U.S. Route 219

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U.S. Route 219

Length:

535 mi (861 km)

South end:

US 460 in Rich Creek, VA

North end:

I-90/Thwy in W. Seneca, NY

United States Numbered Highways
Spur of US 19
List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

U.S. Route 219 is a spur of U.S. Route 19. It runs for 535 miles (861 km) from West Seneca, New York at Interstate 90 to Rich Creek, Virginia at U.S. Route 460. Its passes through the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia.

1 Route description
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Route description

[edit] Virginia

U.S. Route 219 starts in Rich Creek at U.S. Route 460, and heads northeast to the West Virginia state line. Until the early 1980s, US 219 continued southwest with US 460 from Rich Creek, re-entering West Virginia to end at U.S. Route 19 in Bluefield.

US 219 was initially added to the state highway system in the early 1920s as State Route 231. It became State Route 216 in the 1928 renumbering and State Route 124 in the 1933 renumbering, finally becoming part of the extended US 219 (along with State Route 8, now U.S. Route 460, west of Rich Creek) in the late 1930s.

none	Spurs of SR 23 1923-1928	SR 232 >
< SR 215	District 2 State Routes 1928-1933	SR 217 >

[edit] West Virginia

US 219 enters West Virginia in Peterstown at the split of US 219 and WV 12. US 219 then heads northeast into Union. US 219 continues through Greenbrier County running through the towns of Ronceverte, Lewisburg, where it intersects US 60, and Falling Spring. US 219 continues north into Pocahontas County and through the towns of Hillsboro and Marlinton. US 219 runs north into Randolph County and begins its dual certification with US 250. They both serve the towns of Huttonsville, Mill Creek, and Beverly, where US 250 splits from US 219 at their intersection with US 33. Route 219 continues through the towns of Elkins and Montrose until it enters Tucker County. From here, US 219 runs through the towns of Parsons and Thomas. US 219 heads north into rural Preston County and exits West Virginia into Garrett County, Maryland.

[edit] Maryland

Main article: U.S. Route 219 in Maryland

US 219 enters Maryland near Backbone Mountain on the West Virginia border, crosses US 50 and enters the town of Oakland. It crosses Maryland Route 135 and Maryland Route 39 in Oakland, before passing Deep Creek Lake. After traveling through Accident it intersects Interstate 68 east of Friendsville, providing access to Morgantown, West Virginia, Frostburg and Cumberland. US 219 runs concurrently with I-68 at Exit 14A and exits I-68 at Exit 22. US 219 crosses the Mason-Dixon Line, the Pennsylvania border, south of Salisbury, Pennsylvania.

[edit] Pennsylvania

From near Grantsville, Maryland north to Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, US 219 is Corridor N of the Appalachian Development Highway System. From Somerset, Pennsylvania to just south of Carrolltown, Pennsylvania, US 219 is a limited-access highway. From Carrolltown US 219 runs largely as a two-lane road to DuBois, Pennsylvania, through which it runs as Brady Street, and then returns to a two-lane road after a junction with Interstate 80. US 219 runs directly through the towns of Brockway, Ridgway, and Johnsonburg before reaching Wilcox, where PA Route 321 splits and heads for the town of Kane. US 219 continues north as a two-lane road until reaching Bradford, where it becomes a limited-access highway and remains so until reaching the New York border. On August 9, 2007, Pennsylvania State Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler unveiled four signs along US Route 219 that dedicated the route from Maryland to Cambria County, Pennsylvania as the "Flight 93 Memorial Highway".^[1]

[edit] New York

Main article: U.S. Route 219 in New York

US 219 enters Western New York from Pennsylvania south of the Village of Limestone in the Town of Carrollton in Cattaraugus County. Proceeding northward, the highway splits into the main route and a "business route." The main route merges with (Interstate 86/New York State Route 17 at Exit 23 north of Limestone and splits from I-86 at Exit 21 in the city of Salamanca. The business route crosses the Allegheny River and the Southern Tier Expressway and joins New York State Route 417 to the City of Salamanca. Separating from NY 417, the business route rejoins with the main US 219 and turns northward through the rest of Cattaraugus County, passing through Peth, Great Valley, Ellicottville, and Ashford Hollow before crossing the Cattaraugus Creek and entering Erie County. At Springville, New York, US 219 becomes a divided, limited-access highway. As such, it continues north through half of the county, terminating at exit 55 of the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90) near the west town line of West Seneca south of the City of Buffalo. Before joining the Thruway, US 219 runs parallel to it for about one mile. The interchange is set up as such that drivers can exit and re-enter the Thruway via US 219 without leaving the expressway.

[edit] Southern Expressway Extension

This section contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

See also: U.S. Route 219 in New York#Future

When the US 219 freeway in New York was constructed, it was to continue south to at least Salamanca, but budget issues caused the project to be halted at Springville. Currently, the southern end of the US 219 freeway terminates at New York State Route 39. The freeway ends abruptly, with barriers forcing traffic to merge towards the exit ramp to NY 39. One can see the road lanes continue for about 200 feet past the exit ramp and then drop off, what was supposed to be the beginnings of a bridge over 39.

Plans are in place to extend the US 219 expressway from Springville to Salamanca, a distance of about 28 miles. Construction on the first stretch of this highway, from Springville to Cattaraugus County Route 12 in Ashford, began in April 2007, and is expected to take at least three years, because of the bridge construction over the Zoar Valley gorge. [2] Once finally completed, the freeway will provide quick and efficient access from Buffalo to Interstate 86, and on to Bradford PA.^[2]