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Aug 16

Task Force Met to Discuss Names Submitted by Public

Posted on August 16, 2021 at 11:27 AM by Heidi Kellum

Loudoun County’s task force working on the Renaming of Route 7 and Route 50 project met last evening to narrow the list of alternate names for each roadway submitted by the public. View a recording of the meeting. The names will be shared with the Board of Supervisors during their September 21, 2021, for their review and approval. 

Following the board’s review, on September 29, 2021, Loudoun County will host two virtual public meetings at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. These two meetings are identical and were scheduled to provide added flexibility for the public. These meetings will provide an overview of the project, the task force’s work to review submitted names, and unveil the proposed names for each roadway that will be presented to the public for input. For logon information for the public meeting, visit loudoun.gov/calendar. Following the Board’s approval and the public meetings, a survey will be available at loudoun.gov/renaming7and50 for the public to rank the proposed names. 

After the public ranks the short list of names in order of preference, the Board of Supervisors will review the public’s recommendations and potentially approve the new names in December. The approved name for each roadway will be sent to the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Commonwealth Transportation Board for ultimate approval. 

In December 2020, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors initiated the process of renaming Harry Byrd Highway (Route 7) and John Mosby Highway (Route 50) in collaboration with regional jurisdictions. 

Route 7 extends across the entire county and connects with Clarke County to the west and Fairfax County to the east. Harry F. Byrd Sr. was the governor of Virginia from 1926 to 1930 and a U.S. senator from 1933 to 1965. A proponent of Virginia’s highway system, he was an opponent of school desegregation. The State Highway Commission named Route 7 in memory of Harry Byrd on November 21, 1968. 

Route 50 also extends across the entire county and connects with Fauquier County to the west and Fairfax County to the east with portions of it weaving in and out of Fauquier County. The road is named John S. Mosby Highway in Fauquier County. Route 50 in Fairfax County immediately adjacent to Loudoun is named Lee Jackson Memorial Highway. The General Assembly named Route 50 in memory of John Singleton Mosby, a Confederate Army colonel, on April 1, 1982.

The renaming of these two roadways is one of two projects that have resulted from the Board’s initiation, in September 2020, of a review of Confederate and segregationist symbols in the county.

For more information about the Renaming Route 7 and Route 50 project, including a link to sign up for updates about the project and information regarding upcoming public meetings, visit the project page.