U.S. Route 15

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U.S. Route 15
Length:	791.71 mi[1] (1274.13 km)
Formed:	1926
South end:	US 17 ALT in Walterboro, SC
Major junctions:	US 378 at Sumter, SC US 74 at Laurinburg, NC I-40 near Durham, NC I-64 near Charlottesville, VA I-66 near Manassas, VA I-70 at Frederick, MD US 30 near Gettysburg, PA I-76/PA Tpk near Harrisburg, PA I-180/US 220 in Williamsport, PA
North end:	I-86/NY 15/NY 17 in Painted Post, NY
United States Numbered Highways List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

U.S. Route 15 is a 791.71 mi (1,274.13 km)-long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north-south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Carolina to Interstate 86, NY 15, and NY 17 in Painted Post, New York.

US 15 is one of the original United States Highways from 1926.

[edit] Route description

[edit] South Carolina

Starting at ALT US 17 in Walterboro US 15 goes east. It runs parallel to I-95 and across I-26. Then it turns north and crosses I-95. Just before the town of Santee US 15 converges with US 301. In Santee the two highways merge with I-95 at exit 98 and all three cross Lake Marion. At exit 102, US 15/301 split off from I-95 and go into the town of Summerton. US 15 then separates from US 301 and heads mainly north to city of Sumter. From there it continues north, crosses I-20, goes through the cities of Bishopville and Hartsville to the town of Society Hill. It is here that US 401 joins US 15 and both go to the North Carolina border.

[edit] North Carolina

James Taylor Bridge, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, part of the US-15/501 route

Main article: U.S. Route 15 in North Carolina

US 15-401 continue to Laurinburg, at which US 401 splits off and US 15 runs concurrent with US 501 through Aberdeen and Southern Pines. US 1 briefly merges with US 15-501 through Sanford but the route continues with NC 87 merges towards Pittsboro. Past Pittsboro, US 15-501 goes toward Chapel Hill and skirts around the southeastern edge of the city and then across I-40 to the outskirts of Durham. Here US 15-501 splits into Business and Bypass routes. Before US 15 Business and Bypass highways rejoin on the other side of Durham, I-85 merges into US 15 Business. Then I-85/US 15 go north. Right after crossing Falls Lake at exit 186, US 15 splits off to the east. US 15 runs parallel to I-85, going through the city of Creedmoor. It then crosses back over I-85, goes through the city of Oxford towards the NC/VA state line.

[edit] Virginia

Main article: U.S. Route 15 in Virginia

Virginia's section of US 15 starts in Mecklenburg County. Not far from the state line, it crosses a narrow finger of the John H. Kerr Reservoir. The highway goes through the town of Clarksville and merges very briefly with US 58/VA 49 and then crosses over the main body of Lake Kerr. US 15 continues a little ways and merges with US 360. The two highways go on to the town of Keysville. After Keysville, US 15 branches off and goes to the town of Farmville. After a brief merge with US 460, US 15 goes through the towns of Dillwyn, New Canton on the James River and Palmyra before crossing I-64. After passing the interstate, US 15 goes through the towns of Gordonsville (with a quick merge with US 33) and Orange VA and then on to Culpeper. After Culpeper US 15 runs concurrent with US 29. In Warrenton they briefly merge with US 17. South of Gainesville US 15 breaks off and crosses I-66. From there it goes on to Leesburg and then to the state line.

[edit] Maryland

Main article: U.S. Route 15 in Maryland

US 15 starts in Maryland at Point of Rocks, crossing the Potomac River and then merges into US 340 just south of Frederick. In Fredrick, US 40 merges with US 15 for a very short distance. From there US 15 goes through Thurmont and on to the MD/PA border.

[edit] Pennsylvania

US 15 enters Pennsylvania south of Gettysburg. Business Route 15 (Emmitsburg Road) goes through Gettysburg, while US 15 bypasses the borough; the bypass continues to York Springs. US 15 passes through Dillsburg before becoming a highway near Grantham and the Messiah College campus.

