Rename Jefferson Davis Highway: Alexandria City Manager

ALEXANDRIA, VA — As soon as next year, Jefferson Davis Highway could have a completely different name, according to reports. The potential change in name comes amid a national tidal wave of support for removing monuments to the Confederacy.

Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks recommended changing the name of U.S. Route 1 in the Potomac Yard area from Jefferson Davis Highway to Richmond Highway, WTOP reported, starting Jan. 1, 2019. The potential name change will be decided at a public meeting on June 23.

The highway is already named Richmond Highway south of Alexandria, so the decision would essentially mean an extension of that name.

A fiscal impact statement said the change would affect residents and businesses on U.S. Route 1, who would have to "replace stationary and marketing materials," among other name-change related expenses. Alexandria would have to replace 10 basic street signs, nine illuminated street signs and one large street sign, costing $27,150, according to WTOP.

In September, Patch reached out to readers for suggestions for the highway's new name. Social media users and Patch readers suggested everything from Abraham Lincoln to "Roady McRoadface." But these were the most popular names resulting from the survey:

• Abraham Lincoln
• Alexandria-Arlington
• Barack Obama
• Heather Heyer
• Mildred and Richard Loving
• Patrick Henry
• Richmond
• U.S. Route One

The City Council voted in favor of a name change in 2016, and set up an advisory panel with four members solely focused on deciding a new name for the highway, WTOP reported. They eventually landed on Richmond Highway, which Jinks now supports.

“The members agreed that the street should not be named for an individual person, since public sentiment about any individual may change over time,” the city council said after seeing the recommendation, according to WTOP.

Reducing the amount of location-specific names of U.S. Route 1 would have little effect on public safety, but would make it easy for motorists to navigate the area, the a memo to the city council said. Route 1 has at least 19 separate names in Virginia, WTOP reported, and there are at least 23 locations where the route's name changes.

Related:

• Take Down Confederate Statues: Residents Tell Panel
• Confederate Statues Come Down In Memphis After City Sells Parks
• Charlottesville's Second Confederate Statue To Be Removed

Article image via Google Street View screengrab