U.S. Route 501 in North Carolina

U.S. Route 501
Route of US 501 in North Carolina highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	170 mi[1] (274 km)
Existed:	1927 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 301 / US 501 at the South Carolina line near Dillon, 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 501 at the Virginia line near South Boston, VA
Location
Counties:	Robeson, Scotland, Hoke, Moore, Lee, Chatham, Orange, Durham, Person
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Bannered Divided Replaced North Carolina Highway System Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← I‑495 US 521 →

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

Route description

US 15-501 turns left in Durham

US 501 enters North Carolina at the South Carolina state line with an intersection of Interstate 95 (I-95) while overlapping US 301, nearby South of the Border. It goes northwest through Rowland where the overlap with US 301 terminates, and then travels through Raemon to Laurinburg. Once at Laurinburg, it overlaps briefly with I-74/US 74 before connecting with US 15. The majority of the route, to this point, is a two-lane rural road.^[1]

Merging with US 15, 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. After Laurinburg it goes north to Aberdeen, linking briefly with US 1 before continuing to Pinehurst. In Pinehurst, 15-501 goes through a roundabout then continues north through Carthage, then back to US 1. After traveling through Sanford on another brief concurrency with US 1, 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 I-85. At exit 176B on I-85, US 501 splits off towards Roxboro, while US 15 continues with I-85 towards Oxford.^[1]

After Durham, US 501 goes north to Roxboro, then onto South Boston, Virginia after crossing the state line, the majority of which is a four-lane expressway.^[1]

History

When US 501 was established in 1927, it was aligned along North Carolina Highway 13 (NC 13) from Durham north through Roxboro to the Virginia state line.

In 1934, it was overlapped with US 15 from Durham south to Laurinburg. From there, it went southeast to Rowland and then to the South Carolina border. This extension south replaced NC 22, NC 71, and NC 241.

In 1953, US 501 was bypassed around Chapel Hill. In 1956 or 1957, US 501 was bypassed west of Sanford. Between 1960-1962, US 501 was bypassed around Laurinburg.^[3]

North Carolina Highway 13 (1921-1930)

North Carolina Highway 13 was an original state highway running from Durham, north through Rougemont and Roxboro ending at SR 18 at the Virginia State Line. The highway's routing appeared on the 1916 Highway Map by the North Carolina State Highway Commission for the five year federal aid program.^[5] However NC 13 was not officially marked on any state highway maps until 1924; where it was routed from NC 10/NC 75 in Durham north through Rougemont and Timberlake to NC 57 east of Roxboro. NC 13 turned toward the west into Roxboro, before intersecting NC 144 and turning north.^[6] The highway had its northern terminus at the Virginia State Line near South Boston. By 1926 the routing of NC 13 was shifted slightly to the west between Timberlake and Roxboro, providing a direct link between the cities.^[7] The route was deleted in 1930, with US 501/NC 55 taking over the entirety of the routing.^[4][8]

