U.S. Route 19W

U.S. Route 19W
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 19
Length:	63 mi[1] (101 km)
Existed:	1930 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 19 / US 19E in Cane River, NC
	I-26 / US 23 near Erwin, TN
North end:	US 11E / US 19 / US 19E near Bluff City, TN
Location
States:	North Carolina, Tennessee
Counties:	NC: Yancey TN: Unicoi, Washington, Sullivan
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced North Carolina Highway System Interstate U.S. State Scenic Tennessee State Routes Interstate US State ← US 19E NC NC 20 → ← US 19E TN SR 20 →

U.S. Route 19W (aka US 19 West) traverses approximately 63 miles (101 km) from Cane River, North Carolina to Bluff City, Tennessee.

Route description

Trucks not recommended on US 19W

US 19W begins in western Yancey county in the community of Cane River, at the intersection of US 19/US 19E. Several signs at the beginning of the route strongly recommend truckers against using this route. The road then proceeds north through the Pisgah National Forest, connecting the communities of Elk Shoal, Ramseytown and Sioux, to the Tennessee state line (near Spivey Gap); a 22 miles (35 km) drive of endless curves and elevation changes.

Once past the state line, the road enters the Cherokee National Forest, however the road is still much the same for another 6.3 miles (10.1 km) to SR-352/Flag Pond Road. From Flag Pond Road, it is just 1 mile (1.6 km) to Interstate 26, where US 19W merges with to Johnson City. US 19W overlaps with I-26/US 23 from exit 43 (Hill Road) to exit 20 (Roan Street). It leaves I-26, overlapped with US 11E continues north on the Bristol Highway for 9.4 miles (15.1 km), where reconnects with US 19E to reform US 19 near Bluff City.

History

Established in 1930, US 19 was split, at Cane River, into US 19E and US 19W. US 19E follows the original US routing via Spruce Pine and Elizabethton to Bluff City. US 19W was routed an alternate route with US 23 and NC 692 into Tennessee, then through the cities Erwin and Johnson City, before rejoining US 19E in Bluff City. In late 1934, NC 692 was dropped along route; then in 1952, US 23 abandoned US 19W in North Carolina by rerouting west through Faust and Wolf Laurel, meeting back at Ernestville. In 1984, US 19 was realigned on a more straight path in Yancey County, US 19W was thus extended .4 miles (0.64 km).^[2][3]

North Carolina Highway 692

NC Highway 692
Location:	Cane River, NC-TN state line
Length:	21.6 mi[4] (34.8 km)
Existed:	1923–1930

North Carolina Highway 692 (NC 692) was established in 1923 as new primary routing to Tennessee; NC 692 was the original highway number from Cane River to Spivey Gap. In 1929, NC 692 was truncated at Sioux, replaced by an extension of NC 19 from Bakersville. In 1930, US 19W and US 23 were overlapped on the remaining section of NC 692. In late 1934, NC 692 was decommissioned.^[5]

Junction list

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Yancey	Cane River	0.0	0.0	US 19 south / US 19E north – Asheville, Burnsville
		15.1	24.3	Huntdale Road – Huntdale
		21.9 0.0	35.2 0.0	North Carolina–Tennessee state line
Unicoi	Ernestville	6.3	10.1	SR 352 west (Flag Pond Road) – Asheville, Flag Pond
	Temple Hill	7.5	12.1	I-26 east / US 23 south – Asheville	East end of I-26 and south end of US 23 overlap
See Interstate 26 (exits 43 to 20)
Washington	Johnson City	31.0	49.9	I-26 west / US 23 north / US 11E south (Roan Street / SR 34) – Kingsport	West end of I-26, south end of US 11E/SR 34, north end of US 23 overlap
		31.5	50.7	SR 36 north (North Roan Street) – Boones Creek, Kingsport	North end of SR 36 overlap
		32.0	51.5	SR 381 south (State of Franklin Road) – Kingsport	Northern terminus of SR 381
Sullivan	Bluff City	41.0	66.0	US 11E north / US 19 north (SR 34) / US 19E south (SR 37) – Bristol, Bluff City, Elizabethton	Northern terminus of US 19E and 19W; 19E and 19W come together to form US 19
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

See also

References

1. Google (2010-10-31). "US 19W" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
2. "NCRoads.com: US 19". Retrieved 2010-10-31.
3. "NCRoads.com: US 19-W". Retrieved 2010-10-31.
4. Google (July 14, 2013). "North Carolina Highway 692" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
5. "NCRoads.com: N.C. 692". Retrieved July 14, 2013.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Media related to U.S. Route 19W at Wikimedia Commons
• NCRoads.com: U.S. 19W