Skip to main content

2/17 VA-NC Roadtrip

Image
By
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.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

By
The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...
3 comments
Read more

Hawaii Route 50

By
Hawaii Route 50 is the longest Sign Route on the island of Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The entirety of Hawaii Route 50 is overlaid atop Kaumualii Highway from Lihue west to the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands. Hawaii Route 50 is one of the original 1955-era State Highway designations on Kauai.  Much of the Kaumualii Highway corridor was constructed during the sugar plantation boom of the late Hawaiian Kingdom.  The first tee beam bridge in Hawaii would be constructed along the Kaumualii Highway in 1911 at the Hanapepe.  Much of this highway would be modernized to two-lane standards through the 1930s and 1940s. This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series.  A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking  here .  Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 50 and Kaumualii Highway Hawaii Route 50 is the longest highway on Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The highway begins at Rice Str...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ghost Town Tuesday; Nichols, FL

By
A couple years ago I spent a lot of spare time exploring phosphate mining ghost towns in the Bone Valley of Polk County, Florida.  One ghost town in particular called Nichols on Polk County Route 676 west of Mulberry caught my eye due to a relative lack of documentation on ghosttowns.com. Nichols was created in 1905 during the early phosphate mining boom in the Bone Valley region.  For the time Nichols was unusual since it had company housing in the Nichols Mine site and private residences outside the gate.  Nichols is only about two miles west of Mulberry which probably made it a somewhat reasonable commute even by the wonky standards of the early 20th Century.  Most of the Bone Valley region was relatively remote which made commuting or homesteading impractical which is why there are so many ghost towns in the area.  The company housing section of Nichols was phased out and abandoned by 1950. The Nichols town site is largely abandoned and could "possibl...
4 comments
Read more