was completed from Grottoes to Elkton in 1941, SR 12 was moved to the new highway by 1944; the old highway became SR 865. SR 865's modern bridges across the South River and North River and their approaches were constructed in 1955 and 1956. These bridges were upstream from the old bridges. SR 865's bridge across Mill Creek and its approaches were constructed in 1956 and 1957. By 1958, Port Republic Road consisted of SR 659 from Harrisonburg to Goods Mill Road, SR 675 south from there to Battlefield Road, SR 679 from there to SR 865 (Pineville Road), SR 865 through Port Republic, and SR 629 from SR 865 just south of the South River to beyond US 340 (East Side Highway). The county highways were all paved except for SR 675, which was gravel. Port Republic Road's interchange with I-81 was completed when the Interstate was completed between interchanges with US 11 on either side of Harrisonburg in 1961. By 1974, SR 659 was extended southeast so that all of Port Republic Road was one route number. Port Republic Road was relocated at its intersection with SR 680 (Oak Ridge Road) in 1971. The intersection had formerly been a T intersection that required a turn to remain on Port Republic Road. SR 659 was reconstructed from SR 689 (Spaders Church Road) to just south of I-81 by 1978. The highway's intersections with SR 708 and SR 679 were revised and SR 659 was reconstructed between them by 1987. Port Republic Road was widened by the city of Harrisonburg to four lanes from US 11 to I-81 in 1994, from I-81 to Neff Avenue in 2004, and from Neff Avenue to the city limit by 2006. Port Republic Road in the city of Harrisonburg and SR 659 in Rockingham County from the city to US 340 were transferred from the secondary system to the primary highway system as SR 253 by a resolution passed by the Commonwealth Transportation Board on March 17, 2005. The transfer was supported in part by the planned relocation of Rockingham Memorial Hospital from north of the James Madison University campus in the city to southeast of the city in Rockingham County, a process that began in 2004 and was completed when the hospital opened in 2010. SR 253 was expanded to a four-lane divided highway from SR 704 (Boyers Road) north to the city