Junction list

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Robeson	​	0.0	0.0		US 301 south / US 501 south – South of the Border I‑95 – Lumberton, Fayetteville, Florence	South Carolina state line
	Rowland	2.7	4.3		US 301 north / NC 130 east – Lumberton, Fairmont	North end of US 301 and east end of NC 130 overlap
	​	4.0	6.4		NC 710 west – Pembroke
	Raemon	10.2	16.4		NC 130 west – Maxton	West end of NC 130 overlap
	​	14.0	22.5		NC 83 – Maxton, Clio
Scotland	Laurinburg	21.0	33.8		US 501 Bus. north (Johns Road)
		21.7	34.9		I‑74 east / US 74 east – Lumberton, Wilmington	East end of I-74/US 74 overlap
	US 501 overlaps with Interstate 74 (exits 185 to 183).
	Laurinburg	23.2	37.3		I‑74 west / US 15 south / US 74 west / US 401 south – Hamlet, Rockingham, McColl	South end of US 15/US 401 overlap
		24.2	38.9		US 74 Bus. (Church Street) – Hamlet
		26.1	42.0		US 401 north / US 15 Bus. south / US 501 Bus. south – Fayetteville	North end of US 401 overlap
	​	29.3	47.2		NC 144 (Old Wire Road) – Wagram
Moore	Aberdeen	49.1	79.0		NC 211 east – Raeford	East end of NC 211 overlap
		49.5	79.7		US 1 south – Rockingham	South end of US 1 overlap
		49.7	80.0		NC 5 – Pinehurst
		51.4	82.7		US 1 north – Southern Pines	North end of US 1 overlap
	Pinehurst	55.2	88.8		NC 2 / NC 211 west – Southern Pines, West End	Roundabout, west end of NC 211 overlap
	​	59.0	95.0		NC 73 west – West End
	Carthage	62.5	100.6		NC 22 south – Southern Pines	South end of NC 22 overlap
		63.6	102.4		NC 22 north (McNiell Street)	North end of NC 22 overlap
		65.7	105.7		NC 24 east / NC 27 east (Monroe Street)	East end of NC 24/NC 27 overlap
	​	67.5	108.6		NC 24 east / NC 27 east – Cameron	West end of NC 24/NC 27 overlap
Lee	​	76.0	122.3		US 1 south – Cameron, Southern Pines	South end of US 1 overlap
	Tramway	78.6	126.5		NC 78 east (Tramway Road) – Cameron
	Sanford	81.0	130.4		US 1 Bus. north / NC 42 – Asheboro, Fuquay-Varina
		82.3	132.4		Spring Lane
		82.8	133.3	69A	US 421 / NC 87 south – Dunn, Greensboro	South end of NC 87 overlap
		83.5	134.4	69B	Burns Drive
		84.0	135.2	70	Oscar Keller Jr Highway – Fuquay-Varina	Future US 421
		85.0	136.8	71	US 1 north / US 1 Bus. south – Apex, Raleigh	North end of US 1 overlap
Chatham	Pittsboro	98.2	158.0		NC 87 north – Graham, Burlington	North end of NC 87 overlap
		99.2	159.6		US 64 Bus.
		101.8	163.8		US 64 – Siler City, Apex
Orange	Chapel Hill	115.0	185.1		NC 54 west – Graham	South end of NC 54 overlap
		117.2	188.6		NC 54 east (Raleigh Road)	North end of NC 54 overlap
		119.2	191.8		Franklin Street
Durham	Durham	121.0	194.7		I‑40 – Greensboro, Raleigh
		123.0	197.9	105	US 15 Bus. north / US 501 Bus. north (Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard)
		124.5	200.4	106	Cornwallis Road
		125.5	202.0	107	NC 751 (Cameron Boulevard)
		126.2	203.1	108	US 70 Bus. (Hillsborough Road) / NC 147 (Durham Freeway)	Signed as exits 108A (NC 147 south), 108B (NC 147 north), 108C (Hillsbrough Road)
		127.4	205.0	109	I‑85 south – Greensboro	South end of I-85 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
		US 501 overlaps with Interstate 85 (exits 174A to 176B).
		130.0	209.2		I‑85 north / US 15 north / US 70 east – Henderson, Petersburg	North end of I-85/US 15 and east end of US 70 overlap
		132.5	213.2		US 501 Bus. (Roxboro Street)
Person	​	146.0	235.0		NC 57 south – Hillsborough	South end of NC 57 overlap
	Roxboro	156.5	251.9		US 158 east – Oxford	East end of US 158 overlap
		157.0	252.7		NC 157 south – Durham
		158.0	254.3		US 158 west / NC 49 south / NC 57 north – Yanceyville, Milton, Haw River	West end of US 158, south end of NC 49, and north end of NC 57 overlap
		159.0	255.9		NC 49 north (Virgilina Road) – Virgilina	North end of NC 49 overlap
	​	170.0	273.6		US 501 north	Virginia state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

See also

• Bannered routes of U.S. Route 501

References

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Media related to U.S. Route 501 in North Carolina at Wikimedia Commons

U.S. Route 501
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