Braddock Road (VA 620) is one of the oldest and longest state secondary roads in Northern Virginia. It runs from US 15 in Loudoun County east all the way to VA 244 Columbia Pike in Annandale. There is also an unconnected section of Braddock Road that runs from Beauregard Street between Seminary and Duke Streets into downtown Alexandria. Over the years Braddock Road has been widened and realigned along its route. It is now mostly a 4 or greater lane divided road from Centreville to its terminus in Annandale. Braddock Road also was to have been reconstructed between I-495, the Capital Beltway, and VA 645, Burke Road, as the Monticello Expressway as a part of The 1969 Northern Virginia Major Thoroughfare Plan. The expressway was never built, but Braddock Road just outside I-495 to Wakefield Chapel Road utilizes all of the right-of-way that VDOT bought for the Monticello Expressway. That makes Braddock Road at that point the widest state secondary route in Northern Virginia at 8 lanes total plus turning lanes! (That is until the reconstruction of Old Keene Mill Road in Springfield is complete. Thanks to Russell Blau for this information.)
Usually when a road is realigned and/or reconstructed, it follows generally the route that original road took. However, in Centreville, Braddock Road got sliced up into several pieces over the years as the area grew and other roads were built and widened. Take a look at the map below to see the Many Lives of Braddock Road.
Here's the explanation of the map...
The black line is the original, original route of Braddock Road. This was the route that Braddock Road took until I-66 was built through Centreville in the early to mid 1960's
When I-66 was built, the piece of Braddock Road that crossed over I-66 had to be abandoned. That was when the brown stretch of Braddock Road (upper left corner of map) was built. It dumped Braddock Road out at VA 28 just below Walney Road. Here's a Topo Map of the area around this time. Walney Road was later realigned to make a 4-way intersection with Braddock Road and VA 28.
When VA 28 (the north-south route on the map above) was rebuilt as a 4 to 6 lane route through Centreville, Braddock Road was split once again. After the VA 28 work was done, VA 28 no longer had an intersection with Braddock Road. Also, the piece of the original Braddock Road northwest from VA 28 to and beyond I-66 to the original part of Braddock Road was closed off. An apartment complex and a church lie on the land that was Braddock Road. If you took Braddock Road north from US 29, the road dead ends in a cul-de-sac within a stone's throw of VA 28. This short section of Braddock Road has now been realigned to form a 4-way intersection with US 29 at Old Centreville Road. This realignment is indicated by the lime green line in the center of the map above. Although, the old intersection of Braddock Road and a short section of Braddock Road just north of US 29 have been removed, you can still see the path the old Braddock Road took as it went north of US 29.
OK, next, enter a shopping center. In the center of the map, there is a section of Braddock Road marked with a red line. This section of Braddock Road was built when the shopping center was constructed in the late 80's. What happened to the original section of Braddock Road? It was truncated and renamed Spindle Court. Spindle Court has no access to US 29 as the shopping center is on top of what was the intersection of Braddock Road and US 29. Side Note: The original Centreville Elementary School (now Mountain View Alternative School) is on Spindle Court.
The final Braddock Road surgery took place in the early 90's when construction of New Braddock Road began. New Braddock Road currently runs from Union Mill Road west to Storehouse Road just beyond Centre Ridge Elementary School. New Braddock Road is planned to extend across I-66 and intersect with US 29 at Stone Road. The short purple section of Braddock Road on the lower right side of the map was built to connect the original section of Braddock Road to Union Mill Road. New Braddock Road was then built to make a T-Intersection with Union Mill Road and the existing Braddock Road running to the east.
Lots of history for one road in one town!
If you are ever in Centreville, VA, you can trace (pretty accurately) the route of the original Braddock Road. Start at the intersection of New Braddock Road and Union Mill Road. Look for the utility poles that carry the electric, telephone, etc. lines. Follow the route that these utility lines take along the various sections of Braddock Road between the aforementioned intersection and the original Braddock Road north of I-66. The route that these utility lines take is almost what the original Braddock Road took as it passed through Centreville, VA.
Please send any updates, comments and corrections to Michael Hale.
03/27/02
