U.S. Route 15-501 in North Carolina

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 15-501 in North Carolina. For the entire length of the highway, see U.S. Route 15.

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 15-501 in North Carolina. For the entire length of the highway, see U.S. Route 501.

U.S. Route 15 & U.S. Route 501
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	106 mi (171 km) US 15: 159 miles (256 km) US 501: 170 miles (274 km)
Existed:	1927 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 15 / US 401 at the SC line near McColl, SC US 501 at the SC near Dillon, SC
	I-74 / US 74 in Laurinburg US 421 in Sanford I-40 in Durham NC 147 in Durham I-85 / US 70 in Durham
North end:	US 15 at the VA line near Clarksville, VA US 501 at the VA line near South Boston, VA
Location
Counties:	Scotland, Hoke, Moore, Lee, Chatham, Orange, Durham, Granville, Person
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced North Carolina Highway System ← NC 14 NC 16 → ← I-485 US 521 →

U.S. Route 15-501 in North Carolina is a concurrency of U.S. Route 15 and U.S. Route 501; it traverses approximately 106 miles (171 km) across central North Carolina; from Laurinburg to Durham.

Route description

The "15-501" ("Fifteen Five-o-one") begins with the merger of US 15 and US 501 at the intersection of I-74/US 74 in Laurinburg. It goes north to Aberdeen, where the 15-501 links-up briefly with US 1 before continuing to Pinehurst. In Pinehurst, the 15-501 goes through a rare roundabout, then continues north, through Carthage, back to US 1. After another brief stay on US 1 through Sanford, it exits off the freeway and goes due north to Pittsboro. After Pittsboro, the 15-501 becomes an expressway, connecting the cities of Chapel Hill and Durham; this section of the route is famous because of the two universities it connects: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. Though the road is a symbol of the separation of the Carolina-Duke rivalry, NCDOT has been trying to remedy that by making the route a superstreet for better traffic flow. In Durham, the 15-501 upgrades to an urban freeway, allowing for quick access from south Durham to north; the freeway ends merging into Interstate 85. At exit 176B (on I-85), US 501 splits-off towards Roxboro, while US 15 continues with I-85 towards Oxford. The concurrency route goes for a total of 106 miles (171 km), evenly split between 2-lane rural and urban expressway sections.

U.S. Route 15

US 15 is the dominant partner in the concurrency of 15-501, it's mile markers are used for exit numbers in Durham. Before Laurinburg, US 15 is in concurrency with US 401 from McColl, South Carolina; the short 6-mile (9.7 km) section goes from 2-lane to 4-lane as it approaches Laurinburg.

After Durham, US 15 continues to follow I-85 till exit 186A, where it goes first to Creedmoor, then on into Oxford. After going through downtown Oxford, it continues north, near Mayo Lake, to Clarksville, Virginia. US 15 totals 159 miles (256 km) in North Carolina.

U.S. Route 501

US 501 starts at the South Carolina state line with an intersection of I-95, nearby South of the Border. It goes northwest, through Rowland and Raemon, to Laurinburg. Once at Laurinburg, it overlaps briefly with I-74/US 74 before connecting with US 15. Majority of the route is 2-lane rural road.

After Durham, US 501 goes north to Roxboro, then onto South Boston, Virginia; majority of which is a 4-lane expressway. US 501 totals 170 miles (270 km) in North Carolina.

History

Both US 15 and US 501 were original U.S. Routes in North Carolina, established in 1927. However, it was not until 1934 when the routes merged to the more famous 15-501; a result from a rerouting of US 15 (From Pinehurst south to Laurinburg, instead of Rockingham) and an extension of US 501 from Durham to its current route to Dillon, South Carolina. In the 1950s, the 15-501 were bypassed around the cities of Laurinburg, Carthage, Sanford and Chapel Hill. In 1960, the 15-501 was widen to 4-lanes between Chapel Hill and Durham; while in downtown Durham, the 15-501 freeway was completed. Several widening projects have been done since that time along the 15-501, US 15, and US 501 since then, but the route has changed little since.

