U.S. Route 401

For former routes named U.S. Route 401, see U.S. Route 401 (1925) and U.S. Route 401 (1927).

U.S. Route 401
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 1
Length:	251.2 mi (404.3 km)
Existed:	1957 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 521 / US 76 Bus. in Sumter, SC
	I-20 near Lamar, SC US 52 in Darlington, SC I-74 / US 15 / US 74 / US 501 in Laurinburg, NC I-295 in Fayetteville, NC US 70 / NC 50 in Garner, NC I-40 / US 64 in Raleigh, NC
North end:	I-85 / US 1 near Wise, NC
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced ← SC 400 SC SC 402 → ← NC 400 NC NC 403 →

U.S. Route 401 is an north–south United States highway, a spur of U.S. Route 1, that traverses along the fall line from Sumter, South Carolina to Interstate 85 near Wise, North Carolina.

Route description

Starting in Sumter, South Carolina, US 401 goes northeast through mostly swamp and farmland, as it connect the cities of Darlington and Bennettsville before crossing the state line into North Carolina. Traversing the state for 77.2 miles (124.2 km), it is mostly a two-lane rural road, which is likely to only have local traffic along it thanks to nearby Interstate 95.

In North Carolina, the highway becomes more utilized, as it connect to several mid-size and large cities in the state. In the sandhills region, it connects the cities of Laurinburg, Raeford, and Fayetteville. All three of which have business routes connecting the downtown areas. The road is typically two-lane still, but expands to four-lane (or more) in each city. The road takes a pause in the lime-light as it straddles nearby Interstate 95 again; from Fayetteville, through Lillington, to Fuquay-Varina.

In Wake County, US 401 is center-stage again as a major north-south corridor, connecting bedroom communities to downtown Raleigh. Once it leaves the county, it reverts back to a rural road connecting the small cities of Louisburg and Warrenton. US 401 finally ends at Interstate 85, just north from the community of Wise; competing a 174-mile (280 km) thru the state.

Overall, the route goes through endless fields of farmland broken now and then by cities and small towns. With exceptions to both the sandhills region and Wake County, most travelers would be better served using Interstate 95.

History

The north end of US 401 at I-85.

The route is the third highway to bear the name, which included renaming the stretch of U.S. Route 15A from Sumter to Raleigh, and former N.C. Highway 59 from Raleigh to Norlina.

The first U.S. 401 was assigned to a route from South Hill to South Boston in Virginia from 1926 to 1932. Parts of this route were renumbered as U.S. Route 58. The second U.S. 401 ran from Raleigh to Waterboro in North Carolina from 1933 to 1934. Parts of this route were replaced by U.S. Route 15.

Prior to 2001, current U.S. 401 ran 257 miles (414 km) from Norlina, North Carolina at U.S. Route 1 to Sumter, South Carolina at U.S. Route 76 Business.

Future

Considered an important link between Fayetteville, Lillington and Raleigh, NCDOT has setup the US 401 Corridor Study. The purpose of the study is to identify deficiencies in the existing corridor and develop alternatives for accommodating future growth in traffic volumes (i.e. widen to multi-lanes). The corridor study also includes NC 55 and NC 210. Estimated costs for all road improvements along the corridor is around $193–222.6 million. Property acquisition and construction is unfunded at this time.

Junction list

Mileposts reset at state line crossings.

