RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — In a state Capitol more divided by partisanship each passing year, some of the deepest rifts are over place, not party. Consider a spat between urban and rural legislators Wednesday over the longest stretch of highway in Virginia.

Del. Charles Poindexter from Glade Hill in scenic Franklin County engaged the regional rift full-on when he sought the Senate Finance Committee’s blessing for funding to widen and modernize a serpentine stretch of the more than 500-mile-long route.