User:Viridiscalculus/U.S. Route 522

Powhatan to Front Royal
US 522 begins at an intersection with US 60 (James Anderson Highway) in Powhatan, the county seat of Powhatan County. The roadway continues on the south side of the intersection as State Route 1002 (Emmanuel Church Road), which connects with SR 13. US 522 heads north as Maidens Road, passing through the countryside of Powhatan County before crossing the James River and CSX's James River Subdivision into Goochland County. At the hamlet of Maidens just north of the river, the U.S. highway intersects SR 6 (River Road) and joins the highway in a concurrency north through the village of Goochland, which is the unincorporated county seat of Goochland County. US 522 and SR 6 head north past the county offices and courthouse and the Goochland campus of J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College before splitting north as Sandy Hook Road where SR 6 (River Road) curves to the west toward Columbia.

US 522 continues north through the villages of Sandy Hook and Gum Spring, where the highway enters Louisa County. In Gum Spring, the U.S. highway intersects the local highway between Richmond and Charlottesville, U.S. Route 250 (Broad Street Road), and the express connection, I-64. US 522 heads north as Cross County Road, bridging the South Anna River and passing through Cuckoo, where the highway has a short concurrency with US 33, on its way to Mineral. North of Cuckoo, the highway's name is Pendleton Road until becoming Mineral Avenue in the town of Mineral, where the highway parallels CSX's Piedmont Subdivision. At the intersection with SR 208 and SR 22 (Piedmont Avenue), which head west toward the county seat of Louisa, US 522 and SR 208 turn east onto First Street, cross the railroad track, then turn north onto Louisa Avenue, which becomes Zachary Taylor Highway outside of the town limits.

US 522 and SR 208 head north toward Lake Anna, an impoundment of the North Anna River. At Wares Crossroads, SR 208 turns east toward Fredericksburg while the U.S. highway heads northwest, crossing the reservoir and passing through the southwest corner of Spotsylvania County before entering Orange County. US 522 heads straight north, passing to the east of Lahore before intersecting SR 20 (Constitution Highway) near Unionville. The U.S. highway veers northwest to cross the Rapidan River, entering Culpeper County, before returning to the north heading at Rapidan Road to parallel the railroad line to Culpeper. Just southeast of Culpeper, US 522 meets SR 3 (Germanna Highway), which it joins in a concurrency northwest to Culpeper. The two highways, which follow a four-lane divided highway, meet US 29 and US 15 (James Madison Highway) at a diamond interchange before entering the town of Culpeper, where the highway reduces to two lanes and crosses over the rail line. SR 3 reaches its western terminus at US 15 Business (Orange Road), which joins US 522 in a concurrency west to Main Street, which carries US 29 Business (Main Street). The U.S. highway and the two business routes head north through downtown Culpeper to Evans Street, where US 522 turns west.

US 522 heads north into the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in western Culpeper County as Sperryville Pike. The U.S. highway passes through the village of Boston before entering Rappahannock. US 522 passes through a gap between Butler Mountain and Bessie Bell Mountain on its way to Woodville. The U.S. highway meets the northern end of SR 231 (T.F. Valley Road) before reaching the village of Sperryville. In Sperryville, US 522 joins US 211 (Lee Highway) in a concurrency. US 211 heads west toward Thornton Gap, where the highway crests the Blue Ridge Mountains and intersects Skyline Drive, the main highway through Shenandoah National Park, on its way to Luray in the Page Valley and New Market in the Shenandoah Valley. US 211 and US 522 head north as a four-lane divided highway, passing by the Rappahannock County seat of Washington, which is served by US 211 Business. East of Washington, US 211 continues east toward Warrenton while US 522 turns north toward Front Royal. US 522 continues north as Zachary Taylor Highway, passing through the villages of Flint Hill and Huntly before ascending to Chester Gap, where US 522 crosses the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Front Royal to Hancock
The U.S. highway enters Warren County and descends to the town of Front Royal as Remount Road. US 522 intersects SR 55 (South Street), which heads west toward US 340 and the northern terminus of Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park. The U.S. highway continues north as Commerce Avenue, a four-lane divided boulevard, around the edge of downtown Front Royal before turning west and turning north onto Royal Avenue, on which US 522 joins US 340 and SR 55 in a concurrency. The three highways, which follow a four-lane undivided street, make a sharp turn to the west onto 14th Street, then make another sharp turn to the north onto Shenandoah Avenue before leaving the town limits by crossing the South Fork of the Shenandoah River and Norfolk Southern Railway's Hagerstown District.

