Note: Adam Froehlig and Mike Roberson (authors of the Virginia Highways Project website) provided invaluable help in researching the info presented on this page. Photo credits: Callinectes; H.B. Elkins; Nicholas Mooneyhan; Michael Summa

Bristol is a city straddling two states. The photo below is looking east on State Street:

Callinectes, Aug. 2006

State Street runs along the boundary between Virginia and Tennessee, and thus also serves as the dividing line between the municipalities of Bristol VA and Bristol TN. Together these cities form an urban area referred to simply as "Bristol".

Many 3-digit US routes have ended in Bristol. As you can see from the chart above, most of them were during the seminal years of the system, and none of them terminated in Bristol for long. Nevertheless, the sheer number of routes that historically ended in Bristol necessitates a page regarding the topic.

In the beginning, US 411[I] came in from the west, meeting US 11 on the west edge of town (at the point where US 11W and 421 split now). But US 411 probably didn't end there at its junction with US 11 (Mike is aware of at least one map that shows US 11-411 duplexed into the downtown area). Meanwhile, US 511 came in from the south on Pennsylvania Avenue, then turned west on State. At Front Street (more recently known as Randall Street, and today as Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.), northbound US 11 was to the north, while southbound was straight ahead on State. So US 511 ended there, and most likely that was where US 411 began.

A 1929 Bristol map shows both US 411 and 511 ending at the same intersection as in 1927, but by then US 511 was coming in from a different direction: from the south via 6th Street, then Anderson, then 4th Street (later Edgemont Avenue, and now MLK Blvd), ending at State. Straight ahead on MLK was northbound US 11, while southbound was to the west (left) on State, as was the east beginning of US 411.

So for the first few years of the US highway system, the intersection of State and MLK (Randall/Edgemont) was the main highway junction downtown (see photos A through E, below)...

...but in about 1930, US 11 was changed such that it split into US 11E and US 11W in Bristol. By then, US 11/19 was using Piedmont Street from the north. At State, US 11W went west, while US 11E-19 went east. So State and Piedmont became the main junction. US 411[I] was probably truncated to that intersection. By that time, US 511 had been decommissioned, but US 321 came in on the same roads. It could've ended at its junction with US 11E/19 (on State at Edgemont/Randall, nee 4th), but it's more likely that it would've been multiplexed along State, ending at Piedmont.

US 411[I] was decommissioned in 1932 (it was swallowed by a westward extension of US 58). The 1935 main map shows US 321 renumbered as US 421, although the Bristol inset didn't show the switch until 1936. The 1935 main map shows 421 ending at Bristol; 1936 main map shows 421 extended to Cumberland Gap (so I'm assuming 421 ended at the same place as 321, above). Photo F (below) was taken from the intersection of State and Piedmont.

In about 1947, US 421 was truncated, such that it ended in Bristol again. But by this time, US 11E/19 had been rerouted along Commonwealth Avenue/Volunteer Parkway, so US 421 would've ended on Volunteer at State (see photos G through J, below).

Some maps as early as 1940 show US 411[III] (that is, today's US 411) coming in from the south and ending in Bristol. Many of these maps indicate US 411 was a "proposed" or "new" designation. As it turned out, apparently US 411 wasn't actually signed into Bristol until about 1956. Whenever it happened, US 411 came in on 4th, then turned west on State, terminating at Piedmont (again, I don't have photos from there). It was 1967 when the US routes in Bristol were changed to what they are now (that is, when the split of US 11 into 11E and 11W was moved to the intersection of Commonwealth and Euclid Avenue). However, 1967 was also the year that US 411 was truncated out of Bristol, so as far as I know, that designation never extended up to Euclid.

Photos A through E: State and MLK (Edgemont/Randall)

Photo A: Mooneyhan, July 2006

That was looking north on what is now MLK (TN 34) at State. In 1927, US 511 began to the right, while US 411[I] began to the left. In 1929, US 411 still began to the left, but this would've been the perspective of a driver at the north end of US 511. The photo below is looking the opposite direction (south on MLK):

Photo B: Elkins, Jul. 2008

Originally US 511 began to the left on State, and US 411 began to the right. By 1929, US 511 began straight ahead on Edgemont. Below is a shot of the signage that was posted heading that direction:

Photo C: Elkins, Aug. 2005

Below we're looking west on State:

Photo D: Mooneyhan, July 2006

In 1927, that was the end of US 511, and US 411 began straight ahead. In 1929, the north beginning of US 511 was to the left on Edgemont. If you turn the opposite direction from that photo, the lighted archway shown in the photo at the top of this page is visible in the background of the shot below:

Photo E: Elkins, Jul. 2008

That was the end of US 411. Originally US 511 began straight ahead, but a couple years later it began to the right on MLK.

Photo F: State and 7th/Piedmont

Photo F: Elkins, Jul. 2008

That was taken looking north on 7th. State runs across the photo, and Piedmont continues ahead, between the two buildings (Piedmont carried northbound US 11/19). US 11W was to the left on State, and to the right was US 11E and US 19. Also to the right was probably the north beginning of US 321 (which replaced US 511), and later US 421 (which then replaced US 321). To the left on State was the beginning of US 411[I] after 1930, and later this intersection also marked the north end of US 411[III].

Photos G through J: State and Commonwealth/Volunteer

Photo G: Mooneyhan, June 2006

That's looking south on Commonwealth (US 11E/19) at State. Straight ahead the roadname changes to Volunteer, and that was the north beginning of US 421 during the late 1940s. The building at right is the Chamber; the signage posted there is shown close-up below:

Photo H: Elkins, Jul. 2008

The photo below shows an historic sign assembly that was once posted heading that direction:

Photo I: Summa, 1995

That assembly was actually in Virginia, which was courteous enough to sign the route that began straight ahead, across the stateline. But by then, US 411 had been decommissioned in this area for about 30 years. The photo below is looking the opposite direction:

Photo J: Mooneyhan, June 2006

That's looking north on Volunteer at State, where it becomes Commonwealth (and VA hwy. 381). This was the north endpoint of US 421 for a brief time. (Incidentally, by 2008 that blue sign had been replaced with a white one that says "Virginia Welcomes You".)

You can use the chart at the top of this page to link to the main endpoint pages for each of these US highways.