Virginia State Route 110 - History

History

The road was constructed as a part of the Pentagon Road network during World War II. Those roads were transferred to the Virginia Department of Highways on December 17, 1964 and assigned the number SR 110. At this time, the north end was reconfigured to accommodate the construction to the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge in 1964 over the Potomac River and the re-routing of Arlington Ridge Road. As a result, the north end of SR 110 was shifted west toward the prior bridge that carried US 50 over Arlington Ridge Road. SR 110 then proceeded north on the Arlington Ridge Road right-of-way, under the new bridges that carried the approaches to the Roosevelt Bridge reaching Wilson Boulevard. The road extended north to merge with the future I-66 at the Virginia end of the Roosevelt Bridge. Until the 1980s, this extension ended with the exit and entrance ramps to Lee Highway at Lynn Street. However, when I-66 was completed, this stub was extended so that SR 110 had full access to westbound I-66. One block of the historic Arlington Ridge Road was left to act as a frontage road between Wilson Boulevard and 15th Street North.

Following the September 11 attacks, SR 110 was closed to trucks and tour buses due to its proximity to the Pentagon. Police checkpoints were staffed around the clock to enforce this restriction. In September 2002, a contract was awarded to reroute SR 110 to increase the standoff distance between vehicles and the Pentagon. The project, called the Pentagon Secure Bypass, was completed in 2004. SR 110 was shifted eastward in a long arc to maintain a buffer distance from the Pentagon and a two-lane bridge to provide access to the Pentagon North parking lot and two pedestiran bridges were built over the new route. These and related security improvements cost $35 million (equivalent to $43 million in 2012) and were completed in October 2004.