U.S. Route 29 in North Carolina
U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a United States highway that runs for 168 miles (270 km) from the South Carolina state line, near Blacksburg, to the commonwealth of Virginia, near Danville. It is signed with north–south cardinal directions, but is actually a north-east and south-west diagonal highway throughout the state. The route serves the North Carolina Piedmont, including the cities of Charlotte, Salisbury, High Point, and Greensboro. From Salisbury to Greensboro, US 29 spends roughly a third of its length in the state being concurrent with US 70.
U.S. Highway 29 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
US 29 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NCDOT | ||||
| Length | 168 mi[1] (270 km) | |||
| Existed | 1927–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  US 29 at the South Carolina line near Blacksburg
| |||
| North end | US 29 at the Virginia line near Danville | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | North Carolina | |||
| Counties | Cleveland, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Rowan, Davidson, Randolph, Guilford, Rockingham, Caswell | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Route description
US 29 starts in Grover as a two lane rural road where it intersects with NC 226 shortly after. It then turns into a four lane boulevard as it heads to Kings Mountain briefly overlapping with NC 216 as it merges into Interstate 85 sharing a concurrency with the interstate. It then exits Interstate 85 at Exit 10A running together with US 74. US 29/74 then overlaps with NC 274 for two miles as the three routes head towards Gastonia. In downtown Gastonia, US 29/74/NC 274 intersects with US 321 with NC 274 splitting off on South Broad Street. US 29/74 then meets NC 279 before going into Lowell, McAdenville, and Belmont where US 29/74 meets NC 7 and then Interstate 485 before going to Charlotte. US 29/74 offers access to Charlotte Douglas International Airport before intersecting with Billy Graham Parkway. Here, US 29/74 is named Wilkinson Blvd. At Morehead Street, US 29 splits from US 74 where US 29 briefly overlaps with NC 27 and then intersects Interstate 77. Afterwards, US 29 splits from NC 27 where it meets NC 49 as the two routes go around the Bank of America stadium, and go along Graham Street through Uptown Charlotte.
Afterwards, US 29/NC 49 turns into a boulevard going east on Dalton Avenue, and then north on Tryon Street. Eventually, US 29/NC 49 intersects Old Concord Road where the Lynx Blue Line runs between the northbound and southbound lanes. At University City Boluevard, NC 49 splits from US 29 with NC 49 going around the southern part of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte campus, and US 29 going around the west. Here, the Lynx Blue Line goes under the northbound lanes of US 29 to offer access to UNC Charlotte while US 29 continues as a boulevard towards Concord. Before doing so, it intersects with Interstate 485 once again. Before heading towards Concord, US 29 offers access to the Charlotte Motor Speedway before meeting at an interchange with George Liles Parkway. It then briefly overlaps with US 601 and NC 73 in western Concord before US 601 splits to run concurrently with I-85 and NC 73 splitting to head towards downtown Concord. From here, US 29 runs north through Kannapolis. US 29 then goes through Landis and China Grove briefly overlapping with NC 152 east of China Grove.
US 29 then heads towards Salisbury where, west of downtown Salisbury, it beings to run concurrently with US 70 serving as Salisbury's Main Street. After going through downtown Salisbury, US 29/70 offers access to both Spencer and East Spencer before crossing over the Yadkin River. Afterwards, US 29/70 then merges into I-85/US 52 as the four highways all run together for roughly two miles. At exit 87, US 29/52/70 splits from I-85 with and briefly joins I-285 and I-85 Business. West of Lexington, US 52 and I-285 split away from US 29/70/I-85 Business where US 29/70/I-85 Business goes around the northern edge of Lexington where the three routes briefly overlap with US 64 before heading towards Thomasville.
Exiting Thomasville, US 29/70/I-85 Business then goes south of High Point and north of Trinity and Archdale before intersecting I-74 southeast of High Point. Following this, US 29/70/I-85 Business once again runs together with I-85 proper before splitting at the interchange with I-73/US 421. US 29/70/I-85 Business then merges into I-40 running together with US 220 south of Greensboro. The now five, simultaneously running highways (US 29, US 70, US 220, I-40, and I-85 Business) go around southern Greensboro before US 29/70/220 splits from I-40/I-85 Business going north around eastern Greensboro as a controlled access highway named O. Henry Blvd. As US 29/70/220 intersects Wendover Avenue, US 70 and US 220 split from US 29 with US 70 going east along Wendover Ave, and US 220 going west.
