U.S. Route 301 in North Carolina
US 301 highlighted in red | ||||
Route information | ||||
Auxiliary route of US 1 | ||||
Maintained by NCDOT | ||||
Length | 193.7 mi[1] (311.7 km) | |||
Existed | 1932–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | ![]() ![]() | |||
North end | ![]() | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | North Carolina | |||
Counties | Robeson, Cumberland, Harnett, Johnston, Wilson, Nash, Edgecombe, Halifax, Northampton | |||
Highway system | ||||
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U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a north–south United States highway that runs for 194 miles (312 km) in North Carolina from the South Carolina state line near Rowland to the Virginia state line near Pleasant Hill. The entire route parallels I-95. From the southern border to Hope Mills, it runs very close to I-95, crossing it several times and having a short concurrency with the freeway in Lumberton. From Hope Mills to Eastover, North Carolina it follows Interstate 95 Business, a partial freeway that passes through the center of Fayetteville. Passing through towns such as Dunn, Benson, Smithfield, and Selma that are bypassed by I-95, numerous local businesses targeted at I-95 travellers line this stretch, rarely does it veer more than a fraction of a mile from I-95. At Kenly, it leaves its close parallel of I-95, taking a route approximately 5 miles east of I-95 and passing through the center of the cities of Wilson and Rocky Mount. North of Rocky Mount it passes through several small towns, including Whitakers, Enfield, Halifax, and Weldon before passing into Virginia near Pleasant Hill. Through Rocky Mount the route divides into a Business and Bypass route, and there is also a short business loop in Halifax.
Route description
[edit]US 301 generally follows the same route as I-95 through North Carolina; they both enter the state near the South of the Border attraction in South Carolina, overlap together around Lumberton, and share multiple interchanges before reaching Virginia.
US 301 enters North Carolina at the South Carolina border, south of Rowland and north of South of the Border. The highway enters the state as a four-lane divided highway, concurrent with US 501. It immediately meets I-95 (I-95 exit 1) at an interchange partially in North Carolina and partially in South Carolina. US 301 and US 501 continue north of the interchange toward Rowland, and the highway narrows to a two-lane undivided roadway. It goes northwest until passing through the Bracey Swamp where both routes curve northeast running parallel to the CSX South End Subdivision until they enter Rowland where the concurrency with US 501 ends. US 301 then makes two sharp right curves and then one left curve where it passes through Raynham before merging with I-95 from exit 10 to exit 22. North of Lumberton, it crosses I-95 twice before entering Fayetteville, overlapped with I-95 Business along Eastern Boulevard. North of Eastover, it encounters a connecting road to US 13 just before it crosses under North Carolina Highway 295 (NC 295), also known as Future I-295, as it parallels I-95 to its immediate west. Traversing through the cities of Wade, Godwin, Dunn, and Benson, where it crosses over I-40 without an interchange; it joins the southbound right-in/right-out interchange from Exit 90 on I-95 before serving as the northern terminus of US 701 in Four Oaks, and starts a concurrency with North Carolina Highway 96 (NC 96). From there it continues on through Smithfield, then Selma where the NC 96 concurrency ends, and then passes through Micro. At Kenly, US 301 crosses under I-95 then moves away from that interstate again, into the cities of Wilson, Elm City, Sharpsburg, and Rocky Mount, before returning to a more easterly parallel to the Interstate. US 301 continues north through the towns of Enfield, Halifax, and Weldon, where it joins US 158 in an overlap with a bridge over the Roanoke River, then leaves the overlap as it enters Garysburg. The last major intersection with US 301 in the state is with NC 48 in Pleasant Hill before crossing into Virginia.[1]
History
[edit]US 301 was established in 1932, replacing US 217 from the South Carolina state line to Wilson, and US 17-1 from Wilson to the Virginia state line. In 1934, NC 22 and NC 40 were dropped along the route.[2][3]
