Virginia State Route 74 (SR 74) is a primary state highway

State highway

State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 in the U.S. state of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. Known for most of its length as Kentucky Avenue, the state highway runs 2.42 miles (3.9 km) from U.S. Route 23 Business in Norton

Norton, Virginia

Norton is an independent city within the confines of Wise County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,958, making it the smallest city in the state by population...

 east to US 58 Alternate near Norton. SR 74 is the old alignment of US 58 Alternate in Norton. The highway was designated in 1958 from its western terminus to Kentucky Avenue and extended east in 1988.

Route description

SR 74 begins at US 23 Business (Park Avenue) at the eastern end of downtown Norton. The state highway heads southeast on Coeburn Avenue, which has oblique, at-grade crossings with a pair of rail lines. Just east of the second crossing, SR 74 turns onto Kentucky Avenue. The state highway passes under the freeway carrying US 23

U.S. Route 23 in Virginia

U.S. Route 23 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Jacksonville, Florida to Mackinaw City, Michigan. In Virginia, the U.S. Highway runs from the Tennessee state line near Weber City north to the Kentucky state line near Pound...

 and US 58 Alternate. The highway has another at-grade rail intersection in the eastern portion of the city of Norton. Shortly after leaving the city limits, SR 74 curves north to pass under one of the rail lines and over the Guest River

Guest River

The Guest River is a short tributary of the Clinch River in southwestern Virginia in the United States. It is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River by way of the Clinch, Tennessee and Ohio Rivers...

 and reaches its eastern terminus at US 58 Alternate (Norton Coeburn Road) in the hamlet of Ramsey in Wise County

Wise County, Virginia

Wise County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. In 1856, the county was formed from land taken from Lee, Scott, and Russell Counties. It was named after Henry A. Wise, who was the Governor of Virginia at the time. As of 2010, the population was 41,452, making it the largest...

. The roadway continues north as SR 681 (Bear Creek Road).

History

SR 74 was initially part of State Route 11, defined in 1918. It became part of State Route 64 in 1933, State Route 70 in 1940, and U.S. Route 58 Alternate in the early 1950s. The first piece of SR 74 was designated in 1958 along Coeburn Road west of Kentucky Avenue, though it did not exist until the new US 58 Alternate along 11th Street and Kentucky Avenue was completed in 1960. The new US 58 Alternate (now partly U.S. Route 23 Business and State Route 283) in eastern Norton was completed in 1988, and SR 74 was extended east over the old road.

Major intersections

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|colspan=2|City of Norton

Norton, Virginia

Norton is an independent city within the confines of Wise County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,958, making it the smallest city in the state by population...

|0.00
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|Western terminus
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|Wise

Wise County, Virginia

Wise County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. In 1856, the county was formed from land taken from Lee, Scott, and Russell Counties. It was named after Henry A. Wise, who was the Governor of Virginia at the time. As of 2010, the population was 41,452, making it the largest...

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|2.42
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|Eastern terminus

External links

• Virginia Highways Project: VA 74