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22-533: Geographically, downtown Roanoke is defined by the city as the area bound by Interstate 581 on the east, 5th Street to the west, the Norfolk and Western railroad tracks to the north and Day Avenue to the south. This area is the location of the central core and the historic Market District. An additional section of downtown is located south of Day Avenue, bound to the east by the Roy L. Webber Expressway , South Jefferson Street to

44-520: A rail line before reaching the diamond interchange at the southern terminus of Interstate 581 (I-581). US 220 runs concurrently with I-581 north to I-81 and south solo as the Roy Webber Expressway toward Rocky Mount . East of I-581 and US 220, SR 24 splits into a one-way pair that follows Bullitt Avenue eastbound and Jamison Avenue westbound. The two directions come together at 13th Street to form four-lane divided Dale Avenue, along which

66-540: A two-lane undivided road through the southern Bedford County community of Chamblissburg and Meads Store . SR 24 crosses Goose Creek shortly before intersecting SR 122 (Moneta Road) west of the hamlet of Body Camp . The state highway continues east as Shingle Block Road to its western intersection with SR 43 (Virginia Byway). SR 24 and SR 43 continue east along Glenwood Drive to their split at Gillespie , where SR 43 heads south as Leesville Road. SR 24 continues northeast as Wyatts Way, which enters Campbell County in

88-564: Is the site of Robert E. Lee 's final stand and surrender in the American Civil War . SR 24 begins at an intersection with US 221 and SR 116 at the southern edge of downtown Roanoke. SR 116 runs north–south along Jefferson Street; US 221 joins SR 116 north on Jefferson Street and heads west on two-lane undivided Elm Avenue. SR 24 heads east along Elm Avenue, which becomes a four-lane divided boulevard at SR 24's terminus. The state highway intersects Williamson Road and crosses over

110-603: The Appomattox Historic District as SR 131 . SR 24 heads northeast as a two-lane undivided road through Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, within which the highway crosses the headwaters of the Appomattox River . The state highway heads through the hamlet of Vera and passes through sections of Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest as the highway enters Buckingham County and becomes named Mt. Rush Highway. SR 24 passes through Sliders and crosses

132-427: The 11-story Patrick Henry Hotel in 1925 and the 12-story Colonial National Bank in 1927, which stood as the city's tallest through the 1970s. The downtown core saw growth and prosperity into the 1950s, but the opening of Crossroads Mall in 1961 led many Downtown shops to close as consumers chose to shop outside the city center. Despite the decline in retail sales, the 1970s saw a construction boom that reshaped

154-663: The Elm Avenue interchange to SR 419 near Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke County. US 220 continues as a four lane arterial road south of the SR ;419 interchange. Since the extension was not constructed to full Interstate Highway standards , it only carried the US ;220 designation and was named the Roy L. Webber Expressway after a former mayor of Roanoke . The primary interchange along

176-643: The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad line arrived in 1852. Rail infrastructure was damaged during the Civil War but restored in the Reconstruction era . The first municipal structure completed in present-day downtown was a jail. By 1881, the Shenandoah Valley Railroad announced that Big Lick would be the southern terminus of its line. This galvanized rapid growth and development, and Big Lick incorporated as

198-528: The central gathering place of the Downtown district. In the 1960s, the market began to decline, hitting its low point in the 1970s. The Design 79 plan was launched to revitalize and redevelop the market area. In the early 1990s, Downtown was reshaped with the completion in 1991 of the 21-story Dominion Tower (now the Wells Fargo Tower), the city's tallest structure; and the 12-story Norfolk Southern Building

220-417: The city of Roanoke in 1882. In 1886, citizens approved a $ 90,000 bond issue for infrastructure, which in turn fostered rapid expansion outward from the present-day intersection of Campbell Avenue and Jefferson Street. Between World Wars I and II, Downtown continued to prosper and expand. Many new structures were constructed in a variety of contemporary styles, including the nine-story Boxley Building in 1921,

242-587: The downtown Roanoke skyline , most prominently the Hotel Roanoke , the Wells Fargo Tower, the former Roanoke Shops of Norfolk Southern Railway , the Norfolk Southern tower, and St. Andrews Catholic Church. The Roanoke Star is also clearly visible. The road was planned to become part of an extension of I-73 in Virginia . In 1980, the highway was extended approximately 3.3 miles (5.3 km) from

