and then SB coming off of Fort Myer Dr. For traffic coming from the George Washington Memorial Parkway, this is a shortcut to the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the Georgetown area - follow US 50 West, exit immediately (the ramp comes in just to the right of these signs), make a right onto N. Lynn St. (the beginning of a one-way pair that takes traffic off of Meade) and suddenly you're at US 29.


I captioned this photo on the I-66 page, so go there via the link below to read more than I say here. US 50 EB is the ramp that I am taking to merge into I-66, which ends shortly thereafter in DC. The left sign appears to be put together by elves who disagree with each other and try to sabotage their work overnight.

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Onto US 11 alone
Onto US 17 alone
Onto US 522 alone

West Virginia on US 50
Into the District of Columbia on US 50
Onto VA 7
Onto I-81
Onto VA 123
Onto US 29
Onto I-66
Back to Virginia Roads
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