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This article was written by WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
The Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board on Tuesday approved the renaming of U.S. 1 from Jefferson Davis Highway to Richmond Highway through eastern Prince William County.
In September, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted unanimously to request the state board rename the 12.3 miles of Route 1 to the Stafford County line. U.S. 1 is currently named Richmond Highway in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria. Arlington County renamed its section of U.S. 1 last year and Alexandria did the same in 2018.
Jefferson Davis was the first and only president of the Confederacy during the Civil War.
“It’ll be something well past time and past due,” Prince William Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey told the transportation board Tuesday. “It’s a consistent reminder of our nation’s dark and hurtful past. This is not about removing history. This is focusing on how to collectively move forward as a community.”
The name change will impact property owners along about 12 miles of roadway and a total of 940 addresses, according to county staff. The county planned to reach out to businesses about the proposed name change starting this month.
Staff estimated the county’s cost in fiscal year 2022 will be $1.2 million to cover address analysis, notification process, street signs and database and records update, according to county staff. In addition, staff estimated the cost to mitigate impacts to businesses would range from $1 million to $3.8 million.
