Fire Station and Rescue Squad Signs on US 11 North; Strasburg.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1995.  Most of these signs have now been replaced with standard yellow warning signs.
	'TO' I-66 Virginia and US 340/522 North Shields; Front Royal.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1995.  The older style I-66 sign has sicne been replaced with a more modern standard I-66 shield without the state name.
	Guide sign for US 11/58 (Exit 19) on I-81 North; Abingdon.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1995.
	US 11 North / US 421 South / and US 11W West shields; Bristol.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1995.  These shields taken standind at the Tennessee Line have since been replaced.
	North US 221/VA 122 shields; Bedford.  Photo taken by Michael Summa; 1994.  These signs are set on a white background, a style that was first introduced nationally in the 1940s.  Many states soon dropped this style for a black background.  Virginia was one of the last states to switch to the black background sometime in the 1970s.
	South US 11 Shield; Radford.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1994.
	To I-77 & I-81 Virginia and North US 21/52 shields; Wytheville.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1994.  These signs have since been replaced.
	Overheads for I-81 / US 11/460 and VA 419; Salem.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1994.  These overeads are still standing and are quickly deteriorating.
	Route 619/ US 21 Cutout/ Route 749 shields; approaching Independence.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1993.  Cutouts appeared in the Independence and Wytheville areas until about the mid-1990s.
	South US 21 cutout shield and distance guide sign; Elk Creek.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1993.  This same sign was replaced by an erroneous VA 21 shield.
	Older Curve Warning sign on Secondary Route 615; New Castle.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1992.
	Guide sign for US 29/501 Lynchburg Expressway; Lynchburg.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1992.  An example of an early guide sign adjusted for changes to the road landscape.
	North VA 117 and To I-581 Virginia Shields; Roanoke.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1992.  A great example of the white painted wooden posts Virginia had used for guide signs.
	South Business US 23 cutout shield and distance guide sign; Norton.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1992.  The guide sign had definitely seen better days.
	North US 421 cutout shields and distance guide sign; Pennington Gap.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1992.  To get to Harlan, KY follow US 421 24 miles.  St. Charles is actually accessible via VA 352.  Also the marker for Secondary Route 1108 is stenciled.
	US 58 Alternate West cutout shield and distance sign; Dot.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1992.
	US 11 and Alternate US 460 Shields; Salem.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1991.  The US 460 shields have a bottom heavy, chipmunk looking design.
	Odd shaped US 11 North and US 460 East shields; Salem.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1991.
	US 221/ Business 460/ 501 shields; Lynchburg.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1991.  Most of these sign combinations have been replaced with one piece shields.
	US 460 and Business 460 shields; Lynchburg.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1991.
	A whole bunch of shields for I-581 Virginia/ US 11/221/460 and VA 116; Roanoke.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1990.  There are errors and missing markers in this stand.  First, the 'TO' US 11 should be 'TO' US 220.  Arrows and directional markers are missing for US 460 West and VA 116 North.  This confusing sign combination and classic I-581 marker stood until at least 1997.
	Blue Ridge Parkway Trail Blazer; Roanoke.  Photo taken by Michael Summa; 1990.  An older blue and green shield vs. the more common brown text and design seen today.

1970-1979

	Junction I-81 Virginia and US 522 shields on US 17/50; Winchester.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1978.  Something unseen in Virginia today is the complete spelling of 'Junction' compared to 'JCT' which is used today.
	South US 17 and East US 50 shields with distance guide sign; Winchester.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1978.
	Toll West VA 44 and Toll West VA Beach-Norfolk Expressway Trailblazers; Virginia Beach.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1977.  This photo was taken at the eastern terminus of the toll highway that would become a toll-free Interstate 264 two decades later.
	Trailblazers for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunner, Portsmouth Tunnel, and Hampton Roads Tunnel; Hampton Roads.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1977.
	I-495 and US 1 directional overheads; Alexandria.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1976.  The I-495 shield was placed over top of 'Thru Traffic'.   The term 'Thru Traffic' was commonly used on Interstates and freeways throughout the 60's.  The directional overhead for US 1 and Mt. Vernon Highway is an early example of directional signing.
	Scene at the intersection of Route 639 and 712 near I-95; Ladysmith.  Taken by Michael Summa; 1976.  The interchange with I-95 is now Exit 110.

White-on-Black South US 13/ West US 58/ West US 460 shields; Suffolk.  Image courtesy of Charles Slater, circa. 1964.  Found in a 1964 Directory of Pure Oil Truck Stops, this image suggests that Virginia once used different color shields.  This is possibly a white outline and numerals on a black background or some other dark color.  This is the first instance I have seen of  such shields ever existing in Virginia.  Virginia had used a black outline shield and numerals on a white background for decades.  Examples of those can be seen throughout this page.

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Page Created: July 26, 2003
Last Updated: February 13, 2006

(C) 2003-06 William Lawson