US 29, now all alone, goes through the northeastern suburbs of Greensboro where it intersects with I-785, and will run concurrently with I-785 past the Virginia line once modifications to the existing US 29 are completed. After meeting I-785, US 29 is largely rural with Reidsville being the last town served along the route. Here in Reidsville, US 29 intersects with US 29 Business with the latter acting as beltline stretching around western Reidsville. Afterwards, US 29 heads northeast to Virginia just southwest of Danville.
History
Established in 1927, it ran from the South Carolina state line to US 74 in Kings Mountain, with a concurrency with NC 205. In 1929, NC 205 was removed.
US 29's first extension was in 1932, following US 74/NC 20 east into Charlotte; it then replaced US 170 from Charlotte to the Virginia state line. In 1937, it replaced a stretch of NC 7 going between Kings Mountain and Gastonia; the old route briefly became alternates for both U.S. Routes before becoming NC 161 and NC 274.
In 1938, US 29 was moved onto a new bypass around Kannapolis-China Grove, leaving US 29A on the old route. In 1948, the routes were switched. In 1952, US 29 was moved onto new bypasses around Lexington and Thomasville, leaving behind US 29A in both cities. In 1957, US 29 was moved onto its modern route from Thomasville to Jamestown, old route became part of NC 62 and US 70A.
In 1957 or 1958, US 29 was moved onto new bypass west of Reidsville, leaving US 29A (later US 29 Business) through Reidsville. Also around same time, US 29 was moved onto new bypass east of Kings Mountain, extending NC 216 over its old route; then in Charlotte, it moved onto I-85 between Little Rock Road (exit 32) and the University City area (exit 42), old route through Charlotte as US 29 Business. In 1961 or 1962, US 29 was moved back further to NC 273 going onto I-85; but surprisingly, in 1963, US 29 was placed back on its original route through Charlotte again. Similar action also in Salisbury, where in 1960 US 29 was moved onto I-85, then in 1964 or 1965 it was moved back through town.
In 1973, US 29 was placed on a new freeway bypass east of Reidsville; its old bypass route was reverted to US 29 Business, while the old US 29 Business through Reidsville was removed. Between 1980 and 1982, the freeway from Reidsville was extended into Virginia.
U.S. Route 170
U.S. Highway 170 | |
|---|---|
| Location | Charlotte, NC-VA state line |
| Length | 141.1 mi[2] (227.1 km) |
| Existed | 1926–1932 |
U.S. Route 170 (US 170) was an original US highway, established in 1926. It began at the intersection of Trade and Tryon Street in Charlotte, traversing northeast, in concurrency with NC 15 to Concord, Kannapolis, and Salisbury. Northeast of Salisbury, it was overlapped with NC 10 to Lexington, High Point, and Greensboro; via High Point Road to Lee Street, to Fairground Avenue, to Spring Garden Street, to Aycock Street, to West Market Street, to Greene Street, and finally to Summit Avenue, where it began its overlap with NC 70 heading northeast to Browns Summit. Heading northeast, it went through Reidsville, Ruffin, and finally Pelham before crossing into Virginia towards Danville and eventually Lynchburg. In 1932, US 29 joined in concurrency with US 170. Later on, the US 170 designation was removed, leaving US 29 on the route.
Future
The freeway stretch of US 29 traveling southwest from Greensboro, to Lexington, North Carolina is currently also signed as Interstate 85 Business and US 70. On October 5, 2019, NCDOT submitted an application to AASHTO, and was granted approval, for the removal of the I-85 Business designation from the freeway,[3] and the rerouting of US 70 between Greensboro and Thomasville[4] leaving US 29 on the route. This plan, according to the state, will simplify overhead signage on the freeway, and eliminate route redundancies.