South Carolina
County	Location	Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Sumter	Sumter	0		US 521 north / US 76 Bus. (Washington Street) – Camden, Columbia	US 401 begins; north end of US 521 overlap
		0.5		US 15 / US 521 south (Lafayette Drive) – Summerton, Bishopville	South end of US 521 overlap
		2		US 76 / US 378 (Robert E. Graham Freeway) – Conway, Columbia
Lee	Saint Charles	13		SC 154 (Saint Charles Highway) – Mayesville, Bishopville
	Elliott	17		SC 527 (Elliott Highway) – Kingstree, Bishopville
		18.5		SC 341 (Lynchburg Highway) – Lynchburg, Bishopville
Darlington	Lamar	25		Main Street / Lee State Park Road – Lee State Park
		27.5		SC 403 (Oates Highway) – Timmonsville, Hartsville
		28		I-20 – Florence, Columbia
	Darlington	37.8		US 52 south (Governor Williams Highway) – Florence	South end of US 52 overlap
		38		SC 34 / SC 151 (Harry Byrd Highway) – Hartsville
		41		US 52 Bus. south (Main Street) – Darlington
		52		US 15 south (Hartsville Highway) – Hartsville	South end of US 15 overlap
	Society Hill	54.5		US 52 north (Cheraw Highway) – Cheraw	North end of US 52 overlap
Marlboro		61.5		SC 912 (Willamette Road)
	Bennettsville	64.5		SC 385 (Main Street)
		65.5		SC 9 north / SC 38 north (Cottingham Boulevard) – Cheraw	North end of SC 9/38 overlap
		66.5		SC 38 south / SC 9 Bus. north / SC 38 Bus. north (Broad Street) – Blenheim	South end of SC 38 overlap
		67.5		SC 9 south (Tyson Avenue) – Dillon	South end of SC 9 overlap
	McColl	75.5		SC 381 (Main Street) – Clio, Blenheim, Hamlet
North Carolina
County	Location	Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Scotland	Laurinburg	5		US 15 Bus. north / US 401 Bus. north (Main Street)
		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 15 north / US 501 north / US 15 Bus. south / US 501 Bus. south (Aberdeen Road) – Aberdeen	North end of US 15/501 overlap
		10		US 401 Bus. south (Wagram Road)
	Wagram	17		NC 144 west (Old Wire Road)	To John Charles McNeill House
Hoke	Raeford	27		US 401 Bus. north (Harris Avenue)
		27.2		To NC 211 (Teal Drive)
		31.5		US 401 Bus. south – Raeford
Cumberland	Fayetteville	44		US 401 Bus. north (Reaford Road)
		46		All American Expressway – Fort Bragg, Pope Army Airfield
		47		NC 24 / NC 87 (Bragg Boulevard)
		49.5		NC 210
		51.5		US 401 Bus. south (Ramsey Street)
		55		I-295 north to I-95 to US 13	Signed Future I-295
		64.5		NC 217 north (Linden Road) – Linden
Harnett	Lillington	74.9		NC 210 south – Spring Lake, Fort Bragg	South end of NC 210 overlap
		75		NC 27 west (Old Road) – Cameron, Carthage	West end of NC 27 overlap
		75.5		US 421 north (Front Street) – Sanford	North end of US 421 overlap; to Raven Rock State Park
		77		US 421 south / NC 27 east / NC 210 north – Erwin, Dunn, Angier	South end of US 421 overlap, east end of NC 27 and north end of NC 210 overlap
Wake	Fuquay Varina	90		NC 42 west (Academy Street) – Sanford	West end of NC 42 overlap
		90.5		NC 55 west (Ennis Street) – Holly Springs	West end of NC 55 overlap
		92.5		NC 42 east / NC 55 east – Angier, Clayton	East end of NC 42/55 overlap
	Garner	104		US 70 east / NC 50 south – Garner, Smithfield, Goldsboro	East end of US 70 and south end of NC 50 overlap
	Raleigh	105		Wilmington – Downtown Raleigh
		106		I-40 / US 64 – Cary, Chapel Hill, Benson
		107		Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard / Western Boulevard
		108.5		Peace Street
		109		US 70 west / NC 50 north (Wade Avenue) – RDU Intl Airport, Res Tri Park	West end of US 70 and north end NC 50 overlap
		109.5		Fairview Avenue	Northbound exit left
		109.8		North Wake Forest Road	No southbound exit
		110		South Wake Forest Road / Atlantic Avenue
		112		I-440 / US 1 south – Sanford, Rocky Mount	South end of US 1 overlap
		114		US 1 north (Capital Boulevard) – Wake Forest, Henderson	North end of US 1 overlap
		116.5		I-540 – Rocky Mount, Wilson, Durham
		126		NC 96 (Zebulon Road) – Zebulon, Youngsville
Franklin		128		NC 98 – Bunn, Wake Forest
	Louisburg	137.5		NC 56 west – Franklinton	West end of NC 56 overlap
		138		NC 39 south – Bunn	South end of NC 39 overlap
		139		NC 56 east / NC 581 south (Nash Street) – Rocky Mount	East end of NC 56 overlap
		139.5		NC 561 east – Centerville
	Ingleside	144		NC 39 north – Henderson	North end of NC 39 overlap
Warren	Warrenton	162.5		US 158 Bus. east / NC 58 south (Macon Street) – Macon, Centerville	East end of US 158 Business overlap
	Norlina	166		US 158 east – Macon, Roanoke Rapids	East end of US 158 and west end of US 158 Business overlap
		167		US 1 south / US 158 west – Middleburg, Henderson	South end of US 1 and west end of US 158 overlap
		174		I-85 / US 1 north – Henderson, South Hill, Richmond	US 401 ends; north end of US 1 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

