U.S. Route 15 in North Carolina

U.S. Route 15
Route of US 15 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	159 mi[1] (256 km)
Existed:	1927 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 15 / US 401 at the SC line near McColl, 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
Location
Counties:	Scotland, Hoke, Moore, Lee, Chatham, Orange, Durham, Person
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced North Carolina Highway System Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← NC 14 NC 16 →

U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a north–south United States highway that traverses the majority of North Carolina in concurrency with U.S. Route 501, known as "15-501" ("Fifteen Five-o-one").

Route description

US 15-501 turns left in Durham

From the South Carolina state line, US 15 is in concurrency with US 401 to Laurinburg. Merging with US 501, it becomes what is known as "15-501" ("Fifteen Five-o-one"), a concurrency that extends for 106 miles (171 km) across central North Carolina; US 15 also the dominant partner, using its mile markers along the route. After Laurinburg it goes north to Aberdeen, linking briefly with US 1 before continuing to Pinehurst. In Pinehurst, 15-501 goes through a rare roundabout, then continues north, through Carthage, back to US 1. After another brief concurrency with US 1 through Sanford, it exits off the freeway and goes due north to Pittsboro. After Pittsboro, 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.^[2] In Durham, 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.

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.

History

Established in 1927, it was aligned along NC 75 from the South Carolina state line, through Rockingham, Pinehurst and Durham, to the Virginia state line.^[3]

Junction list

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Scotland		0.0	0.0		US 15 south / US 401 south – Bennettsville	South Carolina state line
	Laurinburg	5.0	8.0		US 15 Bus. / US 401 Bus.
		6.0	9.7		I‑74 / US 74 / US 501 – Rockingham, Lumberton, Wilmington	Southern terminus of US 501 concurrency
		7.0	11.3		US 74 Bus. (Church Street)
		9.0	14.5		US 401 / US 15 Bus. / US 501 Bus. – Fayetteville	Northern terminus of US 401 concurrency
	Laurel Hill Township	12.0	19.3		NC 144 (Old Wire Road) – Wagram, Laurel Hill
Hoke	No major junctions
Richmond	No major junctions
Moore	Aberdeen	31.8	51.2		NC 211 – Raeford	Southern terminus of NC 211 concurrency
		32.0	51.5		US 1 – Rockingham	Southern terminus of US 1 concurrency
		32.2	51.8		NC 5 – Pinehurst
		34.0	54.7		US 1 – Southern Pines	Northern terminus of US 1 concurrency
	Pinehurst	38.0	61.2		NC 2 / NC 211 – Southern Pines, West End	Roundabout; northern terminus of NC 211 concurrency
		41.5	66.8		NC 73 – West End
	Carthage	45.0	72.4		NC 22 – Southern Pines	Southern terminus of NC 22 concurrency
		46.0	74.0		NC 22 (McNeill Street)	Northern terminus of NC 22 concurrency
		48.0	77.2		NC 24 / NC 27 (Monroe Street)	Southern terminus of NC 24 / NC 27 concurrency
		50.0	80.5		NC 24 / NC 27 – Cameron	Northern terminus of NC 24 / NC 27 concurrency
Lee		59.0	95.0		US 1 – Cameron, Southern Pines	Southern terminus of US 1 concurrency
	Tramway	61.0	98.2		NC 78 (Tramway Road) – Cameron
	Sanford	63.5	102.2	66	NC 42 / US 1 Bus. – Asheboro, Fuquay-Varina	Interchange; south end of freeway
		65.0	104.6	68	Spring Lane
		65.5	105.4	69A	NC 87 / US 421 Bus. – Olivia, Pineview, Spout Springs	Southern terminus of NC 87 concurrency
		66.0	106.2	69B	Burns Drive / Canterbury Road
		66.5	107.0	70	US 421 – Fuquay-Varina, Dunn, Greensboro
		67.5	108.6	71	US 1 / US 1 Bus. – Cary, Raleigh	Roundabout interchange; north end of freeway; northern terminus of US 1 concurrency
Chatham	Pittsboro	81.0	130.4		NC 87 – Graham, Burlingham	Northern terminus of NC 87 concurrency
		82.0	132.0		US 64 Bus.
		84.0	135.2		US 64 – Siler City, Apex	US 64 exit 383
Orange	Chapel Hill	97.0	156.1		NC 54 / NC 86 – Graham, Blackwood, Hillsborough	Interchange; southern terminus of NC 54 concurrency
		99.0	159.3		NC 54 (Raleigh Road) – Durham	Interchange; northern terminus of NC 54 concurrency
		102.0	164.2		Franklin Street	Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance
Durham	Durham	103.0	165.8		I‑40 – Greensboro, Raleigh	I-40 exit 270
		105.0	169.0	105A 105B	US 15 Bus. / US 501 Bus. / Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway	Interchange; south end of freeway
		106.0	170.6	106	Cornwallis Road
		107.0	172.2	107	NC 751 (Cameron Boulevard)
		108.0– 108.5	173.8– 174.6	108A 108B 108C 108D	NC 147 (Durham Freeway) / US 70 Bus. (Hillsborough Road) / Morreene Road	Signed as exits 108A (Morreene Road), 108B & 108C (NC 147), and 108D (US 70 Bus.)
		109.0	175.4	–	I‑85 / US 70 – Greensboro	Southern terminus of I-85 / US 70 concurrency; I-85 exit 174A; southbound exit and northbound entrance
		See I-85
		111.5	179.4	–	US 501 (Duke Street) / Gregson Street – Roxboro	Northern terminus of US 501 concurrency; I-85 exit 176
		See I-85
		112.5	181.1	–	US 70 – RDU Airport, Raleigh	Northern terminus of US 70 concurrency; I-85 exit 178
See I-85
Granville	Dutchville	122.0	196.3		I‑85 – Petersburg	Northern terminus of I-85 concurrency; north end of freeway, I-85 exit 186
	Creedmoor	127.0	204.4		NC 56 – Butner, Wilton, Franklinton
		139.0	223.7		I‑85 – Durham, Petersburg	I-85 exit 202
	Oxford	142.0	228.5		NC 96 (MLK Jr. Avenue) – Henderson	Southern terminus of NC 96 concurrency
		142.3	229.0		US 158 Bus. (Williamsboro Street)	Southern terminus of US 158 Bus. concurrency
		143.0	230.1		NC 96 (Roxboro Road) / US 158 Bus. – Roxboro	Northern terminus of NC 96 / US 158 Bus. concurrency
		144.0	231.7		US 158 (Oxford Loop Road) – Roxboro, Henderson
		159.0	255.9		US 15 north – Clarksville	Virginia state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

See also

References

1. Google (2011-02-01). "US 15 in NC" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
2. "NCDOT: Super Street" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-02-01.
3. "NCRoads.com: U.S. 15". Retrieved 2012-08-19.

External links

• Media related to U.S. Route 15 in North Carolina at Wikimedia Commons
• NCRoads.com: U.S. 15