 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.