Great Smoky Mountains Expressway

Not to be confused with Great Smoky Mountains Parkway.

Great Smoky Mountains Expressway
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Existed:	1983 – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 19 / US 74 near Bryson City
	US 276 in Waynesville
East end:	I-40 / US 74 near Clyde
Location
Counties:	Swain, Jackson, Haywood
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced North Carolina Highway System

The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway is a four-lane divided highway in Southwestern North Carolina. Broken in three segments along US 74, it traverses from US 19, near Bryson City to Interstate 40, in Clyde.

Route description

U.S. 74 follows the expressway for its entire length, with U.S. routes 19, 23 and 441 also following the route at various times.^{[citation needed]} Prior to the 1980s, most of the road (parts of which were later relocated) was called U.S. 19 Alternate. The state considered calling the highway U.S. 19 and making the highway through Maggie Valley U.S. 19-A, but business owners in Maggie Valley opposed this. In January 1983, the state also considered calling the highway U.S. 19 Bypass, but made the expressway designation instead a year later.

History

The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway through Waynesville, N.C.

The expressway is limited-access much like an Interstate highway at various points along its route, including stretches between Interstate 40 and the west side of Waynesville, through Sylva and near Cherokee. While the route does include some at-grade intersections, there are currently no traffic signals along the route to impede traffic.

The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway roughly follows the route of the historic Murphy Branch of the Western North Carolina Railroad, now owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway and the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. Much like the railroad was before it, the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway was and still is important in connecting the mostly rural areas in the southwest to the rest of the state. However, there is very little traffic compared to typical expressways, as there is no other major route or population center for it to connect to in the southwest.

Junction list

County	Location	Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Swain	Bryson City		64	US 19 north – Bryson City	North end of US 19 overlap
			67	Veterans Boulevard – Bryson City
			69	Hyatt Creek Road – Ela
	Whittier		72	Whittier Road – Whittier
Jackson			74	US 441 north – Cherokee
			81	US 441 / US 23 south – Dillsboro, Franklin, Atlanta	South end of US 441 overlap; north end of US 23 overlap
	Sylva		83	Grindstaff Cove Road – Sylva
			85	US 23 Bus. to NC 107 – East Sylva, Cullowhee	To Western Carolina University
Haywood	Waynesville		98	US 23 Bus. (Balsam Road) – W. Waynesville
			100	Hazlewood Avenue – Waynesville
			102	US 276 – Waynesville, Brevard, Maggie Valley	Signed as exits 102A (south) and 102B (north)
	Lake Junaluska		103	US 19 south – Maggie Valley	South end of US 19 overlap
			104	US 23 Bus. / NC 209 – Lake Junaluska, East Waynesville, Hot Springs
			105	Jones Cove Road – Waynesville
	Clyde		106	US 19 / US 23 north – Clyde, Canton	North end of US 19 and US 23 overlap
			107	I-40 / US 74 east – Asheville, Knoxville	signed as Exits 107A (I-40 west) and 107B (I-40/US 74 east)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened