Improving Route 1 has been a cherished community goal for the better part of the past two generations. At times, it seemed the long discussed and eagerly anticipated redevelopment would actually happen. It has not. But an interesting historical tie-in seems to be helping move the tide in our direction.

Sitting in the Virginia State legislature floor a couple of years ago 44^th District Delegate Scott Surovel listened to a colleague propose legislation that would designate a portion of Route 1 through the colleague’s county as “Historic Route One.” Knowing that his district’s central economic corridor was Route 1 Surovel immediately set about attaching his constituents’ interests to the bill.

The resulting January 2010 bill (you can see a copy here), ensures that the portion of Route 1 we all use to commute and shop, cross to visit neighbors and friends on either side is prominently included in the historic designation. The purpose of the bill is to “study the creation of a U.S. Route 1 Corridor” and specifically the potential of creating “a special transportation district to fund multi-modal transportation improvements including road, rail, transit, pedestrian, and bicycle improvements, to be funded by state revenues, in order to improve transportation infrastructure.”

Unfortunately, as Surovell himself noted little had been accomplished by May of this year when VDOT held a public hearing on its Six Year Plan and had not included a single project to enhance Route 1 in our neck of the woods. Given our national economic downturn and its effect upon state finances it may be a while before we see construction crews on our stretch of Route 1. But some positive signs seem to be emerging.

The first Historic Route 1 markers, born of the original state bill, began to appear in Chesterfield last summer and with them a new website was launched named Jefferson Davis Highway that provides information on Route 1 and its redevelopment. A website (http://historicrouteone.com/) dedicated to the history of Route 1 has been established and is growing in popularity. The Encyclopedia Virginia has included a subsection on its Historic Highway Marker Program that can be seen here and Wikipedia has been updating its entry on Route 1 with the latest update taking place in June of this year. Awareness of the need to revitalize our Richmond Highway is definitely growing.

Interest in the redevelopment of the entire highway seems to be growing on a multistate level and Virginia is leading the way. The Jefferson Davis Association is working to improve 7 miles of Route 1, from state Route 288 to the Richmond line, which will include the mentioned markers plus banners, pedestrian-friendly features, landscaping and welcome signs. A Historic Route One local committee in South Hill, VA is promoting the theme, “Preserving the Past, Building the Future,” by drawing attention to the town’s restaurants, shops and unique and historic buildings, on what they call “Highway One.”

Tourism bureaus in the 14 states and DC that share Route 1 are using the highway as a tourism marker highlighting state attractions that can be easily reached from the route and showcasing the number of transportation alternatives (trains, buses, other highways, subways) that connect with the route for easy access to hotels, restaurants, and shops.

Of course, one of the biggest tourist attractions off of Route 1 is in our neck of the woods. Mount Vernon brings over a million visitors to our area yearly, by far the single biggest tourist attraction in the state. And in case you thought further momentum toward progress was yet elusive, the first Historic Route One Marker in our area was put up near Fort Belvoir. Maybe something is in the air if not the works after all.