Route 1 in Arlington is Now Richmond Highway

No. The only change will be to the street name itself - no other portion of the address will change. 

• Postal Service: The name change will have no impact on mail services through the United States Postal Service (USPS). You do not have to contact USPS to file a change of address form — Arlington County will notify USPS directly and their Address Management System will be updated. USPS mail addressed to both “Richmond Highway” and “Jefferson Davis Highway” addresses in Arlington will continue to be delivered in perpetuity. 
• Other Delivery Services: The name change will be reflected in the address management systems for major delivery services such as FedEx and UPS.
• Navigation Apps: Mobile applications such as Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, Mapquest (and the applications that use them) gather data from multiple sources, including local governments. As such, Arlington County’s update in our Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data should then be reflected in these other applications. To assist in a smooth transition, Arlington County will notify the major mapping firms as soon as possible.

The proposed name change will have no impact on the provision of fire, emergency and medical services. The County dispatch systems will be updated to reflect any name change. 

The proposed name change will have no impact on County records, accounts or property deeds. All impacted addresses will be updated in the County records system to reflect the name change.

Arlington County has long sought to change the name of the 2.56-mile portion of Jefferson Davis Highway in Arlington. A new name for Route 1 will better reflect our community’s values of inclusivity, justice and equal rights. Further, the change will reduce confusion by providing a consistent name for Route 1 though Arlington, the City of Alexandria and Fairfax County. 

Beginning in 2017, the County participated in the City of Alexandria’s Ad Hoc Advisory Group on renaming the roadway within the city’s boundaries. This public process, which considered hundreds of alternative names, resulted in the Alexandria City Council adopting a name change to “Richmond Highway,” which became effective on January 1, 2019. The portion of the roadway within Fairfax County is also named “Richmond Highway.” 

Under State law, all costs associated with producing, placing and maintaining new street signage are borne by the locality. Arlington estimates the cost of the renaming to be $17,000. New signage will be produced and placed throughout the summer, before October 1, 2019.