Junction list
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | Grover | 0.00 | 0.00 |  US 29 south – Blacksburg | Continuation from South Carolina | |
| 0.03 | 0.048 |   NC 226 north – Shelby | ||||
| | 2.2 | 3.5 |  NC 216 south (Battleground Road) – Kings Mountain National Military Park | South end of NC 216 overlap | ||
| | 3.5 | 5.6 | NC 216 north (Battleground Road) – Kings Mountain | North end of NC 216 overlap | ||
| | 3.9 | 6.3 | 4 |   I-85 south – Spartanburg | South end of I-85 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
| | 5.2 | 8.4 | 5 | Dixon School Road | ||
| Kings Mountain | 8.0 | 12.9 | 8 |  NC 161 – Kings Mountain | ||
| Gaston | 9.5 | 15.3 | 10A |  I-85 north – Charlotte | North end of I-85 overlap | |
| Gastonia | 10.7 | 17.2 |   US 74 west – Kings Mountain, Shelby | West end of US 74 overlap | ||
| 15.4 | 24.8 |  NC 274 north (Bessemer City Road) – Bessemer City | North end of NC 274 overlap | |||
| 17.0 | 27.4 |  US 321 (Chester Street/York Street) | North-south US 321 divided on one-way streets | |||
| 17.5 | 28.2 | NC 274 south (Broad Street) | South end of NC 274 overlap; train tracks in medium of road | |||
| 19.0 | 30.6 |  NC 279 (New Hope Road) | ||||
| 19.2 | 30.9 | Aberdeen Boulevard – To Cox Road/Shopping Mall | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |||
| Belmont | 25.4 | 40.9 |  NC 7 (Main Street) | To Belmont Abbey College | ||
| 26.2 | 42.2 |  NC 273 (Park Street) – Mount Holly | ||||
| 27.1 | 43.6 | NC 7 west (Catawba Street) | ||||
| Mecklenburg | Charlotte | 27.4 | 44.1 | Sloans Ferry Bridge over the Catawba River | ||
| 29.7 | 47.8 |  I-485 – Pineville, Huntersville | ||||
| 31.3 | 50.4 |  Little Rock Road – CLT Airport | ||||
| 32.4 | 52.1 | Boyer Street to Billy Graham Parkway (Charlotte Route 4) – CLT Airport | ||||
| 35.0 | 56.3 |  US 74 east (Wilkinson Boulevard) | East end of US 74 overlap | |||
| 35.8 | 57.6 |  NC 27 west (Freedom Drive) | West end of NC 27 overlap | |||
| 36.2 | 58.3 |   I-77 / US 21 north – Statesville | ||||
| 36.7 | 59.1 |  NC 27 east / NC 49 south (Morehead Street) | East end of NC 27 and south end of NC 49 overlap | |||
| 38.0 | 61.2 |   I-277 / NC 16 (Brookshire Freeway) | ||||
| 44.0 | 70.8 |  To I-85 south / I-85 Connector – Gastonia | ||||
| 44.6 | 71.8 | NC 49 north (University City Boulevard) – Harrisburg | North end of NC 49 overlap | |||
| 45.7 | 73.5 |  NC 24 (W.T. Harris Boulevard) | ||||
| 48.3 | 77.7 | I-485 – Matthews, Huntersville | ||||
| Cabarrus | Concord | 50.6 | 81.4 | Bruton Smith Boulevard | Intersection at Charlotte Motor Speedway, to Concord Mills | |
| 56.4 | 90.8 |  US 601 south (Warren C. Coleman Boulevard) – Monroe | South end of US 601 overlap | |||
| 58.7 | 94.5 |  NC 73 west (Davidson Highway) – Davidson | West end of NC 73 overlap | |||
| 59.0 | 95.0 | NC 73 east (Church Street) | East end of NC 73 overlap | |||
| 60.0 | 96.6 | I-85 / US 601 north – Charlotte, Salisbury, Greensboro | North end of US 601 overlap | |||
| Kannapolis | 62.1 | 99.9 |  NC 3 (Dale Earnhardt Boulevard) | |||
| 63.3 | 101.9 | Lakeview Street / East First Street | ||||
| Rowan | China Grove | 69.4 | 111.7 |  NC 152 west (Church Street) – Downtown | West end of NC 152 overlap | |
| 70.0 | 112.7 |  NC 152 east to I-85 / US 601 – Rockwell, Greensboro | East end of NC 152 overlap | |||
| Salisbury | 76.8 | 123.6 |  US 70 west / US 601 (Jake Alexander Boulevard) | West end of US 70 overlap | ||
