North Carolina Highway 68

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NC 68

Length:

28 mi (45 km)

Formed:

Mid-1930s

North end:

US 220 near Stokesdale, NC

Major
junctions:

US 311 in High Point

I-40/US 421 in Greensboro
Bryan Blvd in Greensboro

NC 150 in Oak Ridge

US 158 in Stokesdale

South end:

Bus 85/US 29/70 in Thomasville, NC

Counties:

Davidson, Guilford, Rockingham

North Carolina highways
< NC 67		NC 69 >

NC 68 is a north-south state highway in North Carolina. It most notably serves as a connector betewen Interstate 40 (I-40) and Piedmont Triad International Airport (via Bryan Boulevard). On its routing from Thomasville to Stokesdale, NC 68 passes through urban High Point, the western outskirts of Greensboro, and the town of Oak Ridge. The segment from just north of the I-40 interchange to Pleasant Ridge Road in Guilford County is a limited access freeway and is planned to be partially used as part of the Interstate 73 corridor.

1 Route description
2 History
3 Future
4 Nearby points of interest
5 External links

[edit] Route description

Beginning in the south at Business I-85/US 29/70, the route travels north out of Thomasville in Davidson County as National Highway, a name which referred to the former routing of US 29/70 (later US 29A/70A) along this segment. Crossing from Davidson County into neighboring Guilford County and the city of High Point, NC 68 is cosigned with English Road. Approximately one mile within the city limits, NC 68 turns left onto Westchester Drive, a boulevard that bypasses High Point's downtown area. Arriving at the US 311 Business (Main Street) interchange, the city's busiest, NC 68 continues onto Eastchester Drive, another boulevard. After passing Oak Hollow Mall, the US 311 Bypass (Future Interstate 74) freeway, and the Wendover Avenue interchange, NC 68 and Eastchester Drive continue north into neighboring Greensboro.

Shortly after entering Greensboro, NC 68 meets Interstate 40/US 421, and becomes a limited access freeway after a traffic signal at Triad Center Drive. Continuing north as a divided four-lane highway, NC 68 has junctions with W. Market Street (Colfax exit) and Bryan Boulevard, the exit for Piedmont Triad International Airport. The road downgrades to an undivided primary road at the Pleasant Ridge Road junction. From there, the route heads north through the heart of Oak Ridge, North Carolina, passing the Oak Ridge Military Academy at the route's intersection with NC 150. In Stokesdale, NC 68 crosses US 158 and joins NC 65 for a short one-mile concurrency, before splitting to the northeast en route to its northern terminus at NC 220 in Rockingham County.

[edit] History

North Carolina Highway 68 was first commissioned by 1924 as a route running from Wilkesboro to the Virginia state line, passing through Jefferson, a routing that today is served mainly by U.S. Highway 421. Around 1928, NC 68 was rerouted to end at the Tennesse state line. The old NC 68 route was designated as NC 681 for a while before beocoming the unnumbered Healing Springs Road of today. By 1928, an extension of NC 16 took all of NC 68's routing and NC 68 was decomissioned. The 68 number was recommissioned in the mid-1930s as a state highway running from east of High Point to Stokesdale. By 1938, NC 68 had changed its southern terminus to Thomasville and the northern terminus was moved northward in 1941 to it's current location at US 220.

Near the I-40 junction, NC 68 used to be routed along Regional Road (formerly John Bull Road), but increased traffic between the Interstate and the international airport required a new road. A new four-lane boulevard/freeway and new I-40 interchange was built to the west of Regional Road to better accomidate the traffic; the new road was finished in 1980 and NC 68 was signed along it.

[edit] Future

Future NCDOT plans call for the construction of a new four-lane highway connector between NC 68 and US 220 to serve as the future I-73 corridor. It should be constructed between Oak Ridge and Summerfield. NC 68 is not planned to follow this new road.