Junction list

U.S. Route 15
County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Scotland	Laurinburg	5		US 15 Bus. north / US 401 Bus. north
		6		I-74 / US 74 / US 501 south – Rockingham, Lumberton, Wilmington	South end of US 501 overlap
		7		US 74 Bus. (Church Street)
		9		US 401 north / US 15 Bus. south / US 501 Bus. south – Fayetteville	North end of US 401 overlap
		12		NC 144 (Old Wire Road) – Wagram
Moore	Aberdeen	31.8		NC 211 east – Raeford	East end of NC 211 overlap
		32		US 1 south – Rockingham	South end of US 1 overlap
		32.2		NC 5 – Pinehurst
		34		US 1 north – Southern Pines	North end of US 1 overlap
	Pinehurst	38		NC 2 / NC 211 west – Southern Pines, West End	Roundabout, west end of NC 211 overlap
		41.5		NC 73 west – West End
	Carthage	45		NC 22 south – Southern Pines	South end of NC 22 overlap
		46		NC 22 north (McNiell Street)	North end of NC 22 overlap
		48		NC 24 east / NC 27 east (Monroe Street)	East end of NC 24/NC 27 overlap
		50		NC 24 east / NC 27 east – Cameron	West end of NC 24/NC 27 overlap
Lee		59		US 1 south – Cameron, Southern Pines	South end of US 1 overlap
	Tramway	61		NC 78 east (Tramway Road) – Cameron
	Sanford	63.5		US 1 Bus. north / NC 42 – Asheboro, Fuquay-Varina
		65		Spring Lane
		65.5	69A*	US 421 / NC 87 south – Dunn, Greensboro	South end of NC 87 overlap
		66	69B*	Burns Drive
		66.5	70*	Oscar Keller Jr Highway – Fuquay-Varina	Future US 421
		67.5	71*	US 1 north / US 1 Bus. south – Apex, Raleigh	North end of US 1 overlap
Chatham	Pittsboro	81		NC 87 north – Graham, Burlington	North end of NC 87 overlap
		82		US 64 Bus.
		84		US 64 – Siler City, Apex
Orange	Chapel Hill	97		NC 54 west – Graham	West end of NC 54 overlap
		99		NC 54 east (Raleigh Road)	East end of NC 54 overlap
		102		Franklin Street
Durham	Durham	103		I-40 – Greensboro, Raleigh
		105	105	US 15 Bus. north / US 501 Bus. north (Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard)
		106	106	Cornwallis Road
		107	107	NC 751 (Cameron Boulevard)
		108	108	NC 147 (Durham Freeway) / Hillsborough Road	Signed as exits 108A (east), 108B (west), 108C (Hillsbrough Road)
		109		I-85 south – Greensboro	South end of I-85 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
US 15 overlaps with Interstate 85 (exits 174A to 186A)
Granville		122		I-85 north – Petersburg	North end of I-85 overlap
	Creedmoor	127		NC 56 – Butner, Franklinton
		139		I-85 – Durham, Petersburg
	Oxford	142		US 158 Bus. east (Williamsboro Street) / NC 96 south (Linden Avenue) – Henderson	East end of US 158 Business overlap, south end of NC 96 overlap
		143		US 158 Bus. west (Roxboro Road) / NC 96 north – Roxboro	West end of US 158 Business overlap, north end of NC 96 overlap
		144		US 158 (Oxford Loop Road) – Roxboro, Henderson
U.S. Route 501
County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Robeson		0		I-95 – Lumberton, Fayetteville, Florence	At the state line, nearby South of the Border
	Rowland	2.5		US 301 north / NC 130 east – Lumberton, Fairmont	North end of US 301 overlap, east end of NC 130 overlap
		4		NC 710 west – Pembroke
	Raemon	10		NC 130 west – Maxton	West end of NC 130 overlap
		14		NC 83 – Maxton, Clio
Scotland	Laurinburg	21		US 501 Bus. north (Johns Road)
		21.5		I-74 east / US 74 east – Lumberton, Wilmington	East end of I-74/US 74 overlap
US 501 overlaps with Interstate 74 (exits 185 to 183), U.S. Route 15 (mile marker 6-109), and Interstate 85 (exits 174A to 176B)
Durham	Durham	130		I-85 north / US 15 north / US 70 east – Henderson, Petersburg	North end of I-85/US 15 overlap, east end of US 70 overlap
		132.5		US 501 Bus. (Roxboro Street)
Person		146		NC 57 south – Hillsborough	South end of NC 57 overlap
	Roxboro	156.5		US 158 east – Oxford	East end of US 158 overlap
		157		NC 157 south – Durham
		158		US 158 west / NC 49 south / NC 57 north – Yanceyville, Milton, Haw River	West end of US 158 overlap, south end of NC 49 overlap, north end of NC 57 overlap
		159		NC 49 north (Virgilina Road) – Virgilina	North end of NC 49 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

Note – Exit numbers listed with (*) are based off US 1.

Bannered routes

U.S. Route 15 business loops

U.S. Route 15 Business
Location:	Laurinburg, North Carolina

Laurinburg business loop

The entire route is in Laurinburg, Scotland County.

U.S. Route 15 Business
Location:	Durham, North Carolina

Durham business loop

The entire route is in Durham, Durham County.

U.S. Route 501 business loops

U.S. Route 501 Business
Location:	Laurinburg, North Carolina

Laurinburg business loop

The entire route is in Laurinburg, Scotland County.

U.S. Route 501 Business
Location:	Durham, North Carolina

Durham business loop

The entire route is in Durham, Durham County.

Popularity

• Fifteen501 is a magazine devoted to life in Durham, Orange and Chatham counties, named after the highway that connects these areas. It is published quarterly.

Photo gallery

• 

  US 15-501 turns left in Durham (2009-07-25).

• 

  Speed trap on US 15-501 in Chapel Hill.

See also

• Carolina-Duke rivalry
• Duke University
• Eno River
• Eno River State Park
• Fort Bragg Military Reservation

• Franklin Street
• Mayo Lake
• Pinehurst Resort
• South of the Border
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

References

U.S. Route 15
Previous state: South Carolina	North Carolina	Next state: Virginia

U.S. Route 501
Previous state: South Carolina	North Carolina	Next state: Virginia