US 15 continues as a highway until it intersects U.S. Route 11 and Pennsylvania Route 581 in Camp Hill. US 15 runs concurrent with US 11, passing Harrisburg on the west shore of the Susquehanna River. The concurrency ends at Shamokin Dam, where US 11 splits and follows the North Branch Susquehanna River, and US 15 follows the West Branch Susquehanna River north towards Williamsport where it passes through Lewisburg and the campus of Bucknell University (which is partially bisected by the highway). In the future, US 15 and US 11 will diverge in Selinsgrove, PA, from which US 15 will proceed north on a road yet to be built, and connect back to its current alignment near Winfield, PA. 11 will be joined to a business spur of 15 instead of the main route.

The segment from Williamsport, Pennsylvania to the northern terminus at I-86/NY 17/NY 15 in Painted Post, NY has been mostly upgraded to Interstate standards and will be redesignated as I-99. Ground has been broken on the 7.5-mile (12.1 km) section from Trout Run to Buttonwood, where curves need to be straightened to meet Interstate standards; this should open in 2010. From Tioga, PA to Presho, NY a new limited-access stretch of US 15 is nearing completion. The interchange of US 15 and I-86 has been upgraded to meet Interstate standards.

[edit] New York

Main article: U.S. Route 15 in New York

Authentic US 15 shield at the former northern terminus in Rochester.

The 12.59-mile (20.26 km) segment of US 15 in New York runs parallel to the Tioga River from the state line to its current northern terminus of at I-86/NY 15/NY 17 exit 44 at the junction of the Tioga and Cohocton Rivers in Painted Post, west of downtown Corning. The junction at I-86/NY 15/NY 17 is currently being converted from a diamond interchange to a freeway to freeway interchange. This change is being made in anticipation of U.S. 15 being converted to Interstate 99.

[edit] History

Until 1974, US 15 continued north of NY 17 and entered Painted Post on North Hamilton Street. At what is now the junction of Steuben County Route 41 and New York State Route 415 in downtown Painted Post, US 15 turned north onto NY 415. At the northern terminus of NY 415, located at NY 15 and New York State Route 21 south of Wayland, US 15 followed the current routing of NY 15 into downtown Rochester, where it terminated at New York State Route 31.

US 15 has shed considerable length in near-continuous realignment and regrading over the years. Prior to the completion of the Tioga Creek flood-control project, hastened by the flooding caused after Hurricane Agnes along the Pennsylvania and New York segments of US 15 in June, 1972, US 15 passed through many small towns in Pennsylvania as it passed from Lawrenceville, at the New York border, to West Milton, where the road begins to follow the west bank of the Susquehanna River. Originally a winding two-lane road over numerous mountains, 15 now bypasses many small towns such as Sebring, Blossburg, Covington, Canoe Camp and Hepburnville. In the 1970s, the challenging two-lane alignment was expanded in some areas to four lanes by building a second set of lanes. Now, for some distance, the "old" road is the northbound side and in other sections, the southbound side.

Near Mansfield, Pennsylvania the old Route 15 alignment is now a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) access road leading to a boat ramp, built where the old road now disappears into the Tioga Reservoir. Near Tioga, Pennsylvania, drivers crossing the tall concrete bridge can see where a two-lane road (formerly Route 15), still marked with double-yellow lines, disappears into the water.

[edit] Future

US 15 is slated to become part of Interstate 99 once segments south of the Lindley hamlet of Presho are upgraded to Interstate standards. Construction is ongoing as of the fall of 2007.^[2]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Photographs of U.S. Route 15 in North Central Pennsylvania - John Walter
• Journey Through Hollow Ground, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

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Lists		U.S. Routes - Bannered - Divided - Bypassed - Portal

Browse numbered routes
< NC 14	NC		NC 16 >
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< NY 14A	NY		NY 15 >