U.S. Route 221 in North Carolina

US 221 enters from South Carolina as a rural highway, with mostly farms, wooded areas, or homes dotting the road. After 10 miles (16 km) it connects with US 74, where US 74 Business begins its overlap towards Rutherfordton (signs of US 74 Business are scarce throughout). At Rutherfordton, the first major intersection is Charlotte Street, where US 74 Business and US 221 Alternate go east. After Rutherfordton, the road reverts to a rural highway, and continues on to Marion.

Before entering Marion city limits, Interstate 40 intersects with US 221. US 221 then joins with NC 226, going west around the city on the Marion Bypass. After the expressway passes the shopping centers along US 70, it continues as a 4-lane highway with a turning median all the way to North Cove. Along the way, several business can be seen including shrubbery farms, stone/rock cutters, and a chemical plant. NC 226 splits early at Woodlawn, for travelers that want to go to Spruce Pine.

The climb to Linville Falls is somewhat curvy, but manageable. It is a truck route, so a lone runaway truck ramp is located along this section. Also located in this section is Linville Caverns, a small tourist destination. At Linville Falls, people may visit the Linville Gorge Wilderness, where the actual Linville Falls are located; or connect to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Between Linville Falls and Linville, the highway goes through large tracts of fraser fir farms, from the mountain tops to the valleys. At Linville, motorists may follow NC 105 to Boone or continue on up Grandfather Mountain towards Blowing Rock. The easier and faster route to Blowing Rock is actually following NC 105 to Boone (US 221 Truck route gives it away at intersection); if you feel adventurous, then stay on US 221 for a very exciting 18 miles (29 km) drive of endless curves and elevation changes. If you start on US 221 then decide you had enough, then you may cheat by going on the Blue Ridge Parkway, it is scenic and more rewarding. Those that stick-it-out, can take a short break at an rest area located near Blowing Rock.^[2]

Blowing Rock and Boone are popular year-round tourist destinations; as such the highway between the two towns offers an array of activities include skiing, shopping, amusement rides, and golf. In Boone, US 221 turns early along NC 105 to King Street, avoiding Appalachian State University and the downtown area; once on King Street (also shared with US 421 and NC 194), it heads east out of town on a 4-lane expressway.

At Deep Gap, US 221 goes north again on a slightly curvy 2-lane road to Jefferson. As the road nears West Jefferson, the road appears to open-up some allowing for more views of the surrounding areas. At West Jefferson and Jefferson, the road serves as a bypass, as well as a last chance for dining choices until Galax, Virginia.

The next 21 miles (34 km) of US 221 is very curvy and similarly as intimidating as the stretch between Linville and Blowing Rock (minus the continuous elevation changes). An alternate route here would be to take NC 16 into Virginia then onto US 58 east (to Independence) or VA/NC 93 east (to Twin Oaks). Depending how you reach Twin Oaks, US 221 meets up with parent US 21 and enter Virginia together.

Scenic byway

US 221, from Linville to Blowing Rock, is designated as the Little Parkway Scenic Byway. It is noted for its history, majestic views, and serving as a long-time detour for the Blue Ridge Parkway till 1987, when the Linn Cove Viaduct was completed.^[3]

Junction list

County	Location	Mile^[1]	Destinations	Notes
Rutherford		10	US 74 / US 74 Bus. – Forest City, Columbus, Asheville	West end of US 74 Business overlap
	Rutherfordton	15	US 221 Alt. / US 74 Bus. (Charlotte Road) / NC 108	East end of US 74 Business overlap
	Rutherfordton	16	US 64 / US 74A (Mountain Street)
McDowell		36	I-40 – Statesville, Asheville
	Marion	37	US 221 Bus. north (Rutherford Road) / NC 226 south	South end of NC 226 overlap
		42	US 70 – Old Fort
		43	US 221 Bus. south (North Main Street)
	Woodlawn	49	NC 226 north – Little Switzerland, Spruce Pine	North end of NC 226 overlap
Burke	Linville Falls	63	NC 183 east
Avery	Linville Falls	64	Blue Ridge Parkway	Nearby to the Linville Falls Visitor Center and Chestoa View
		66	NC 194 south (Three Mile Highway) – Ingalls, Spruce Pine	South end of NC 194 overlap
		70	NC 194 north (Millers Gap Highway) – Newland	North end of NC 194 overlap
	Pineola	72	NC 181 south (Beatrice Cobb Highway) – Morganton	South end of NC 181 overlap
	Linville	75	NC 181 north (Newland Highway) – Newland	North end of NC 181 overlap
	Linville	75.5	NC 105 north – Banner Elk, Boone
		79	Blue Ridge Parkway	Nearby the Linn Cove Viaduct and Beacon Heights
Watauga		92	Blue Ridge Parkway	Nearby the Julian Price Memorial Park
	Blowing Rock	94	US 321 Bus. south (Main Street)	South end of US 321 Business overlap
		95	US 321 south (James E. Holshouser Jr. Highway) – Lenoir	North end of US 321 Business overlap, south end of US 321 overlap
		95.5	Blue Ridge Parkway	Nearby the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park and the Parkway Craft Center
	Boone	101	US 321 north (Blowing Rock Road) / NC 105 south	North end of US 321 overlap, south end of NC 105 overlap
		102	US 421 north / NC 194 south (King Street)	North end of US 421 & NC 105 overlap, south end of NC 194 overlap
		103	NC 194 north (Jefferson Road) – Todd	North end of NC 194 overlap
	Deep Gap	111	US 421 south – Wilkesboro, Winston-Salem	South end of US 421 overlap
Ashe	Baldwin	120	NC 194 south – Todd	South end of NC 194 overlap
	West Jefferson	124	US 221 Bus. north / NC 194 north / NC 163 east – West Jefferson	North end of NC 194 overlap
	Jefferson	127	US 221 Bus. south / NC 88 west – Jefferson	West end of NC 88 overlap
	Jefferson	128	NC 16 south / NC 88 east – Wilkesboro	South end of NC 16 overlap, east end of NC 88 overlap
		130	NC 16 north – Mouth of Wilson	North end of NC 16 overlap
Alleghany		141	NC 113 – North Wilkesboro, Mouth of Wilson
		149	NC 93 west – Mouth of Wilson
	Twin Oaks	150	US 21 south – Sparta	South end of US 21 overlap

