It runs concurrently north with Route 104, then turns east as the George Washington Highway.

The George Washington Highway is a rural, two-laned expressway with a 50 mph speed limit.

Route 116 is a major corridor in Lincoln, Cumberland and parts of Smithfield.

Then in 2019, the sharply curved ramps in the southwest and northwest quadrants were removed and the outer ramps in the same quadrants were reconfigured to provide full access to and from Route 116 and Route 246.

And again, the signals with turn lanes were added to accommodate the full access.