At the village of Riverton just to the north of the South Fork, SR 55 (Strasburg Road) heads west toward Strasburg. US 522 and US 340 continue north as Winchester Road, crossing over Norfolk Southern's B-Line and the North Fork of the Shenandoah River just west of the confluence of the forks. The two highways expand to a four-lane divided highway head of a partial cloverleaf interchange with I-66. US 522 and US 340 pass by a variety of industrial properties and remain common until Double Tollgate in the southwest corner of Clarke County. US 340 heads northeast from the intersection as Lord Fairfax Highway toward Berryville, while SR 277 (Fairfax Pike) heads west toward Stephens City. US 522 enters Frederick County and continues northwest as Front Royal Pike through Armel and Parkins Mills and passes to the west of Winchester Regional Airport before reaching Winchester.

US 522 intersects US 50 and US 17 (Millwood Pike) just east of the city limits of Winchester. The north leg of the intersection are the northbound ramps to and from I-81. US 522 turns west onto Millwood Pike to join US 50 and US 17 in a concurrency. The three highways enter the city of Winchester as they pass under I-81 then meet the southbound ramps to and from the Interstate. After following Jubal Early Drive for a short distance while passing between the Apple Blossom Mall to the south and Shenandoah University to the north, US 522, US 50, and US 17 turn north onto Millwood Avenue and reduce to a two-lane street that meets CSX's Shenandoah Subdivision at grade. At the southern end of downtown Winchester, US 17 reaches its eastern terminus while US 522, US 50, and US 11 join in a one-way pair following Cameron Street northbound and Braddock Street southbound. US 522's portion of the one-way pair ends at Piccadilly Street, onto which US 522 turns at the western terminus of SR 7. US 522 heads west as a two-lane street, then makes a sharp turn north onto Fairmont Avenue and passes through an industrial area where the highway crosses a rail line. US 522 leaves the city limits as Frederick Pike and expands to a four-lane divided highway before meeting SR 37 at a diamond interchange. The U.S. highway passes through a series of short ridges on the western side of the Shenandoah Valley, including North Mountain, Hunting Ridge, and Timber Ridge. US 522 also passes through the communities of Albin, Nain, and Gainesboro. The U.S. highway intersects SR 127 (Bloomery Pike) near Cross Junction before reaching the West Virginia state line, where the highway reduces to two lanes, in the northwestern corner of Frederick County near the northernmost point in Virginia.

US 522 begins at the Virginia state line near Ridge. The U.S. highway heads south as a four-lane divided highway toward Winchester. US 522 heads north as a two-lane highway through a narrow valley immediately to the east of the parallel Warm Spring Ridge and a short distance to the east of Cacapon Mountain. The highway passes through the hamlets of Ridge, the site of a fish hatchery, Omps, and Rock Gap and by the entrance to Cacapon Resort State Park. The U.S. highway begins to parallel Warm Spring Run as it approaches Berkeley Springs, where the highway is named Washington Street and passes by Berkeley Springs State Park. Within the town, US 522 has two intersections with WV 9 surrounding a short concurrency. From the south end of town, WV 9 heads east as Dawson Street toward Martinsburg; at the north end of downtown Berkeley Springs, WV 9 heads west as Union Street, ascending Cacapon Mountain on its way toward Great Cacapon. US 522 passes through Burnt Factory, the site of a sand extraction and processing facility, on its way toward its northern terminus at Hancock, a hamlet that sits across the Potomac River from Hancock, Maryland and contains Potomac Airpark. The airpark is accessed from US 522's last intersection in West Virginia before crossing over the river and CSX's Cumberland Subdivision into Maryland.

US 522 enters Maryland by crossing the Potomac River on a long bridge at Hancock in western Washington County. The two-lane undivided bridge begins in West Virginia immediately after an intersection with River Road, then crosses CSX's Cumberland Subdivision and intersects a road to Potomac Airpark. The bridge crosses the state line on the south bank of the Potomac River, then continues above the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Berm Road, the Western Maryland Rail Trail, and South Street before the bridge ends. Southbound US 522 receives a two-way ramp (unsigned US 522B) from MD 144 (Main Street) before bridging MD 144, Little Tonoloway Creek, and Limestone Road, which is unsigned MD 894. It becomes a divided highway immediately before northbound US 522 has a right-in/right-out interchange with High Street (unsigned US 522C), which leads to MD 144 via Virginia Avenue. Southbound US 522 has an exit ramp to Limestone Road used to access MD 144. US 522 meets I-70 and US 40 (Eisenhower Memorial Highway) at a three-level directional interchange where US 522 becomes concurrent with the two other highways. Immediately to the north, I-70 and US 522 meet the eastern terminus of I-68 and US 40 (National Freeway) at another three-level directional interchange. Southbound US 522 exits I-70 via a left exit (unsigned US 522A) prior to US 40 joining eastbound I-70, so southbound US 522 does not have a concurrency with US 40. I-70 and US 522 continue north as a four-lane freeway to the Pennsylvania state line.

