North Carolina Highway 55

NC 55
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	192 mi (309 km)
Existed:	1957 – present
Major junctions
East end:	Oriental Road in Oriental
	US 17 in Bridgeton US 70 in New Bern US 258 in Kinston US 70 in Kinston US 117 in Mount Olive US 13 / US 701 in Newton Grove I-40 near Newton Grove I-95 in Dunn US 421 in Erwin US 401 in Fuquay-Varina US 1 in Apex US 64 in Apex I-40 in Durham NC 147 in Durham I-85 / US 15 / US 70 in Durham
West end:	US 501 Bus. in Durham
Location
Counties:	Pamilico, Craven, Lenoir, Wayne, Johnston, Sampson, Harnett, Wake, Durham
Highway system
North Carolina Highway System ← NC 54 NC 56 →

NC 55 is a 192-mile (309 km) North Carolina state highway that serves as a traffic artery connecting Durham with Cary and numerous small cities and towns in the The Triangle on its way toward the Pamlico Sound. A portion of NC 55 extends through Research Triangle Park. NC 55 is a major artery in the central part of The Triangle region, and is a four lane, divided highway between Durham and Cary and Apex. NC 55 is also a divided highway between Apex and Fuquay-Varina.

Route description

Although NC 55 is signed EAST/WEST, the most used section of road actually runs in a north–south alignment. Between Durham and Erwin "EAST" is really southbound and "WEST" is really northbound.

Starting at the northern terminus from US 501 Business (North Roxboro Street) near the concurrent I-85, US 15 and US 70, the highway passes through North Carolina Central University and then cuts a path through a fairly urbanized section of Durham. As it exits Durham, NC 55 widens to a four lane divided highway as it passes through the western side of Research Triangle Park. Much of this way route is forested and undeveloped. The next leg of the journey enters Cary and Apex. Extensive reconstruction of the roadway in this area, widened in anticipation of higher traffic volumes from NC-540 and construction in Apex and Cary, was completed in 2007.

After the junction with US 64 and a few shopping-centers, NC 55 narrows as it passes through Apex (Williams St). After the junction with U.S. 1, NC 55 widens again and splits into business and bypass routes in Holly Springs. Finally, it proceeds to an open landscape with scattered sections of dense forest for the stretch towards Fuquay-Varina. The highway continues southeastward across US 401, eventually exiting Wake County into Harnett County.

In the Erwin/Dunn area the road heads east and merges with NC 50 in Newton Grove. NC 55 leaves to take a more easterly course towards the coast, ending at the Pamlico Sound in Oriental.

Major intersections

County	Location	Destinations	Notes
Durham	Durham	US 501 Bus. (Roxboro Street)	Western terminus
		I-85 / US 15 / US 70 – Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, Oxford, Raleigh	Diamond interchange; Exit 177
		US 70 Bus. / NC 98 (Holloway Street) – Wake Forest, Youngsville
		NC 147 (East-West Expressway) – Morrisville	Diamond interchange; Toll Road
		I-40 (John Motley Morehead III Freeway) – Greensboro, Wilmington	Partial cloverleaf interchange; Exit 278
		NC 54 (Nelson Chapel Hill Highway) – Chapel Hill, Raleigh
Wake	Morrisville	NC 540 to I-540 – Raleigh	Trumpet interchange
	Apex	US 64 – Pittsboro, Cary	Partial cloverleaf interchange
		US 1 (Claude E. Pope Memorial Highway) – Moncure, Wake Forest	Diamond interchange
		NC 55 Bus. east (Williams Street)	Western terminus of Business NC 55
	Holly Springs	NC 55 Bus. west (Main Street)	Eastern terminus of Business NC 55
	Fuquay-Varina	US 401 south / NC 42 west (Main Street) – Lillington, Sanford	West end of concurrency with US 401 and NC 42
		US 401 north (Main Street) – Garner, Raleigh	East end of concurrency with US 401
		NC 42 east – Clayton, Wilson	East end of concurrency with NC 42
Harnett	Angier	NC 210 (Depot Street) – Lillington, Smithfield
	Coats	NC 27 (Stewart Street) – Lillington, Benson
	Erwin	US 421 north (Jackson Boulevard) / NC 82 east (13th Street) – Sanford, Godwin	West end of concurrency with US 421; Western terminus of NC 82
	Dunn	US 301 (Clinton Avenue) – Eastover, Benson
		I-95 – Fayetteville, Rocky Mount	Diamond interchange; Exit 73
		US 421 south (Cumberland Street) – Clinton	East end of concurrency with US 421
Sampson		NC 242 (Benson Highway) – Salemburg, Benson
Johnston	No major intersections
Sampson	Newton Grove	NC 96 north – Selma	Southern terminus of NC 96
		NC 50 north (Johnston Highway) – Benson	West end of concurrency with NC 50
		I-40 – Raleigh, Wilmington	Diamond interchange; Exit 341
		US 13 (Fayetteville Highway) / US 701 (Clinton and Main Streets) – Eastover, Goldsboro, Clinton, Four Oaks	Six way intersection with a Traffic roundabout
		NC 50 south (Julius Sutton Highway) – Faison	East end of concurrency with NC 50
Wayne	Mount Olive	US 117 – Calypso, Goldsboro	Diamond interchange
		US 117 Alt. (Breazeale Avenue)
	Williams	NC 403 west (Williams X Road) – Faison	Eastern terminus of NC 403
	Hines Crossroads	NC 111 – Beulaville, Goldsboro
Lenoir		NC 903 – Kenansville, La Grange
	Parrott Fork	NC 11 south – Pink Hill	West end of concurrency with NC 11
	Kinston	US 70 Byp. / US 258 Byp. (New Bern Road) – La Grange, Snow Hill, New Bern, Richlands
		US 70 / US 258 / NC 58 (Queen Street) – Cape Carteret, Snow Hill
		NC 11 north – Grifton	East end of concurrency with NC 11
Craven	New Bern	NC 43 (Washington Post Road) – Vanceboro, Greenville
		US 70 Bus. west (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard)	West end of concurrency with Business US 70
		US 70 Bus. east (Broad Street)	East end of concurrency with Business US 70
		US 17 south / US 70 west – Dover, Pollocksville	West end of concurrency with US 17/70; Partial diamond interchange
	James City	US 70 east / US 70 Bus. west – Havelock	East end of concurrency with US 70; Eastern terminus of Business US 70; Partial cloverleaf interchange
	Bridgeton	US 17 north (D Street) – Vanceboro	East end of concurrency with US 70
Pamlico	Grantsboro	NC 306 (Point Road) – Arapahoe, Aurora
	Bayboro	NC 304 east (Vandemere Road) – Vandemere	Western terminus of NC 304
	Oriental	Oriental Road	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

External links

• NC 55 Widening in Pamlico County
• State-Ends.com - NC 55