Route changes along US 301 started in the early-1950s with a new bypass (Eastern Boulevard) around central Fayetteville and a new bypass west of Halifax. In 1955 or 1956, a new bypass (Ward Boulevard) was built east of Wilson. By 1958, US 301 was widen to a four-lane road around Lumberton, Fayetteville, and between Kenly and Rocky Mount; it was also at this time that Elm City was bypassed. In 1961, I-95 was overlapped with US 301 on the Lumberton bypass. By 1984, US 301 was extended south along I-95 to exit 10, keeping its routing through Rowland.[2]
From 1978 to 1986, US 301 was overlapped by a second I-95 Business Loop between Kenly and Rocky Mount, which also used part of what is today an extension of NC 4.[4][5]
U.S. Route 217
[edit]Location | SC state line-Wilson, NC |
---|---|
Length | 126.7 mi[6] (203.9 km) |
Existed | 1926–1932 |
U.S. Route 217 (US 217) was an original U.S. Highway, established in 1926, and was completely overlapped with NC 22. The original highway continued south into South Carolina to end in Pee Dee. US 217 entered from South Carolina south of Rowland where it went north through Rowland and into Lumberton via Hilly Branch Road and 5th Street. Going north on Pine Street and Fayetteville Road, it connected with Fayetteville where it went north on Gillespie Street, then east on Person Street, before it went north again on Dunn Road. Entering Dunn on Clinton Street, it went west on Cumberland Street (NC 60), then north on Ellis Avenue. It entered Smithfield on 3rd Street, and went east on Market Street then north again on 8th Street. As it approached Wilson from the south, it ended at US 17-1/NC 40 (Dixie Inn Road). In 1932, the entire route was renumbered as part of US 301.[citation needed]
Junction list
[edit]County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North Carolina–South Carolina line | 0.00 | 0.00 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Continuation into South Carolina | ||
![]() | I-95 exit 1 | |||||
Robeson | Rowland | 2.7 | 4.3 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | North end of US 501 overlap | |
| 11.8 | 19.0 | ![]() ![]() | South end of I-95 overlap; I-95 exit 10 | ||
Lumberton | 14.5 | 23.3 | 13 | ![]() ![]() | Exit numbers follow I-95; signed as exits 13A (east) and 13B (west); I-74 exit 209 | |
14 | ![]() | Permanently closed in 2007; replaced by exit 13 | ||||
18.5 | 29.8 | 17 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Southern terminus of NC 711 | ||
20.2 | 32.5 | 19 | Carthage Road | |||
21.4 | 34.4 | 20 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
23.0 | 37.0 | ![]() ![]() | North end of I-95 overlap; I-95 exit 22 | |||
| 27.0 | 43.5 | ![]() | I-95 exit 25 | ||
Saint Pauls | 33.2 | 53.4 | ![]() | |||
| 35.5 | 57.1 | ![]() | Exit 33 (I-95) | ||
| 40.2 | 64.7 | ![]() ![]() | |||
Cumberland | | 43.0 | 69.2 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | South end of I-95 BL overlap; interchange; southbound left exit and northbound entrance | |
Hope Mills | 43.6 | 70.2 | ![]() ![]() | Interchange | ||
45.6 | 73.4 | ![]() ![]() | Eastern terminus of NC 162 | |||
Fayetteville | 50.6 | 81.4 | ![]() | NC 87 exit 102 | ||
52.4 | 84.3 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | At-grade intersection; south end of freeway | |||
53.8 | 86.6 | — | Middle Road | |||
| 55.6 | 89.5 | — | Dobbins Holmes Road | ||
Eastover | 57.3 | 92.2 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | North end of I-95 BL overlap; north end of freeway section | ||
60.2 | 96.9 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | To NC 295 | |||
Godwin | 68.5 | 110.2 | ![]() | |||
Harnett | Dunn | 76.4 | 123.0 | ![]() ![]() | ||
Mingo Swamp | Bridge | |||||
Johnston | Benson | 83.2 | 133.9 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | South end of NC 242 overlap | |
83.7 | 134.7 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | North end of NC 242 overlap | |||
Four Oaks | 93.9 | 151.1 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Exit 90 (I-95); northern terminus of US 701; south end of NC 96 overlap | ||
Smithfield | 98.4 | 158.4 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
Selma | 101.0 | 162.5 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | South end of NC 39 overlap | ||
102.5 | 165.0 | ![]() ![]() | North end of NC 96 overlap | |||
103.4 | 166.4 | ![]() ![]() | North end of NC 39 overlap | |||
Kenly | 112.0 | 180.2 | ![]() | Exit 107 (I-95) | ||
112.5 | 181.1 | ![]() | ||||
Wilson | | 114.7 | 184.6 | ![]() | ||
| 123.2 | 198.3 | ![]() | Exit 5 (I-795) | ||
| 123.6 | 198.9 | ![]() ![]() | Northern terminus of US 117 | ||
Wilson | 123.9 | 199.4 | ![]() ![]() | Exit 43 (US 264) | ||