| 77.4 | 124.6 |  NC 150 west (Mooresville Road) | West end of NC 150 overlap | |||
| 78.8 | 126.8 | Innes Street | ||||
| Davidson | | 84.8 | 136.5 | Yadkin River | ||
| | 85.2 | 137.1 | 82 |  I-85 / US 52 south – Charlotte | Permanently closed as of April, 2010[5][6][7][8] | |
| | 86.0 | 138.4 | 84 | I-85 / US 52 south / NC 150 east – Charlotte | South end of I-85/US 52 and east end of NC 150 overlap | |
| | 87.0 | 140.0 | 85 | Clark Road | Permanently closed as of November, 2012[9] | |
| | 88.4 | 142.3 | 86 | Belmont Road | ||
| Lexington | 90.1 | 145.0 | 87 |   I-85 north / I-285 begin / I-85 BL begin – High Point, Greensboro | North end of I-85 and south end of I-285/I-85 Bus overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
| 91.1 | 146.6 | 84 |  NC 47 east to I-85 north | To Davidson County Airport | ||
| 92.0 | 148.1 | 85 | Green Needles Road | |||
| 93.2 | 150.0 | 86 | Salisbury Road – Downtown Lexington | |||
| 94.2 | 151.6 | 87 | I-285 / US 52 north – Winston-Salem | North end of I-285/US 52 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 95.2 | 153.2 | Old US 64 | ||||
| 95.7 | 154.0 |  US 64 west – Mocksville | West end of US 64 overlap | |||
| 96.6 | 155.5 |  NC 8 (Winston Road) – Lexington, Winston-Salem | ||||
| 97.5 | 156.9 | US 64 east / Main Street – Asheboro | East end of US 64 overlap | |||
| Thomasville | 104.8 | 168.7 | Lexington Avenue – Thomasville | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 107.2 | 172.5 |  NC 109 (Salem Street) – Thomasville, Winston-Salem | ||||
| 108.9 | 175.3 |  NC 68 (National Highway) – Thomasville, West High Point | To Piedmont Triad International Airport | |||
| Randolph | High Point | 110.0 | 177.0 | Old Thomasville Road – High Point | ||
| Guilford | 110.7 | 178.2 | Prospect Street | |||
| 111.8 | 179.9 | West Green Drive | ||||
| 112.6 | 181.2 | Surrett Drive | ||||
| 113.2 | 182.2 | Main Street – High Point | ||||
| 114.5 | 184.3 |  I-74 / Brentwood Street – Winston-Salem, Asheboro | Brentwood Street has a separate exit northbound; three-level diamond interchange | |||
| 115.6 | 186.0 | Baker Road | ||||
| 116.7 | 187.8 | Kivett Drive – East High Point | ||||
| Greensboro | 119.3 | 192.0 | Vickery Chapel Road / Guildford College Road – Jamestown | |||
| 120.8 | 194.4 | 118 | I-85 south / I-85 BL end – Salisbury, Charlotte | South end of I-85 and north end of I-85 Bus. overlap | ||
| 121.8 | 196.0 | 119 | Groometown Road to Grandover Parkway | Southbound exit incorporated with exit 33 | ||
| 122.6 | 197.3 | 120A 33 |    I-85 north / US 421 south to I-40 east – Durham, Sanford  I-73 north / US 421 north to I-40 west / Groometown Road – Winston-Salem | North end of I-85 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| 123.5 | 198.8 | 34 | Holden Road | |||
| 124.4 | 200.2 | 35 A-B | A:  US 220 south to I-73 south – AsheboroB: US 220 north to I-40 west – Coliseum Area | No southbound exit 35B | ||
| 124.9 | 201.0 | 35C | Rehobeth Church Road / Vandalia Road | |||
| 125.9 | 202.6 | 219 | I-40 west / US 220 south – Winston-Salem | West end of I-40 overlap; no northbound exit | ||
| 126.1 | 202.9 | 220 | Randleman Road | Left southbound entrance | ||
| 126.7 | 203.9 | 221 | South Elm-Eugene Street – Downtown Greensboro | |||
| 127.9 | 205.8 | 222 | Martin Luther King Jr. Drive | |||
| 128.2 | 206.3 | 223 | I-40 east – Durham, Raleigh | East end of I-40 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 128.6 | 207.0 | Florida Street | Northbound exit and entrance only | |||
