North Carolina Highway 54
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| NC 54 |
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| Length: | 58 mi (93 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1929[1] | ||||||||
| East end: |   I-440/US 1 in Raleigh, NC |
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| Major junctions: |
 I-40 in Cary; NC 55 in Durham; I-40 in Durham;  US 15-501 in Chapel Hill; I-40-85 in Graham |
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| West end: |   US 70/NC 62 in Burlington, NC |
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| Counties: | Wake, Durham, Orange, Alamance | ||||||||
| Major cities: | Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Swepsonville, Graham | ||||||||
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NC 54 is a North Carolina state highway and a semi-urban traffic artery connecting Raleigh to its western suburbs, and extending outward to Burlington.
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[edit] Route description
NC 54's eastern terminus is at the US 1/I-440 Beltline, at the Hillsborough Street (exit 3) in western Raleigh, North Carolina. This used to be the junction for US 64 in the 1990s before that highway was rerouted along I-40. NC 54 westbound ends at US 70/NC 62 in Burlington, North Carolina.
The route is a fairly major road in the Triangle area, and runs over several local important streets:
- Hillsborough Street, in Raleigh
- Maynard Road, in Cary
- Fordham Boulevard, in Chapel Hill/Carrboro
- Harden Street, in Graham
- Chapel Hill Road, in Burlington
The route also runs through the Piedmont Triad region, but it is not usually considered a major road there.
[edit] Attractions along the way
Significant attractions along NC 54 include the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill and the NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. NC 54 runs near UNC Chapel Hill; Meredith College, the NC State Veterinary School, Carter-Finley Stadium, and the RBC Center lie near the route's junction with the I-440 beltline (exit 3). The North Carolina State University North Campus and the university's Memorial Bell Tower is located near its eastern terminus. NC 54/Hillsborough Street just inside the beltway is adorned with numerous businesses targeted at college students; there are several bookstores, coffee shops, and small restaurants along this stretch of road.
[edit] History
The original routing (1929) of NC 54 mostly followed today's route, but was shorter. It originally ran from Chapel Hill to Nelson and was extended west to Graham in the 1930's. It was extended east to Raleigh along the former U.S. 70-A when it was decomissioned in the 1950's.
U.S. 1 occupied the section of Hillsborough Street from the I-440 beltline to downtown Raleigh in the 1950's and 1960's and U.S. 1 Business occupied it in the 1980's. A project is currently underway to construct traffic circles along this section of Hillsborough Street inside the beltline in an effort to persuade travelers to take nearby parallel route Western Boulevard in and out of downtown Raleigh.
In 1997, NC 54 through central Cary was rerouted from Chapel Hill Road to the northern section of Maynard Road to avoid the downtown area. Maynard Road is a loop road that encircles downtown Cary, similar to how the Apex Peakway loops around central Apex.
[edit] Trivia
- NC 54 crosses I-40 four times.