Bannered routes

North Carolina business loops

Currently, there are three U.S. Route 401 Business loops in North Carolina:

U.S. Route 401 Business
Location:	Laurinburg, North Carolina
Length:	4.4 mi (7.1 km)

Laurinburg business loop

The entire route is in Laurinburg, Scotland County.

Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
0		US 15 / US 401 – McColl	US 401 Business begins; south end of US 15 Business overlap
0.5		I-74 / US 74 / US 501 – Rockingham, Lumberton, Myrtle Beach
1.5		US 501 Bus. south (Johns Road) – Rowland	South end of US 501 Business overlap
2		US 74 Bus. (Church Street) – Rockingham, Maxton
3		US 15 Bus. north / US 501 Bus. north (Aberdeen Road) – Aberdeen	North end of US 15 Business and US 501 Business overlap
4.4		US 401 – Raeford	US 401 Business ends
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

U.S. Route 401 Business
Location:	Raeford, North Carolina
Length:	4.7 mi (7.6 km)

Raeford business loop

The entire route is in Raeford, Hoke County.

Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
0		US 401 – Laurinburg	US 401 Business begins
0.8		NC 211 east (Main Street) – Red Springs, Lumberton	East end of NC 211 overlap
0.9		NC 211 west (Main Street) – Aberdeen, Pinehurst	West end of NC 20 and 211 overlap
1.2		NC 20 east (Saint Pauls Road) – Saint Pauls	East end of NC 20 overlap
3		Rockfish Road
4.7		US 401 – Fayetteville	US 401 Business ends
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

U.S. Route 401 Business
Location:	Fayetteville, North Carolina
Length:	9.6 mi (15.4 km)
Existed:	late 1960s–present

Fayetteville business loop

Established in late 1960s from a renumbering of US 401, this business loop goes through Fayetteville via Raeford Road, Robeson Street, Martin Luther King Jr Freeway, and Ramsey Street.

The entire route is in Fayetteville, Cumberland County.

Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
0		US 401 – Raeford, Laurinburg	US 401 Business begins
1		NC 59 south (Hope Mills Road) – Hope Mills
2		All American Expressway – Fort Bragg, Pope Army Airfield
5	104	NC 87 south (Martin Luther King Jr Freeway)	South end of NC 87 overlap
6	104B	Hay Street
6.3		NC 24 / NC 87 north (Bragg Boulevard)	North end of NC 87 overlap
7		Ramsey Street
8		Rosehill Road
9.6		US 401 – Lillington	US 401 Business ends
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

See also

• Black River
• Cape Fear River
• Cross Creek Mall
• Lumber River
• Lynches River
• Neuse River
• Pee Dee River
• Raleigh Convention Center
• Tar River

External links

• End of US Route 401