Skip to main content

Zigzagging through Eastern NC

Took one more weekend trip today. This time it was all over Northeastern NC. The main purpose was to get photos of some of the missing NC Highway Ends.

Route: I-540, US 264, US 264A, NC 581, US 64A, US 64 Business, US 64, I-95, NC 43, NC 48, NC 481, NC 561, US 258, NC/VA 35, VA/NC 186, US 301, NC 48, NC/VA 48, Va. Secondary 611 and 659, US 58, VA 4, US Bike 1.

Whew.

Accomplishments: Clinched NC 481. Added miles to: NC 43, NC 4, NC 48, NC 581, NC 561, US 258, NC/VA 35, NC/VA 46.

Notes:

Over 50 photos on the trip. Of course, head over to flickr, if you want to see 'em all!

At the crossroads of Glenview, which is the Western Terminus of NC 481, is this old abandoned B.M. Sykes General Merchandise store.

A few years ago, a short NC 481 bypass was built to the south of Enfield. The reason was to bypass the heavily traveled train crossing through the center of town. Well, here's proof of why.

At NC 481's East end in Tillery was a great former gas station.


Who would've thunk that $3.19/gallon gas would be so cheap!

Here's a sign shot I like in Pendleton, NC.

I was able to get all the missing ends I targeted on this trip except one. NC 186 where it crosses the NC/VA line. There wasn't a great spot to pull over, and my windshield was all buggy to where I couldn't take a shot while driving. Oh well.

Did you know that Brunswick County, Virginia is the "Original Home of Brunswick Stew"?

Well now you do.

Surprised that there wasn't a VA 46 North shield until about five miles after crossing the state line.

VA 4 is a short route that runs from US 58 (between South Hill and Boydton) to the North Carolina State line becoming a secondary road. Now, that would normally make it worth possibly a yawn or two. But, there are a few nice things about this road. First, it provides access to the very popular Kerr Lake Recreation Area. Second, it is a rare highway that crosses on top of a dam.

And finally...views like these.


And even the Southern Terminus is a little more than non-descript, as it is also the state line crossing of US Bike 1. And upon entering both states, the Bike Route gets mentioned.


All in all, a pretty good trip. I got all but the 186 end...and I got a number of new NC Crossroads photos. If only, I can figure out how to create it.

Comments

Doug said…
Kerr Lake... I'm not related to that Kerr.
lisavanews said…
love your blog :)

I am in Union Level Virginia and the bike route is awesome to watch so many bikers ride through here

you pointed out some interesting perspectives about our area

http://www.youtube.com/user/lisavanews
http://picasaweb.google.com/lisa.va.news
Anonymous said…
you arent too worried about gas prices with all these road trips

Popular posts from this blog

Chowchilla Mountain Road to Yosemite National Park

Chowchilla Mountain Road of Mariposa County is one of the oldest roadways servicing Yosemite National Park.  As presently configured this fourteen-mile highway begins at California State Route 49 near Elliot Corner and terminates at the Wawona Road in Yosemite National Park.  Chowchilla Mountain Road was constructed as a franchise toll road over Battalion Pass circa 1869-1870.  The highway was built at behest of Galen Clark to connect the town of Mariposa to his property near the South Fork Merced River at what is now Wawona.   In late 1874 the highway along with Clark’s Station would be purchased by the Washburn Brothers.  The Washburn Brothers would continue to toll Chowchilla Mountain Road as part of their Yosemite Stage Route lines.  The highway would ultimately become a Mariposa County public highway in 1917.  Mariposa would later be more directly linked with Yosemite Valley in 1926 following the completion of the Yosemite All-Year Highwa...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge

At 1.3 kilometers (or about 0.84 miles) in length, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is one of two bridges crossing over the Halifax Harbour between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the other bridge being the A. Murray Mackay Bridge . Opened in 1955 and named after former Nova Scotia Premier and Canadian Minister of Defense for Naval Services Angus L. Macdonald, the Macdonald Bridge was the first bridge that crossed Halifax Harbour that was opened to traffic. The Macdonald Bridge was also the subject of the Big Lift, which was only the second time in history that the span of a suspension bridge were replaced while the bridge was open to traffic. Planning began in 2010 for the Big Lift, while construction took place between 2015 and 2017. Similar work occurred on the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia before the project took place on the Macdonald Bridge. At this time, much of the bridge infrastructure is new, leaving only the towers, main cables and...