US 421

 US Route 421 is a road that goes from US 20 in Michigan City, Indiana to a dead end at Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Since this is a Virginia-based website, this page will only have the Virginia part of the route.

The route in Virginia connects Pennington Gap to the Bristol Area, and for most of its time in the Commonwealth, US 421 is concurrent with US 58.

US 421 Shield

The Route Path:

US 421 enters Virginia near Stone Mountain, and heads northeast past Bowman Hollow. The route passes through hilly and windy terrain, running parallel to Stone Creek before eventually reaching an intersection with VA-352, which provides access to St. Charles.

After this, US 421 intersects SR-606 and starts heading more eastward, now parallel to Wallen Creek. The route stays this way for a while, before curving south and entering the Town of Pennington Gap. Here, US 421 intersects US 58 Alternate, going on a short concurrency with it before splitting off and leaving the town, now parallel to Wallen Creek again.

The route heads southeast from Pennington Gap, continuing through rural and hilly areas, eventually crossing the Powell River and passing through the community of Woodway. After that, US 421 continues southeast and reaches an intersection with US 58.

The route joins US 58 here, and both routes head northeast, eventually gaining a climbing lane as they gain elevation. After the climb, the climbing lane becomes the westbound climbing lane and US 421/US 58 begin a descent. Soon after, the routes pass through the unincorporated community of Stickleyville, where they intersect SR-612, before heading northeast and entering Scott County at Powell Mountain.

US 421 and US 58 descend down the mountain, eventually intersecting SR-604 when the descent is over. Shortly after that, the routes enter the Town of Duffield and reach an intersection with US 23, where all three routes head southeast on a concurrency.

Just over 4 miles later, US 421/US 58/US 23 pass the Town of Clinchport, where they meet the west end of VA-65, which accesses the town. From here, the routes run parallel to the Clinch River, before crossing it and veering away from it to head east. US 421/US 58/US 23 all run in between mountains, before eventually reaching the Town of Gate City.

At the town limits, the routes have a small interchange with their business routes (All 3 Mainline routes have business routes here, which includes US 421). The bypass routes of US 421/US 58/US 23 all head to the south of Gate City, before reuniting with their business routes as they enter the Town of Weber City. Not long after this, US 421 and US 58 both split from the concurrency, before turning northeast onto another road at an intersection with the north end of VA-224.

The routes head away from Gate City and Weber City, becoming a 2-lane undivided highway before eventually passing by the community of Hiltons. After this, US 421/US 58 curves southeast, crossing the North Fork Holston River and curving northeast again to pass through the unincorporated community of Bruno.

Shortly after that, the routes start another elevation climb, eventually intersecting SR-615 as they curve south. After the elevation gain, US 421/US 58 flatten out, curving more to the east again. The flattening doesn't last long however, as the routes pass by Ridgeway Hollow, followed by Writht Hollow. After this, US 421/US 58 intersect SR-618 and immediately enter Washington County.

Upon entering the county, the routes head northeast through some hilly farmland, before curving southeast as they yet again gain more elevation. Eventually though, US 421 and US 58 start losing some of the elevation as they approach an interchange with I-81. Just before the interchange, the routes enter the City of Bristol (VA), and at the interchange, US 58 splits from the concurrency to join I-81 Northbound, leaving US 421 to head into Bristol.

After the interchange, US 421 curves southeast, passing a casino and reaching an intersection with US 11W at the VA/TN State Line shortly after. US 421 actually turns northeast to stay fully within Virginia though, and US 11W joins the route at this intersection. After a few blocks, the routes reach an intersection with US 11, US 11E, and US 19. Here, US 11W and US 11E merge back into US 11, and US 421 turns southeast with US 19 and US 11E towards Downtown Bristol.

The routes head south from the intersection for a few blocks, before reaching an intersection with TN-1 (State Street) at the Virginia/Tennessee State Line. This time, US 421 actually enters Tennessee with US 11E and US 19, as the routes head through Bristol, TN.

My Experiences:

The only part of US 421 that I've been in is in North Carolina, from I-85 near Greensboro to NC-87 east of Sanford on May 18, 2023. I have passed through the interchange with I-81 though multiple times, most recently on August 28, 2023.