126.6 | 203.7 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | South end of US 264 Alt. overlap | |||
128.2 | 206.3 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | North end of US 264 Alt. overlap; south end of NC 58 overlap | |||
128.7 | 207.1 | ![]() ![]() | North end of NC 58 overlap | |||
129.9 | 209.1 | ![]() | Interchange | |||
| 132.4 | 213.1 | Rosebud Church Road | Interchange | ||
| 135.0 | 217.3 | Langley Road – Elm City | Interchange | ||
Nash | | 141.5 | 227.7 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Southern terminus of US 301 Bus. | |
Rocky Mount | 143.4 | 230.8 | ![]() ![]() | Interchange; to Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport | ||
146.6 | 235.9 | ![]() ![]() | Interchange; northbound exit via May Drive | |||
147.2 | 236.9 | ![]() | US 64 exit 468A | |||
148.2 | 238.5 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Interchange | |||
150.0 | 241.4 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Northern terminus of US 301 Bus. | |||
Battleboro | 153.5 | 247.0 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Partial interchange; northbound left exit and southbound entrance; southbound access via Red Oak-Battleboro Road | ||
Whitakers | 159.1 | 256.0 | ![]() ![]() | West end of NC 33 overlap | ||
159.3 | 256.4 | ![]() ![]() | East end of NC 33 overlap | |||
Fishing Creek | Edgecombe-Halifax county line | |||||
Halifax | Enfield | 164.0 | 263.9 | ![]() ![]() | West end of NC 481 overlap | |
165.3 | 266.0 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Eastern terminus of NC 481 Bus. | |||
| 167.1 | 268.9 | ![]() ![]() | East end of NC 481 overlap | ||
| 173.4 | 279.1 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | South end of NC 125/NC 903 overlap | ||
| 175.6 | 282.6 | ![]() ![]() | East end of NC 561 overlap | ||
| 176.0 | 283.2 | ![]() ![]() | West end of NC 561 overlap | ||
Halifax | 176.5 | 284.0 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Southern terminus of US 301 Bus. | ||
177.1 | 285.0 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | North end of NC 125/NC 903 overlap | |||
177.4 | 285.5 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Northern terminus of US 301 Bus. | |||
Weldon | 184.0 | 296.1 | ![]() ![]() | West end of US 158 overlap | ||
Roanoke River | Rockfish Capital Bridge | |||||
Northampton | Garysburg | 186.4 | 300.0 | ![]() ![]() | East end of US 158 overlap | |
186.8 | 300.6 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Eastern terminus of NC 46; south end of NC 186 overlap | |||
187.0 | 300.9 | ![]() ![]() | North end of NC 186 overlap | |||
Pleasant Hill | 193.0 | 310.6 | ![]() ![]() | Northern terminus of NC 48 | ||
| 193.7 | 311.7 | ![]() ![]() | Continuation into Virginia | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
[edit]United States portal
U.S. Roads portal
- Special routes of U.S. Route 301
- North Carolina Bicycle Route 5 - Concurrent with US 301 from Wade Stedman Road to Sisk Culbreth Road in Wade
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "US 301" (Map). Google Maps. Google. March 6, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
- ^ a b "NCRoads.com Annex: U.S. 301". Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2011.[self-published source]
- ^ Staff (May 6, 1935). "Route 301 Has Been Restored To 5th Street". The Robesonian. Lumberton, North Carolina. Retrieved July 10, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NCRoads.com: I-95". Retrieved January 12, 2019.
- ^ "NCRoads.com: N.C. 4". Retrieved January 12, 2019.
- ^ "U.S. Route 217" (Map). Google Maps. Google. July 14, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
External links
[edit]Media related to U.S. Route 301 in North Carolina at Wikimedia Commons
- NCRoads.com: U.S. 217
- NCRoads.com: U.S. 301
- U.S. Highways in North Carolina
- U.S. Route 301
- Transportation in Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Transportation in Robeson County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Cumberland County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Harnett County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Johnston County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Wilson County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Nash County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Edgecombe County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Halifax County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Northampton County, North Carolina
- Historic Albemarle Tour