| 129.4 | 208.2 | To I-40 east / I-85 north / Gate City Boulevard | Northbound exit and entrance only | |||
| 130.2 | 209.5 | Market Street | To North Carolina A&T State University | |||
| 130.6 | 210.2 | Sullivan Street | Northbound exit and entrance only | |||
| 130.8 | 210.5 | Bessemer Avenue | ||||
| 131.1 | 211.0 | US 70 east / US 220 north (Wendover Avenue) - TO Summit Avenue | East end of US 70 and north end of US 220 overlap | |||
| 131.9 | 212.3 | Summit Avenue – Greensboro Downtown | Southbound exit and Northbound entrance only | |||
| 132.4 | 213.1 | 16th Street | ||||
| 132.9 | 213.9 | Cone Boulevard | ||||
| 135 |   I-785 south / I-840 – Raleigh, Charlotte | Greensboro Urban Loop | ||||
| 136.0 | 218.9 | Hicone Road | ||||
| 137.9 | 221.9 | Reedy Fork Parkway- TO Summit Avenue | ||||
| | 140.9 | 226.8 | NC 150 – Brown Summit | |||
| | 141.9 | 228.4 | Benaja Road | |||
| Rockingham | | 144.7 | 232.9 |  US 29 Bus. north | ||
| Reidsville | 148.5 | 239.0 | 149 |   NC 87 to US 158 west (Freeway Drive) – Reidsville, Burlington | ||
| 149.6 | 240.8 | 150 | Barnes Street – Reidsville Downtown | |||
| | 152.1 | 244.8 | 153 |  US 158 / NC 14 (Freeway Drive) – Reidsville, Eden, Yanceyville | ||
| | 155.5 | 250.3 | 156 | Narrow Gauge Road | ||
| | 158.3 | 254.8 | 159 | US 29 Bus. to NC 87 north – Ruffin | ||
| Ruffin | 160.6 | 258.5 | 161 | US 29 Bus. south (Mayfield Road) | ||
| Caswell | | 164.2 | 264.3 | 165 | Law Road | |
| | 166.7 | 268.3 | 167 |  NC 700 (Shady Grove Road) – Eden | ||
| | 168.3 | 270.9 | 169 |  US 29 Bus. north / US 58 west – Danville, Martinsville | Interchange at Virginia state line | |
| | US 29 north / US 58 east – Lynchburg, South Boston | Continuation into Virginia | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| ||||||
References
- Google (March 26, 2019). "US 29" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- Google (July 12, 2013). "U.S. Route 170" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- Transportation Advisory Committee (July 2019). "Removal of 'Business 85'". High Point Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
- Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (October 6, 2019). "2019 Annual Meeting Report to the Council on Highways and Streets" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 23, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2020. "Ballot" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 23, 2019.
- "NCDOT: I-85 Corridor Improvement Project". Retrieved June 19, 2011.
- "SalisburyPost.com: Safety concerns lead to closing of Wil-Cox Bridge; no timeframe on reopening". Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- "NC 150 Route Change (2012-03-01)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. March 1, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- NC 150 Route Change (2012-01-04) (PDF) (Map). North Carolina Department of Transportation. January 4, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- Staff (July 27, 2011). "NCDOT to close Clark Road entrance and exits ramps on I-85 north, section of Snider Kines Road in Davidson County starting Monday". Project Details. North Carolina Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
External links
Media related to U.S. Route 29 in North Carolina at Wikimedia Commons- NCRoads.com: U.S. 29
- NCRoads.com: U.S. 170