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264-450: The expressway is at Wonju Street, which links Franklin Road ( US 220 Business [US 220 Bus]) and Colonial Avenue and Brandon Avenue ( US 11 ). This exit provides quick access to downtown Roanoke from residential areas in southwest Roanoke. Wonju Street is named after Wonju , South Korea , one of Roanoke's sister cities . The expressway was originally constructed with four lanes but

286-431: The following year. In the early 2000s, many former office buildings, stores, and warehouses in the neighborhood were converted into residential living units. Interstate 581 Interstate 581 ( I-581 ) is a spur of I-81 into Roanoke, Virginia , completely overlapping US Route 220 (US 220). It was planned to be connected to I-73. Future I-73 Corridor signs have been marked on I-581 on

308-617: The left-lane southbound merge. Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport , Valley View Mall , and Berglund Center are all located adjacent to I-581. The Hershberger Road ( SR 101 ) exit has become a focus of development. In addition to Valley View, two large hotels were constructed in the early 1980s with another group of hotels being constructed from the mid-1990s through the present. In 2002, local CBS affiliate WDBJ constructed its new facility, designed to broadcast in HDTV , on Hershberger Road near I-581. The southern end of I-581 offers views of

330-600: The main street of Vinton. The state highway heads east along Washington Avenue to the town limit of Vinton at Wolf Creek. SR 24 has an interchange with the Blue Ridge Parkway at a low gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains between Stewart Knob and Chestnut Mountain immediately before the highway enters Bedford County, where its name changes to Stewartsville Road. The state highway remains a four-lane divided highway to just east of Stewartsville . SR 24 continues east as

352-586: The middle of its curvaceous course between its crossing of the Big Otter River and the village of Evington . The state highway, now named Colonial Highway, intersects US 29 (Wards Road) at Yellow Branch on its way to Rustburg , which sits at the southern end of Long Mountain. SR 24 runs concurrently through the county seat with US 501 , which heads south as Brookneal Highway toward Brookneal and north as Campbell Highway toward Lynchburg . SR 24 continues northeast as Village Highway to Concord , where

374-670: The skyline. The 13-story Crestar Bank Building (now the BB&;T Bank Building) and the 16-story First National Exchange Bank Building (now the Carilion Administrative Services Building) were completed in 1973, while the 14-story Poff Federal Building was completed in 1976. Established in 1882, the Roanoke City Market is the oldest continuously operating farmers market in the Commonwealth of Virginia and forms

396-489: The southbound side just after exit 2. The I-581 designation ends at the Elm Avenue ( State Route 24 (SR 24)) interchange in downtown Roanoke , where US 220 continues south as the Roy L. Webber Expressway. I-581 was constructed as a six lane highway for its entire length and has not been widened in its history. Many of I-581's exits are cloverleaf interchanges , which results in weaving . The northern terminus has short merge areas with I-81, particularly

418-464: The state highway crosses over a rail line and Tinker Creek to leave the city of Roanoke. SR 24 continues through the town of Vinton in Roanoke County as Virginia Avenue, which bypasses the center of town to the south. At Chestnut Street, the four-lane divided boulevard transitions onto Hardy Road; when Hardy Road continues east, SR 24 curves north as Bypass Road, which ends at Washington Avenue,

440-481: The state highway joins US 460 (Richmond Highway). The four-lane divided highway immediately enters Appomattox County , where the two highways pass through Spout Spring on their way to the county seat of Appomattox. US 460 and SR 24 have a diamond interchange with US 460 Business and the south end of SR 26 (Oakville Road) on the northwest side of the town. SR 24 and US 460 diverge at the following diamond interchange with Old Courthouse Road, which heads south toward

462-657: The west and Albemarle Avenue to the south. This area is the location of the former Carilion Community Hospital and the Jefferson College of Health Sciences . Downtown borders the neighborhoods of the West End on the west, Belmont on the east, Gainsboro on the north and both Old Southwest and South Jefferson on the south. The first large European settlement in the area was Gainesborough, established in 1835 northeast of present-day downtown. The first structures of today's downtown area, then dubbed Big Lick, were built after

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484-670: Was widened to six lanes in the mid-1990s. Virginia State Route 24 State Route 24 ( SR 24 ) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia . The state highway runs 89.57 miles (144.15 km) from U.S. Route 221 (US 221) and SR 116 in Roanoke east to US 60 in Mt. Rush . SR 24 connects Roanoke with several small communities in southern Bedford County and central Campbell County . The state highway also runs concurrently with US 460 west of Appomattox and passes through Appomattox Court House National Historical Park , which

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