Route 311 (Virginia–West Virginia)

For former State Routes numbered 311, see State Route 311 (Virginia 1923-1928) and State Route 311 (Virginia 1928-1933). For the U.S. Route, see U.S. Route 311 (Virginia).

Virginia State Route 311 / West Virginia Route 311
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Route information
Maintained by VDOT, WVDOH, and City of Salem, VA
Length:	58.7 mi (94.5 km)
Virginia
Length:	41.90 mi (67.43 km)
South end:	US 11 in Salem
Major junctions:	US 460 in Salem I‑81 in Hanging Rock SR 419 in Hanging Rock SR 42 / SR 615 in New Castle SR 18 in Paint Bank
West Virginia
Length:	4.0 mi (6.4 km)
Major junctions:	WV 3 in Sweet Springs
Virginia
Length:	12.49 mi (20.10 km)
Major junctions:	SR 159 in Crows
West Virginia
Length:	0.3 mi (0.5 km)
North end:	I‑64 / US 60 near White Sulphur Springs
Location
Counties:	City of Salem (VA), Roanoke (VA), Craig (VA), Monroe (WV), Alleghany (VA), Greenbrier (WV)
Highway system
Virginia Routes Interstate U.S. Primary Secondary Byways History Turnpikes West Virginia Routes State County Turnpikes ← x20px SR 310 Virginia SR 312 → ← WV 310 West Virginia WV 331 →

Virginia State Route 311 (SR 311) and West Virginia Route 311 (WV 311) are adjoining state highways in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. The two state highways together run 58.7 miles (94.5 km) from U.S. Route 11 in Salem, Virginia north to Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 60 near White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The two Virginia portions of Route 311 are maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation, with the exception of the city-maintained portion within Salem. The West Virginia segments are maintained by the West Virginia Division of Highways.

SR 311 is a Virginia Byway north of SR 419.

Route description

File:Route 311 in Virginia 159 in Crows.jpg

At the southern terminus of VA 159 in Crows

Route 311 begins at an intersection with US 11 (College Avenue) in the independent city of Salem. The state highway, which is maintained by the city within the city limits, heads north as Thompson Memorial Drive, a four-lane divided boulevard that intersects US 460 (Main Street) and passes to the east of Roanoke College. Route 311 leaves the city limits of Salem at its partial cloverleaf interchange with I-81, entering Roanoke County. North of I-81, the state highway reduces to two lanes and curves to the northeast into the community of Hanging Rock, where the highway meets the northern terminus of SR 419 (Electric Road). Route 311 turns left onto Catawba Valley Drive and leaves the Roanoke Valley by following Mason Creek through a gap between Fort Lewis Mountain to the west and Brushy Mountain to the east.

Route 311 heads north into Mason Cove, a narrow valley between Fort Lewis Mountain and Catawba Mountain, before turning northwest and ascending Catawba Mountain, on top of which the highway intersects the Appalachian Trail. The state highway descends into the valley of Catawba Creek and passes through the community of Catawba, where the highway intersects SR 779 (Catawba Creek Road) and SR 785 (Blacksburg Road), which form the main highway along the valley. Route 311 has a short ascent to McAfee Gap, enters Jefferson National Forest, and curves to the north between Cove Mountain to the west and North Mountain to enter Craig County.

Route 311 descends into the valley of Craig Creek, which the state highway follows northeast around the edge of Sinking Creek Mountain to the northwest, passing through the hamlet of Abbott. The state highway follows Craig Creek to the town of New Castle, the county seat of Craig County at the confluence of Johns Creek with Craig Creek. Route 311 meets the eastern terminus of SR 42 (Main Street) before following Johns Creek west out of town. The state highway climbs Peters Hill and descends back to the narrow creek valley before climbing Potts Mountain. Route 311 heads down the mountain and follows Paint Bank Branch through a gap between Little Mountain and Middle Mountain to the community of Paint Bank at the confluence of its namesake branch with Potts Creek. The state highway meets the southern end of SR 18, which follows the creek northeast toward the community of Potts Creek, before ascending Peters Mountain. At the summit of Peters Mountain, Route 311 leaves Jefferson National Forest and enters West Virginia.

Route 311 descends the mountain to the village of Sweet Springs in the northeastern corner of Monroe County, where the state highway meets the eastern terminus of WV 3 (Sweet Springs Valley Road). Route 311 follows the valley northeast back into Virginia, entering Alleghany County and George Washington National Forest. The state highway, now named Kanawha Trail, passes through the communities of Sweet Chalybeate and Earlehurst, then follows the valley of Dunlap Creek between Dameron Mountain to the northwest and Snake Run Ridge to the southeast. At the community of Crows, SR 159 (Dunlap Creek Road) continues northeast through the valley while Route 311 follows Tygers Creek up the mountain to the west. The state highway parallels CSX's Alleghany Subdivision then passes under the railroad tracks at the hamlet of Alleghany. Route 311 follows the west flank of Lewis Mountain to the West Virginia state line, then curves west into Greenbrier County and reaches its northern terminus at a partial interchange with I-64 and US 60 east of White Sulphur Springs. There is no access from westbound I-64 to southbound Route 311 or from northbound Route 311 to eastbound I-64.

Major intersections

State	County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Virginia	City of Salem		0.00	0.00	US 11 (South College Avenue)	Southern terminus
			0.17	0.27	US 460 (East Main Street)
	Roanoke	​	1.66	2.67	I‑81 – Bristol, Lexington	Exit 140 on I-81
		Hanging Rock	2.93	4.72	SR 419 south (Electric Road) to I‑81 north – Roanoke
		Catawba			SR 698 north (Keffer Road) / SR 779 east (Catawba Creek Road) – Catawba Hospital	former SR 114 east
		​			SR 785 (Blacksburg Road)	former SR 114 west
	Craig	New Castle	22.25	35.81	SR 42 west / SR 615 east (Main Street)
		​			SR 658 (Johns Creek Road) – Craig Springs	former SR 113 west
		Paint Bank	38.51	61.98	SR 18 north – Covington
Peters Mountain			41.90 0.0	67.43 0.0	State line
West Virginia	Monroe	Sweet Springs	3.1	5.0	WV 3 west – Union, Moncove Lake State Park
			4.0 0.00	6.4 0.00	State line
Virginia	Alleghany	Crows	6.62	10.65	SR 159 north (Dunlap Creek Road) – Covington
			12.49 0.0	20.10 0.0	State line
West Virginia	Greenbrier	​	0.3	0.48	I‑64 west / US 60 west – White Sulphur Springs	Northern terminus; exit 183 on I-64
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

External links

• Virginia Highways Project: VA 311

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Two‑digit State Routes 1923-1933

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