End of US highway 522
Approx. time period
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North Terminus
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South Terminus
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1926-1944
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Selinsgrove, PA (Pine)
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Hancock, MD
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1944-1949
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Selinsgrove, PA (Pine)
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(near Powhatan, VA)
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1949-1977 |
Selinsgrove, PA (north) |
(near Powhatan, VA) |
1977-present |
Selinsgrove, PA (bypass) |
(near Powhatan, VA) |
(about 58 k)
Note: since I don't have access to a comprehensive collection of historical
road atlases, much of the info below is based on the research of Robert Droz;
click here to view his
site. Photo credits: Robert
Mortell; Steven
Nelson; Alex
Nitzman; Tim
Reichard; Bob
Robb
US 522 was an original 1926 route; at the time its south end was at Hancock
MD. There, the original route of US 522 (Warfordsburg Road) has been interrupted
by I-70, but that aligns with Limestone Road on the south side of the freeway.
My guess is that US 522 ran along Limestone and ended where that joins Main
Street:
Mortell,
Aug. 2007
You can see from the sign assembly that Main is now MD hwy. 144, but it carried
US 40 traffic until I-70 was built. Below we're looking west on Main:
Mortell,
Aug. 2007
That was westbound US 40, which curved to the left. To the right on Limestone
was probably the south beginning of US 522. In 1944, US 522 was extended south
from Hancock - the bridge visible in that photo carries US 522 traffic over
the Potomac River and into West Virginia. Since then, the south end of US 522
has been at its present terminus, which is at its junction with US 60 near Powhatan
VA. The photo below is heading south on US 522, approaching the endpoint...
Robb, Mar. 2004
...and the shot below shows the actual intersection where US 522 ends:
Robb, Mar. 2004
Incidentally: prior to the mid-1930's, this segment of US 60 hadn't been built.
Instead it followed what is now VA hwy. 13, which is about 1/4-mile ahead. But
by the time US 522 was extended down to Powhatan, this "newer" US 60 was already
here.
Below we're looking the opposite direction - US 522 begins straight ahead:
Robb, Mar. 2004
The green sign on the opposite side of the intersection gives mileage to Goochland
(11), Gum Spring (18), and Winchester (143); there's a US 522 shield mounted
on the top.
Below is the south beginning of US 522 as seen from eastbound US 60...
Robb, Mar. 2004
...and below is the view from westbound:
Robb, Mar. 2004
US 522 originally came into Selinsgrove PA on University Avenue, and its north
end was at the intersection of Pine Street at Market Street (historic US 11/US
15). The photo below was taken looking south on Market:
Nelson,
Sep. 2007
US 522 began to the right on Pine. It was 1949 when modern US 522 opened to
traffic - this road runs along the north edge of Selinsgrove. At the time, US
522 still ended at Market - the photo below is looking east:
Reichard, Oct. 2001
Southbound US 11/15 was to the right, and northbound was to the left. But in
1977, US 11/15 was routed onto a bypass that skirts the east side of Selinsgrove.
So the US 522 designation was extended north along former US 11/15 to its current
terminus: a partial interchange with the new US 11/15, which is about a half-mile
to the left. Below is an enlargement of the sign assembly shown in the photo
above:
The view in the photo below is heading south towards Selinsgrove
on US 11/15:
Nitzman, 1994
US 11/15 used to continue straight ahead on Market through
downtown, and the north terminus of US 522 was about a half-mile
ahead. But now US 11/15 exits right, loops around to the left via the
overpass, and then continues south again along a newer bypass off to
the east. So today US 522 begins straight ahead. It follows Market to
the intersection shown in the first photo, then turns right. While US
522 does start out heading essentially west, it soon begins a gradual
curve to the south, mimicking the bend of the Appalachian Mountains.
Which, to me, suggests that it should've been numbered differently,
as a branch of a north/south route: seems like an "x11" or "x15"
number would've been more appropriate.
For more photos of current and historic endpoints of US 522, please visit Tim
Reichard's page.
Page created 10 March 2000; last updated 18 September 2007.
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