Bannered routes

Alternates

Currently, there is one U.S. Route 221 Alternate route in North Carolina:

Rutherford County – Typically signed as US 221A, The 21 miles (34 km) route begins at the South Carolina state line to the communites of Cliffside, Henrietta, Caroleen, and Alexander Mills before reaching Forest City. At Forest City, it goes west to Spindale then finally in Rutherfordton, where it reconnects with main US 221. Historically, the route US 221A is on was the original US 221 route from 1930-1942.^[4]

Business loops

Currently, there are two U.S. Route 221 Business loops in North Carolina:

Marion – Established in 1992, when the Marion Bypass was completed, this 5 miles (8.0 km) business route replaced the original US 221 routing through the city of Marion, along Main Street.

Jefferson – This 4.4 miles (7.1 km) route services the cities of Jefferson (Main Street) and West Jefferson (Jefferson Avenue and 2nd Street).

History

1930 - The original US 221 started from Ingalls to Sparta.^[4]
1931 - Highway was extended north into Virginia along with US 21/NC 26. Highway was also extended south to South Carolina, replacing or overlapping with the following highways: Overlap with 19-E from Ingalls to Spruce Pine; replace NC 19 from Spruce Pine, through Little Switzerland and Marion, to Rutherfordton; overlap with US 74/NC 20 from Rutherfordton to Forest City; and replacing NC 207 from Forest City to the state line.^[4]
1933 - US 221 was rerouted, moving east to go through Linville Falls; the old routing through Spruce Pine now serviced by NC 226.^[4]
1942 - US 221 was rerouted between Rutherfordton to Chesnee; the old routing through Forest City now serviced by US 221A.^[4]
1952 - US 221 was rerouted going east of Boone, overlap with US 421 to Deep Gap, then north to West Jefferson; NC 194 is extended to replace US 221 through Todd.^[4]
Mid-1980's - US 221/321 between Blowing Rock to Boone was widened to four lanes. US 221 was also moved from going through downtown Boone to going over NC 105 Extension Road (overlap with NC 105); ending a point where US 221/321/421 would meet at King and Hardin Streets.^[4]
1992 - The Marion Bypass was built, moving US 221/NC 226 outside the city; US 221 Business replaced the old route through Marion.^[4]
1997 - The highway was widened between Marion to Woodlawn to four lanes.^[4]

Photo gallery

References

^ ^a ^b Google, Inc. Google Maps – US 221 in NC (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=US-221+S%2FRutherfordton+Hwy&daddr=35.5139,-81.97286+to:36.0608956,-81.8817737+to:36.10419,-81.775+to:US-21+N%2FUS-221+N&hl=en&geocode=FcDZGAIdpCgf-w%3BFSzmHQIdhDEd-ylLDr-aIU9XiDGrtKsmCMaATQ%3BFd8-JgIdU5Ue-ykznviYu5RQiDE_1JrPZQ9KnA%3BFf7nJgIdaDYg-ylhp6iag-5QiDHFqgCh1-_jAA%3BFbgDLgId3rEp-w&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=2&sz=13&via=1,2,3&sll=36.062144,-81.821709&sspn=0.103659,0.222988&ie=UTF8&ll=36.460502,-81.240463&spn=0.412526,0.891953&z=11. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
^ "NCDOT: North Carolina Rest Area System". http://www.ncdot.org/travel/restareas/. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
^ "North Carolina Scenic Byways". http://www.ncdot.org/download/travel/scenic_byways.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ NCRoads.com: U.S. 221

U.S. Route 221
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