Hancock to Selinsgrove
US 522 enters Pennsylvania concurrent with I-70 (Eisenhower Memorial Highway) in Bethel Township in Fulton County, just north of Hancock. The Interstate and the U.S. highway split at Exit 168 in Warfordsburg, a diamond interchange where I-70 curves west while US 522 heads north. The US 522 roadway continues south of the interchange to PA 484 (Buck Valley Road), which is the original alignment of US 522 south of the interchange. US 522 crosses Little Tonoloway Creek and heads northwest as Great Cove Road, passing through a gap in Tonoloway Ridge on its way to a junction with PA 643 (Flickersville Road) in the hamlet of Dott. The U.S. highway continues northeast around the northern edge of Tonoloway Ridge at the Belfast Township village of Needmore, where the highway has a brief concurrency with PA 655, which heads south as Thompson Road and north as Pleasant Valley Road. US 522 curves to the east, crossing Tonoloway Creek, ascending Timber Ridge, and descending the ridge to cross Licking Creek. The U.S. highway climbs over Scrub Ridge and curves to the northeast at the village of Big Cove Tannery in Ayr Township, where the highway intersects PA 928 (Big Cove Tannery Road) and crosses Big Cove Creek.

US 522 passes around the northern end of Dickeys Mountain and enters the broad valley between Meadow Grounds Mountain to the west and Tuscarora Mountain to the east. Near the northern end of the valley US 522 passes through the county seat of McConnellsburg, where the highway is named Second Street and passes near the Fulton House. In the center of the borough, the U.S. highway intersects Lincoln Way, which heads east as PA 16. Lincoln Way is the old alignment of US 30 and part of the original Lincoln Highway. US 522 heads north out of town and meets modern US 30 (Lincoln Highway) at a diamond interchange as the highway heads through the narrow valley between Little Scrub Ridge to the west and Cove Mountain to the east. The U.S. highway heads northwest through a gap in the former mountain into Dublin Township, where the highway intersects PA 475 (Waterfall Road) and meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike (also marked as I-76) at Exit 180, the Fort Littleton interchange. US 522 parallels the turnpike northeast to the village of Burnt Cabins, Pennsylvania just north of Sidneys Knob. Here the U.S. highway turns north into Huntingdon County.

US 522 heads north as Croghan Pike through Dublin Township on the east side of Shade Mountain. After intersecting PA 35 and PA 641 in the village of Shade Gap, the U.S. highway passes through a gap in Shade Mountain into the Locke Valley. US 522 heads north then curves west again through a gap in Blacklog Mountain. The U.S. highway becomes Ridgely Street in the borough of Orbisonia, where the highway intersects PA 994 (Elliot Street). US 522 parallels Aughwick Creek north through Shirleysburg to Allenport, where the highway meets the southern end of PA 103. Just north of Allenport, the old alignment of US 522, Shirley Street, splits to the west to serve Mount Union. US 522 bypasses the borough, paralleling the Juniata River north. The U.S. highway passes under the former Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad (now owned by Norfolk Southern Railway) before crossing the river into Mifflin County to an intersection with US 22 (William Penn Highway).

US 522 joins US 22 in a concurrency that heads northeast between Jacks Mountain to the northwest and the Juniata River to the southeast. The two highways pass through McVeytown on their way to Lewistown. In Granville Township, the old alignment continues straight into Lewistown as US 22 Business while US 522 and US 22 split to the opposite side of Big Ridge as a freeway. US 522 and US 22 meet US 322 at a directional interchange just north of Lewistown. The interchange also includes ramps from all directions to access Electric Avenue. The three U.S. highways join in a concurrency for a short distance south into the county seat before US 522 leaves the freeway for Walnut Street. Northbound US 522 accesses Walnut Street via Logan Street. US 22 and US 322 continue on the freeway toward Harrisburg.

US 522 crosses Kishacoquillas Creek and soon leaves Lewistown. The U.S. highway heads northeast through the valley of Jacks Creek between Jacks Mountain to the north and Shade Mountain to the south, a valley that has several short ridges itself. US 522 passes through the hamlet of Alfarata before entering Snyder County. The U.S. highway continues northeast through McClure, Beavertown, and Beaver Springs, where the highway has a concurrency with PA 235. US 522 also has a concurrency with PA 104 in the county seat of Middleburg, where the highway crosses Middle Creek. The U.S. highway follows the creek east through Kreamer before the stream heads southeast as US 522 continues east toward Selinsgrove. US 522 intersects University Avenue, the old alignment of US 522 that heads toward Susquehanna University and downtown Selinsgrove, before entering the borough limits. The U.S. highway intersects the southern end of PA 204 and Broad Street before reaching its former eastern terminus at Market Street. Market Street, which heads south into downtown, is the old alignment of US 11 and US 15. US 522 turns north onto Market Street, crosses over Penns Creek, and passes by the entrance to Penn Valley Airport. US 522 reaches its northern terminus at a partial cloverleaf interchange with US 11 and US 15. US 11 and US 15 head south as a freeway toward Harrisburg. US 11 and US 15 continue north along the US 522 roadway toward Hummels Wharf. The freeway ends as a stub just north of the interchange.