How do I know if a road is state maintained?

Stand at the intersection and read the route number on the sign. VDOT's own description of its secondary system says those local connector and county roads "generally are numbered 600 and above", and that one word is the limit of the clue: generally is not always.

A second VDOT page, written for residents asking about road improvements, states it without the qualifier: state-maintained secondary roads have route numbers of 600 and above. The same page tells residents to check for the number on the signs at intersections or contact their VDOT residency. Read together, the two pages make the sign a sensible first step and the residency the place to confirm it.

What actually makes a county road state maintained is acceptance. Under Va. Code 33.2-100, the secondary state highway system is the public highways in the counties that are not in the primary system and that VDOT has accepted for supervision and maintenance. A number on a sign points to that acceptance; the record of it is VDOT's.

The answer reaches past upkeep. VDOT's Access Management Regulations apply only to highways that are part of the state systems, and they define a highway as a public way in those systems including the entire area within the right-of-way. So whether a new drive needs a VDOT entrance permit turns on the same question, and so does whether frontage on a state road matters more than a private road.

The sign and the map narrow it down. The status of one named road today comes from the VDOT residency that serves the county.

In Carroll County that is the Martinsville Residency, 309 Weeping Willow Lane, Bassett, VA 24055, 276-629-2581, in VDOT's Salem District. There is no VDOT residency in Hillsville. Grayson and Wythe are in the Bristol District and go to the Wytheville Residency, and Floyd, Montgomery and Pulaski go to the Christiansburg Residency; the phone number for each is on the six counties page.

Before calling, have the road name, the route number from the nearest intersection sign and the parcel's tax map number. VDOT's page points residents to that route number first, and the tax map number pins down which stretch of road the question is really about.

Galax sits outside the residency route. VDOT describes a separate system of urban streets maintained by cities and towns with the help of state funds, and notes that Virginia's cities are independent of its counties. VDOT lists Galax among its Salem District cities, but a street inside the city limits is a question for the City of Galax.