North Carolina Highway 226
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| NC 226 |
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| Length: | 190 mi (306 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1959 | ||||||||
| South end: |  US 29 near Grover, NC |
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| Major junctions: |
 US 74 in Shelby, NC; US 64 near Morganton, NC; I-40 near Marion, NC; US 19 in Spruce Pine, NC |
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| North end: |  TN 107 at NC/TN border |
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| Counties: | Cleveland, Rutherford, McDowell, Mitchell | ||||||||
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NC 226 is a nearly one-hundred-ninety-mile North Carolina State Highway. Just about running from the Tennessee border to the South Carolina border, NC 226 hooks most of central west NC with some of the bigger cities, such as Kings Mountain, Morganton and Marion. An alternate route of NC 226 known as NC 226A loops to the community of Little Switzerland before rejoining the the parent route; it is the only alternate state route remaining in North Carolina.
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[edit] Northern Terminus
NC 226 starts at the TN-NC state border in Mitchell County. NC 226 becomes TN 107. This is near the Appalachian Trail and right at the Iron Mountain Gap.
[edit] The Drive
In Mitchell County, NC 226 crosses under the Blue Ridge Parkway (milepost 330) and goes over the eastern Continental Divide. Through this section is NC 226A, an alternate route through more rugged mountain terrain.
In Rutherford County, NC 226 cuts through the South Mountains. In Marion, NC 226 overlaps US 221.
From there, NC 226 goes through a various number of small towns and the Rutherford County jail. After getting through Dysartsville, NC 226 meets up with US 64.
The road then finds its way through some foothill towns, the most major being Polkville. This is where NC 10 and NC 182 have termini with NC 226. After a nearly twenty-mile drive, NC 226 enters Shelby. It overlaps US 74 for nearly four miles before interchanging off near NC 18.
[edit] Southern Terminus
After leaving US 74, NC 226 slowly makes its way through southern North Carolina counties, ending at US 29, approximately 1000 feet short of the South Carolina border. This is at the tiny border town of Grover
[edit] History
- 1959: NC 226 is born, as NC 26 was decommissioned to make way for I-26. NC 26/226 at this time follows most of its current route, but also portions of former NC 190, before it came to NC 19.
- 1994: A bypass around Marion is built. This allows NC 226/US 221 to avoid downtown Marion, allowing for better traffic control.
