2/17 VA-NC Roadtrip

Headed out this afternoon for my first roadtrip of some length since I moved back to NC last month.

Route:
I-540, I-40, NC/VA 87, US 220, US 220 Business (Martinsville), US 58 Business (Martinsville), US 58, VA/NC 62, NC 57, NC 157, I-85, US 70, I-540.

Notes:
NC 87 in Graham is routed around the Alamance county Courthouse. This is one of a few traffic circles around a county courthouse within the state. Others include NC 27 in Lincolnton, NC 22/24/27 in Carthage, Business US 64 at US 15/501/NC 87 in Pittsboro, and US 701 Business in Whiteville.

There are also some older (installed in the early 1980s) NC shields in and around Graham. The combo shown below dates back to November 1982.

In Ossipee, I found a decently old Sprite logo sign. There is an Old NC 87 through Ossipee. Judging from what current NC 87 looks like Ossipee was bypassed in the 1940s.

I was expecting to see US 311 signed along NC 770 and NC 87 into Eden. But none can be found. US 311 was extended from Madison to Eden at least two years ago. US 311 -- when it is finally signed -- is to end at NC 14 just south of the Eden city limits. Shown below:

The new US 58 bypass of Danville is very nice. Although the Virginia state official map doesn't note it, the highway is fully access controlled and a 60 mph speed limit. The interchange with US 29 is literally a few amount a feet north of the North Carolina border. There are Welcome to NC or VA signs on the various ramps of the interchange.

Interstate 785 may one day be routed up US 29 around the east side of Danville on the Danville Expressway. However, there is one at grade intersection (Elizabeth Street) just east (US 58) or North (US 29) of the US 29/58 interchange. Traffic can't cross over the highway, but the right turn off and right turn on is very minimal. There are provisions made to make the intersection a full-fledged diamond interchange as gradings and stub ramps for all four ramps do exist.

Accomplishments:

Gained the county of Martinsville City.
VA 62 and 87 clinched.
NC 157 clinched.

Comments

When did people begin to refer to the "Ridge Route" as "The Grapevine?" (former US Route 99 and Interstate 5)

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US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County. The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s. US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935. US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68. As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934. US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County . The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County. D

Legend of the Ridge Route; a history of crossing the mountains between the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley from wagon trails to Interstates

Over the past two decades I've crossed the Interstate 5 corridor from Los Angeles north over the Sierra Pelona Mountains and Tehachapi Range to San Joaquin Valley what seems to be an immeasurable number of times. While Interstate 5 from Castaic Junction to Grapevine via Tejon Pass today is known to most as "The Grapevine" it occupies a corridor which has been traversed by numerous historic highways. The most notable of these highways is known as the "Ridge Route." This article is dedicated to the Ridge Route and the various highways that preceded it. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page. For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Ridge Route corridor introdution The Ridge Route as originally envisioned was a segment of highway which was completed in 1915 between the northern Los Angeles city limit

Gribblenation

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