North Carolina Highway 581

NC Highway 581
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	71.8 mi[1] (115.6 km)
Existed:	1933 – present
Major junctions
South end:	NC 111 in Goldsboro
	US 13 / US 117 in Goldsboro US 70 in Goldsboro US 301 in Kirbys Crossing US 264 in Bailey Future I‑495 / US 64 in Spring Hope
North end:	US 401 / NC 39 / NC 56 in Louisburg
Location
Counties:	Wayne, Wilson, Nash, Franklin
Highway system
North Carolina Highway System Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← NC 561 NC 610 →

North Carolina Highway 581 (NC 581) is a primary state highway in the state of North Carolina. The highway travels from Goldsboro to Louisburg, connecting various rural communities in between.

Route description

Dedicated and memorial names

NC 581 feature two dedicated stretches of highway.

• George Washington Finch Bridge – Official North Carolina name of the NC 581 overpass of US 264, in Nash County (approved: September 8, 1978).^[2]
• Clifton L Benson Highway – Official North Carolina name of NC 56/NC 581, from Mapleville to Louisburg (approved: December 7, 1972).^[2]

History

Established in 1933 as a new primary routing, NC 581 originally traversed from US 264/NC 91, in Bailey, north to US 64/NC 90, in Spring Hope. In 1937, NC 581 was extended south on new primary routing to US 301, near Lucama. By 1941, NC 581 was also extended north on new primary routing to NC 56, in Mapleville.

By 1950, NC 581 extended again on new primary routing south to US 70, then east replacing NC 111, ending at US 70 Bus/US 117 Bus, in downtown Goldsboro. In 1982, NC 581 was extended north from Mapleville, overlapped with NC 56, to its current northern terminus in Louisburg.^[3]

In 1998, NC 581 was removed from downtown Goldsboro and redirected south along US 13/US 117, from Ash Street to Arrington Bridge Road, then southeast to its current southern terminus with NC 111. In 2008, NC 581 was realigned onto new freeway extension with US 117, removing it from part of Ash Street and overlap with US 13/US 117 Alt; a year later US 117 would revert to its former route, leaving NC 581 on the new freeway segment.^[4][5]

In 2015, NC 581 was rerouted in Bailey, following along the truck route along Main, Benson and Deans Streets; the one block of Sanford Street became SR 1186 and is restricted to all thru trucks with a load limit exceeding 13,000 pounds (5,900 kg). The justification for the route change was because of the railroad underpass with a 8.6 feet (2.6 m) vertical clearance. Nine crashes, including a school activity bus, happened between May 1, 2008 and April 30, 2013; also, representatives from Carolina and Northwestern Railroad indicated that they would not allow a widening of the underpass.^[6]

Junction list

The Clifton L. Benson Highway

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Wayne	Goldsboro	0.0	0.0	NC 111 – Beulaville, Goldsboro
		6.0	9.7	US 13 south / US 117 south	South end of US 13/US 117 overlap
		6.9	11.1	US 117 Bus. north (George Street)
		8.4	13.5	US 13 north / US 117 north – Kinston, Greenville	North end of US 13/US 117 overlap
		8.9	14.3	To I‑795 north – Wilson
		14.6	23.5	US 70 – Goldsboro, Smithfield, Raleigh
		15.1	24.3	NC 44	Future US 70
		24.7	39.8	NC 222 – Fremont, Kenly
Wilson	Kirbys Crossing	29.8	48.0	US 301 – Wilson, Kenly
	Buckhorn Crossroads	34.7	55.8	NC 42 – Wilson, Clayton
Nash	Bailey	42.4	68.2	US 264 Alt. – Wilson, Middlesex
		42.9	69.0	US 264 – Wilson, Raleigh
	Floods Chapel	48.6	78.2	NC 97 – Rocky Mount, Zebulon
		53.5	86.1	Future I‑495 / US 64 – Rocky Mount, Raleigh
	Spring Hope	54.8	88.2	US 64 Alt. west (Nash Street) – Zebulon	West end of US 64 Alt overlap
		55.3	89.0	US 64 Alt. east (Nash Street) – Nashville	East end of US 64 Alt overlap
Franklin	Mapleville	67.5	108.6	NC 56 east – Castalia, Rocky Mount	East end of NC 56 overlap
	Louisburg	71.8	115.6	US 401 / NC 39 / NC 56 west – Henderson, Raleigh	West end of NC 56 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Bannered routes

Goldsboro connector

NC Highway 581 Connector
Location:	Goldsboro, North Carolina
Length:	0.6 mi[7] (1.0 km)
Existed:	2009–present

North Carolina Highway 581 Connector (NC 581 Conn) was established in 2009 as a renumbering of US 117 along a 0.6-mile (0.97 km) of freeway, connecting I-795, at Grantham Street (US 70), and NC 581, at Ash Street.^[8]

Bailey truck route

NC Highway 581 Truck
Location:	Bailey, North Carolina
Length:	0.4 mi[9] (0.6 km)

North Carolina Highway 581 Truck (NC 581 Truck) was a detour for all trucks and vehicles that are 8.6 feet (2.6 m) or taller. The route avoids a low railroad overpass bridge on NC 581; travelers who took the route would traverse along Main, Benson and Deans Street (US 264 Alt), in Bailey. On August 12, 2015, the truck route was eliminated in favor of rerouting NC 581 along said route.^[6]

References

1. Google (June 17, 2013). "North Carolina Highway 581" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
2. "North Carolina Memorial Highways and other Named Facilities" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. July 15, 2004. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
3. "NC 581 Route Change (1982-11-01)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. November 1, 1982. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
4. "NC 581 Route Change (1998-01-30)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. January 30, 1998. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
5. "NC 581 Route Change (2006-09-07)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. September 7, 2006. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
6. "Route Change (2015-08-12)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. August 12, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
7. Google (June 17, 2013). "NC 581 Connector - Goldsboro" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
8. "NC 581 Route Change (2009-04-22)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. April 22, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
9. Google (June 17, 2013). "NC 581 Truck - Bailey" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 17, 2013.

External links

• Media related to North Carolina Highway 581 at Wikimedia Commons
• NCRoads.com: N.C. 581