North Carolina Highway 49
 North Carolina Highway 49 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Route of NC 49 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NCDOT | ||||
| Length | 177.8 mi[1] (286.1 km) | |||
| Existed | 1934–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  SC 49 at the SC state line | |||
| North end |   SR 49 / SR 96 at the VA state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | North Carolina | |||
| Counties | Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Stanly, Rowan, Davidson, Randolph, Alamance, Orange, Caswell, Person, Granville | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
North Carolina Highway 49 (NC 49) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It traverses much of the Piedmont region of North Carolina.
Route description
The highway is part of a three-state highway 49 system, entering North Carolina near Lake Wylie, south of Charlotte, and exiting the state near Virgilina, Virginia on the Virginia state line.
The route is an important corridor for traffic as it forms a part of the shortest route between the two largest cities in the Carolinas: Charlotte, and the North Carolina state capital of Raleigh. in Asheboro, NC 49 meets US 64, which forms the majority of the Charlotte-Raleigh link.
From where it enters the state, the highway passes through Charlotte (where it follows most of Tryon Street and the uptown portion of Graham Street) and after crossing the more suburban portions of western Cabarrus County, heads northeast into Stanly County. From uptown Charlotte to University City NC 49 is concurrent with US 29. After passing Mount Pleasant in eastern Cabarrus County, the road becomes a designated North Carolina Scenic Byway. The route passes close to Pfeiffer University in Stanly County before crossing the Yadkin River near the Tuckertown Reservoir. After crossing the river, the road skirts the northern foothills of the ancient Uwharrie Mountains and then drops down into the Asheboro area.
In western Asheboro, NC 49 joins US 64 for a 12-mile (19 km) stretch through Asheboro and the outskirts of Franklinville. In Ramseur, the two routes split; NC 49 goes north through the towns of Liberty and Alamance and into Burlington, where it meets I-40/I-85. A concurrency of NC 49 and US 70 winds through Burlington before the two routes diverge at Haw River, where NC 49 heads north. In northern Alamance County, NC 49 meets NC 62 at a 4-way at-grade junction. The two routes switch directions at this point; NC 49 turns east toward Roxboro. After passing through Roxboro and a short interval of concurrency with US 158 and US 501, NC 49 continues on toward the Virginia state line.
One unique fact about the route is that NC 49 is one of limited number of state highways that maintain their numbers in more than two contiguous states, in this case Virginia (SR 49) and South Carolina (SC 49), with an aggregate length in the three states of more than 325 miles (523 km).
History
Established in late 1934 as a renumbering of NC 15, it traversed from Lake Wylie to Morehead and Tryon Street, in Charlotte, where it connected with US 21/US 29/US 74/NC 27. In 1940, NC 49 was extended northeast from Charlotte to the Virginia state line, near Virgilina, Virginia; its routing went as followed: In Charlotte, it was overlapped with US 29 along Tryon Street and Old Concord Road. Traveling through Concord, via Old Charlotte Road, it then overlaps with NC 73 to Mount Pleasant. Replacing NC 62, it travels northeast, through Richfield and Farmer, to Asheboro. With a brief overlap with US 220 (Fayetteville Street), it continues its northeasterly along Old Liberty road, replacing NC 62, through Liberty, Graham, Haw River, to Pleasant Grove. Going east from Pleasant Grove, NC 49 replaced NC 144, through Roxboro, to the Virginia state line, near Virgilina.
In or by 1947, NC 49 was rerouted in Richfield, removing a concurrency with US 52. And in Asheboro, NC 49 was rerouted onto US 64 to Ramseur, then northeast to Liberty; its old alignment becoming NC 49A.
In 1949, NC 49 was rerouted in Roxboro from Main Street onto newly constructed Madison Boulevard. In 1953, NC 49 was given its modern routing bypassing Concord and a concurrency with NC 73; that same year, in the Charlotte area, it was moved from Old Concord Road to University City Boulevard. Around 1960, NC 49 was given a new alignment south of Farmer, in Randolph County. By 1962, in Roxboro, NC 49 was removed along Morgan Street and Concord Road to an overlap with US 158 on Leasburg Road.
In 1982, NC 49, in concurrency with US 29, was rerouted in Uptown Charlotte from Tryon Street onto Morehead and Graham Streets, cutting back onto Tryon Street via Dalton Avenue.[2] By 1993, NC 49 was adjusted in Pleasant Grove to intersect with NC 62; before it would turn nearby without connecting. In 2004, NC 49/NC 57 was rerouted from a section of Leasburg Road onto Long Avenue, in Roxboro.[3]
North Carolina Highway 15
 North Carolina Highway 15 | |
|---|---|
| Location | SC state line-Salisbury, NC |
| Length | 60.3 mi[4] (97.0 km) |
| Existed | 1921–1934 |
North Carolina Highway 15 (NC 15) was an original state highway, established in 1921. It began at the intersection of Trade and Tryon Street in Charlotte, connecting with NC 20/NC 27, traversing northeast along Tryon Street and Old Concord Road to Harrisburg and Concord. From Concord, it went north through Kannapolis and Landis before ending in Salisbury at Main and Innes Street, connecting with NC 10/NC 80. In 1927, US 170 was assigned on all of NC 15. By 1930, NC 15 was extended south on Tryon Street/York Road to SC 163, at Lake Wylie. In 1932, US 170 was renumbered as an extension of US 29. In 1934, because of US 15 establishing in the state, NC 15 was removed on all sections overlapping with US 29 and the remaining section was renumbered to NC 49.
Junction list
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mecklenburg | | 0.0 | 0.0 |  SC 49 south (Charlotte Highway) – York | Southern terminus; South Carolina state line | |||
| Charlotte | 3.5 | 5.6 |  NC 160 (Steele Creek Road) | |||||
| 7.7– 7.9 | 12.4– 12.7 |    I-485 to I-77 – Columbia | Exit 1 (I-485) | |||||
| 11.5– 11.8 | 18.5– 19.0 |  I-77 / US 21 – Rock Hill, Charlotte | Exit 6B (I-77) | |||||
| 14.4 | 23.2 |  NC 160 south (West Boulevard) | Northern terminus of NC 160 | |||||
| 15.1 | 24.3 |      NC 27 east (Morehead Street) to I-277 / US 74 | Southern end of NC 27 concurrency | |||||
| 15.3 | 24.6 |   I-277 north / US 74 east to I-77 / I-85 | Northbound I-277 entrance only | |||||
| 15.4 | 24.8 |   US 29 south / NC 27 west (Morehead Street) | Northern end of NC 27 concurrency; southern end of US 29 concurrency | |||||
| 16.6– 16.7 | 26.7– 26.9 |  I-277 / NC 16 to I-77 / US 21 | Exit 3B (I-277) | |||||
| 22.7 | 36.5 |  To I-85 south – Gastonia | Exit 42 (I-85) | |||||
| 23.3 | 37.5 |  US 29 north (Tryon Street) to I-85 north – Concord | Northern end of US 29 concurrency | |||||
| 24.0– 24.3 | 38.6– 39.1 |  NC 24 (W.T. Harris Boulevard) to I-485 – CPCC Cato Campus | Interchange | |||||
| 26.3– 26.6 | 42.3– 42.8 | I-485 – Pineville, Concord | Exit 33 (I-485) | |||||
| Cabarrus | Concord | 36.6– 37.0 | 58.9– 59.5 |  US 601 (Warren Coleman Boulevard) – Concord, Monroe | Interchange; southern end of NC 73 Truck concurrency | |||
| Mount Pleasant | 42.7– 43.2 | 68.7– 69.5 |  NC 73 – Albemarle, Concord | Interchange; northern end of NC 73 Truck concurrency | ||||
| Stanly | Richfield | 54.6 | 87.9 |  US 52 (Church Street) – Salisbury, Albemarle, Pfeiffer University | ||||
| | 58.4 | 94.0 |  NC 8 south – New London | Southern end of NC 8 concurrency | ||||
| Rowan |
No major junctions | |||||||
| Davidson | Newsom | 62.3 | 100.3 | NC 8 north – Lexington | Northern end of NC 8 concurrency | |||
| Handy | 66.3– 66.6 | 106.7– 107.2 |  NC 109 – Troy, Denton | Interchange | ||||
| Randolph | | 70.9 | 114.1 |  NC 47 west – Denton | Eastern terminus of NC 47 | |||
| Asheboro | 83.4 | 134.2 | Old N.C. Highway 49 – Farmer | Interchange; northbound entrance/southbound exit only | ||||
| 84.0– 84.2 | 135.2– 135.5 |  US 64 west (Dixie Drive) – Lexington | Interchange; southern end of US 64 concurrency | |||||
| 84.2– 84.5 | 135.5– 136.0 |    I-73 / I-74 / US 220 – Rockingham, Randleman, Greensboro | Exit 72A (I-73) | |||||
| 85.2– 85.3 | 137.1– 137.3 |  US 220 Bus. (Fayetteville Street) | Interchange | |||||
| 85.5 | 137.6 |  NC 159 south (Zoo Parkway) – North Carolina Zoo | Northern terminus of NC 159 | |||||
| 87.0 | 140.0 |  NC 42 – Coleridge, Bennett | ||||||
| Ramseur | 94.8 | 152.6 |  NC 22 north (East Main Street) – Greensboro | Southern end of NC 22 concurrency | ||||
| 95.1 | 153.0 | NC 22 south (Coleridge Road) | Northern end of NC 22 concurrency | |||||
| 95.6 | 153.9 | US 64 east (Jordan Road) – Siler City, Raleigh | Northern end of US 64 concurrency | |||||
| | 102.9– 103.0 | 165.6– 165.8 |  US 421 – Siler City, Greensboro | Interchange | ||||
| Alamance | Burlington | 122.8– 123.0 | 197.6– 197.9 |  I-40 / I-85 – Durham, Greensboro | Exit 145 (I-85) | |||
| 123.2 | 198.3 |   NC 54 west (Chapel Hill Road) / NC 100 west (Maple Avenue) | Southern end of NC 54 concurrency; eastern terminus of NC 100 | |||||
| Graham | 124.3 | 200.0 |  NC 87 north (Elm Street) | Southern end of NC 87 concurrency | ||||
| 124.8 | 200.8 | NC 87 south (Main Street) | Northern end of NC 87 concurrency | |||||
| 125.2 | 201.5 | NC 54 east (Harden Street) to I-85 | Northern end of NC 54 concurrency | |||||
| Haw River | 127.9 | 205.8 |  US 70 (Main Street) – Burlington | |||||
| Pleasant Grove | 134.8– 135.1 | 216.9– 217.4 |  To NC 62 – Yanceyville, Burlington | |||||
| | 137.5 | 221.3 |  NC 119 – Semora, Mebane | |||||
| Orange | | 144.0 | 231.7 |  NC 86 south – Hillsborough | Southern end of NC 86 concurrency | |||
| Caswell | Prospect Hill | 144.4 | 232.4 | NC 86 north – Yanceyville | Northern end of NC 86 concurrency | |||
| Person | Roxboro | 159.5 | 256.7 |  US 158 west (Leasburg Road) – Yanceyville | Southern end of US 158 concurrency | |||
| 160.0 | 257.5 |  NC 57 north (Semora Road) | Southern end of NC 57 concurrency | |||||
| 160.3 | 258.0 |  US 158 east / US 501 south / NC 57 south (Durham Pike) – Durham, Oxford | Northern end of US 158/NC 57 concurrencies; southern end of US 501 concurrency | |||||
| 161.9 | 260.6 | US 501 north (Main Street) – South Boston, VA | Northern end of US 501 concurrency | |||||
| Granville | | 177.3 | 285.3 |  NC 96 south – Oxford | Southern end of NC 96 concurrency | |||
| | 177.4 | 285.5 | SR 49 north / SR 96 west (Florence Avenue) – Virgilina | Northern terminus; Virginia state line; northern end of NC 96 concurrency | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Special routes
New London alternate route
 North Carolina Highway 49A | |
|---|---|
| Location | New London, North Carolina |
| Length | 3.8 mi[5] (6.1 km) |
| Existed | 1940–1948 |
North Carolina Highway 49A (NC 49A) was established as a renumbering of NC 62A. A spur route of NC 49, it went south near the Tuckertown Reservoir to New London, connecting with US 52/NC 740 on Gold Street. In 1948, it was renumbered to NC 6; it later became part of NC 8 in 1953.
Asheboro–Liberty alternate route
 North Carolina Highway 49A | |
|---|---|
| Location | Asheboro–Liberty, North Carolina |
| Length | 22.0 mi[6] (35.4 km) |
| Existed | 1947–1967 |
North Carolina Highway 49A (NC 49A) was established after mainline NC 49 was rerouted onto US 64 from Asheboro to Ramseur, then northeast to Liberty; NC 49A continued the old alignment through Asheboro via Albermarle Avenue, Park Street, Salisbury Street, and Fayetteville Street. North of Asheboro it followed Old Liberty Road to Liberty. On November, 1967, NC 49A was decommissioned, most of which (except for Fayetteville Street) becoming secondary roads.[7]
References
- ^ a b "North Carolina Highway 49" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
- ^ "NC 49 Route Change (1982-01-01)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. January 1, 1982. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- ^ "NC 57 Route Change (2004-03-15)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. March 15, 2004. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- ^ "North Carolina Highway 15" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- ^ "North Carolina Highway 49A - New London" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- ^ "North Carolina Highway 49A - Asheboro-Liberty" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- ^ "NC 49A Route Change (1967-11-03)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. November 3, 1967. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
External links
Media related to North Carolina Highway 49 at Wikimedia Commons- NCRoads.com: N.C. 15
- NCRoads.com: N.C. 49
- State highways in North Carolina
- Transportation in Charlotte, North Carolina
- Transportation in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Cabarrus County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Stanly County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Rowan County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Davidson County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Randolph County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Alamance County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Orange County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Caswell County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Person County, North Carolina
- Transportation in Granville County, North Carolina