Virginia State Route 161

State Route 161 is a primary state highway in and near Richmond, Virginia, United States. It extends from an interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95) in the independent city of Richmond north to an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in the Lakeside area of central Henrico County.

For a portion of its history, the road served as an early western highway bypass of the downtown area of the City of Richmond through portions of Chesterfield and Henrico counties. Known during that period as the area's "Belt Boulevard", the name is still applied to some streets along the former bypass routing. SR 161 now located entirely in the City of Richmond and Henrico County.

SR 161 begins at a partial cloverleaf interchange from I-95 exit 69 to an intersection with Walmsley Boulevard and Commerce Road. The state highway curves right onto Commerce Road then turning left at Bells Road near Phillip Morris USA. The state route curves through the Phillip Morris area then crosses over CSX's Bellwood Subdivision to an intersection with Jefferson Davis Highway (US 1/US 301). SR 161 keeps straight across the Jefferson Davis area, crosses over CSX's Clopton Lead, then turns right onto Belt Boulevard near the Parnell Industrial Area. The state route briefly parallels CSX's North End Subdivision as it passes its former alignment with Terminal Avenue. The state route then pass a partial cloverleaf interchange with Hopkins Road before approaching the Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center at SR 10 (Broad Rock Boulevard). The state route turns right and the two highways run concurrently along four-lane divided Broad Rock Boulevard. The two highways diverge just northwest of McGuire Hospital's entrance. The highway heads northwest towards the former McGuire Circle at US 360 (Hull Street Road) then keeping straight passing Historic Southside Plaza and Circle Shopping Centers. About a mile further northwest is a diamond interchange with US 60 (Midlothian Turnpike) where the highway name changes from Belt Boulevard to Westover Hills Boulevard. The highway keeps straight north past a busy intersection with Forest Hill Avenue in the Westover Hills area before approaching the Toll Boulevard Bridge. The bridge crosses over Norfolk Southern Railway's Richmond District, James River, and CSX's Rivanna Subdivision before reaching the toll plaza.

SR 161 crosses through the toll plaza and curves around Maymont Park on the right, Dogwood Dell on the left and through the south side of William Byrd Park as Park Drive. SR 161 turns right onto a four-lane divided Blanton Avenue. It then passes an intersection with Douglasdale Road which has access to I-195 (Beltline Expressway) and toll SR 76 (Powhite Parkway). The highway reduces to two lanes before curving right to Grant Street and then curving left onto S. Arthur Ashe Boulevard where it is once again a four-lane divided highway. Upon departure of Byrd Park near Boat Lake is an interchange only to the eastbound lanes of Toll SR 195 (Downtown Expressway) to downtown Richmond. To access I-195 (Beltline Expressway) northbound, motorist would have to use Idlewood Avenue's west leg after crossing over the Downtown Expressway. SR 161 approaches a one-way pair SR 147 east of Carytown where the eastbound lanes are known as Cary Street and the westbound: Main Street (east leg) and Ellwood Avenue (west leg). The crossing of Main Street is where SR 161 transitions from South to North Arthur Ashe Boulevard. The state highway continues north passing the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (SR 315), the eastern terminus of SR 6 (Kensington Avenue), and around the Stonewall Jackson monument on historic Monument Avenue before reaching US 33/US 250 Broad Street. The state highway continues northeast crossing over CSX's Richmond Terminal Subdivision, passing Greyhound Lines Richmond station on the left and The Diamond on the right. Near the Arthur Ashe Athletic Center is an intersection with Robin Hood Road to the east and Ellen Road to the west. To access I-95 south and I-64 east, motorist would use Robin Hood Road. SR 161 keeps straight crossing under I-95/I-64 to its interchange with the north and westbound lanes (I-95 exit 78). Upon reaching the intersection of Westwood Avenue with the southeast leg being Brookland Parkway, the highway changes names to Hermitage Road. The highway then continues north to an intersection with SR 197 (Laburnum Avenue). Until 2004, there was a monument statue of AP Hill in the center of the intersection. The highway heads north through a residential zone to another interchange with I-95 (southbound only) to I-64 (I-95 exit 80) before crossing into Henrico County near Joseph Bryan Park.

SR 161 enters Henrico County as a four-lane divided highway (Lakeside Avenue) through a local business area to its intersection with Dumbarton Road. The highway heads north through another residential zone and some restaurants toward the intersection with the eastern terminus of SR 356 (Hilliard Road). The north leg of the intersection is the unnumbered Lakeside Avenue to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. SR 161 turns right onto Hilliard Road and heads east to its northern terminus with US 1 (Brook Road).

In the pre-World War II era, the original Robert E. Lee Memorial Bridge (replaced in the 1980s), crossing the James River at Richmond was a toll bridge. Traffic through Richmond on U.S. Route 1 and 301 was often highly congested with Florida-New York and other east coast travelers. In the city, the path of US 1/301 passed miles of tourist homes along Jefferson Davis Highway south of the river and Chamberlayne Avenue north of the river.

By 1934, a combination of roads known collectively as the "Belt Boulevard" formed a western bypass of Richmond's most congested areas along the US 1/301 corridor, crossing the James River on Richmond's privately owned Boulevard Bridge, a toll bridge built in 1925. The Belt Boulevard offered an alternative to downtown Richmond's traffic, with ends at US 1 south and north of the city limits in Chesterfield and Henrico counties, respectively, at that time. (Part of the route south of the James River was annexed from Chesterfield County in 1944; the remainder in 1970, so the road in that area is now entirely in Richmond).

The route began at U.S. Routes 1 and 301 at Terminal Avenue, a location known as "Stop 9" on the Richmond-Petersburg Interurban Electric Railway. A large neon sign and arrow at the intersection of Terminal Avenue and Jefferson Davis Highway on the southwest corner urged northbound motorists to consider the bypass. The sign survived into the 1970s.