Virginia State Route 65

For former State Routes numbered 65, see State Route 65 (Virginia 1933-1940) and State Route 65 (Virginia 1940-1943).

State Route 65 (SR 65), formerly State Route 66 (SR 66), is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 34.06 miles (54.81 km) from U.S. Route 23 (US 23), US 58, and US 421 in Clinchport north to US 58 Alternate in Castlewood.

State Route 65
Route information
Maintained by VDOT
Length	34.06 mi[1] (54.81 km)
Existed	1958–present
Tourist routes	Virginia Byway
Major junctions
South end	US 23 / US 58 / US 421 in Clinchport
Major intersections	SR 72 in Dungannon
North end	US 58 Alt. in Castlewood
Location
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Counties	Scott, Russell
Highway system
Virginia Routes Interstate US Primary Secondary Byways History HOT lanes
← I-64 → I-66

Route description

View north at the south end of SR 65 at US 23/US 58/US 421 in Clinchport

SR 65 begins at an intersection with US 23, US 58, and US 421 (Orby Cantrell Highway) just west of the town limit of Clinchport. The state highway heads northeast through the town as 2nd Avenue, which passes under CSX's Kingsport Subdivision. SR 65 becomes Clinch River Highway east of town and parallels the Clinch River and Norfolk Southern Railway's Clinch Valley Division northeast to Fort Blackmore, where the highway begins to run concurrently with SR 72 (Veterans Memorial Highway) to the town of Dungannon. Within the town, SR 72 continues north parallel to the railroad and the Clinch River as Hanging Rock Parkway while SR 65 crosses the river and heads east as Sinking Creek Highway, which follows Sinking Creek across the Scott–Russell county line. The state highway, now named Mew Road, passes through the hamlet of Mew while passing through a broad valley on its way to its northern terminus at US 58 Alternate (Castlewood Road) at Banners Corner in the unincorporated area of Castlewood.^[1][2]

History

State Route 66
Existed	1940–1958

SR 65 was designated in March 1958 as a result of the renumbering of the former SR 66 between Clinchport and Castlewood. SR 66 was renumbered due to the impending construction of Interstate 66 in the northern part of the state; the Commonwealth Transportation Board recommended that all routes that shared a number with a proposed Interstate be renumbered.^[3] No major routing changes have occurred to the route since its designation.

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Scott	​	0.00	0.00	US 23 / US 58 / US 421 – Gate City, Bristol, Duffield	Southern terminus
	Fort Blackmore	17.72	28.52	SR 72 south (Veterans Memorial Highway) / SR 619 (Old Route 72)	Southern end of SR 72 concurrency
	Dungannon	23.11	37.19	SR 72 north (Hanging Rock Parkway) – Coeburn	Northern end of SR 72 concurrency
	​			SR 774 (Long Hollow Road) to SR 71 – Gate City	former SR 72 south
Russell	Banners Corner	34.06	54.81	US 58 Alt. – St. Paul, Norton, Abingdon	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus