Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike

The Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike was a controlled-access toll road located in the Richmond-Petersburg region of central Virginia, United States.

After World War II, major traffic congestion occurred in the area around Richmond and Petersburg along U.S. Route 1 (US 1) and US 301. This was particularly true where these two major routes shared the same roadway for much of the distance between the two cities, as well as bridges across the James River and Appomattox River.

To help alleviate the problems, in 1955 the Virginia General Assembly created a political subdivision, the Richmond Petersburg Turnpike Authority. The authority was administered by a board of directors. Its members were appointed by the local governing bodies of the jurisdictions through which the turnpike passed, one member from each locality. It was given the mission to sell toll revenue bonds to build and operate a new toll highway parallel to the existing US 1 and US 301 between Henrico County just north of Richmond and Dinwiddie County just south of Petersburg, with new bridges over the two major rivers. Opened in 1958, and funded through toll revenue bonds, it was conceived prior to the creation of the Interstate Highway System.

Tolls were removed completely in 1992. Today, the former Richmond–Petersburg Turnpike forms 30 miles (48 km) of Interstate 95 (I-95) in central Virginia as well as the northernmost 5 miles (8.0 km) of I-85 in Petersburg and Dinwiddie County. The 4 miles (6.4 km) of I-64 which overlap I-95 in Richmond were also part of the turnpike.