U.S. Route 52 in North Carolina

U.S. Route 52
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	150 mi[1][2] (241 km)
Existed:	1934 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 52 at the SC line near McFarlan
	US 74 in Wadesboro I-85 in Salisbury I-85 Bus. / US 29 / US 64 / US 70 in Lexington I-40 in Winston-Salem I-40 Bus. / US 421 in Winston-Salem
North end:	US 52 at the VA line near Mount Airy
Location
Counties:	Anson, Stanly, Cabarrus, Rowan, Davidson, Forsyth, Stokes, Surry
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced North Carolina Highway System ← NC 51 NC 53 →

U.S. Route 52 is an north–south United States highway that runs for 150 miles (240 km) from the South Carolina state line, near McFarlan, to the Virginia state line, near Mount Airy. It serves as a strategic highway through the central North Carolina Piedmont.^[3]

Contents 1 Route description 2 History 3 Future 4 Junction list 5 Alternate names 6 Andy Griffith Parkway 6.1 Background 6.2 Dedication ceremony 7 See also 8 References

Route description

US 52 enters North Carolina at Mount Airy. A bypass around Mount Airy, which carries US 52 is designated as the Andy Griffith Parkway. It goes by Pilot Mountain one of the most distinctive natural features in North Carolina. Through the Piedmont Triad region, US 52 is mostly a limited-access freeway. The route joins Interstate 85 Business into Lexington, North Carolina and shares Interstate 85 around Salisbury, North Carolina. The segment of US 52 from Interstate 40 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Lexington is currently being upgraded to Interstate highway standards for the future Interstate 285 corridor. The segment from northern Winston-Salem to just south of Mount Airy is expected to form part of the Interstate 74 corridor through North Carolina.

South of the Triad area after splitting from Interstate 85 in Salisbury, US 52 is typically a two-lane route linking some of the state's smaller cities and towns. Albemarle is the largest municipality along this segment of US 52 to the South Carolina state line.

History

US 52 was established in 1934 as a replacement of US 121/NC 66 from the Virginia state line, near Mount Airy, to Lexington and replacement of US 601/NC 80 from Lexington to the South Carolina state line, near McFarlan.

In the mid-1930s, US 52 was placed on current routing between Rocky River-Norwood and Misenheimer-Gold Hill. In Wadesboro, US 52 was routed along Morgan-Washington-Martin Streets; while in Stokes County, US 52 was placed on new road between Pilot Mountain and King.

In 1941, US 52 was removed from Salisbury Road and placed on its current routing, with US 29/70, south of Lexington. Between 1945-1949, US 52 was split in downtown Winston-Salem: northbound using the original Main Street route, southbound using Liberty Street and First Street. In 1949, US 52 was placed on a new bypass east of Pilot Mountain, leaving US 52A along the main street route.

In 1952, US 52 was placed onto new northern bypass of Lexington, its old route through became part of US 29A/70A and NC 8. In 1953, US 52 was placed onto new western bypass of Mount Airy, its old route through became US 52A (today US 52 Business). In either 1956 or 1957, US 52 was placed on its current route through Wadesboro, via US 74; also around same time period, US 52 was removed from Old Fancy Gap Road near the Virginia state line.

From 1960-1972, the next series of changes were in the Winston-Salem area; starting in 1960 with US 52 was removed from Main Street and onto Old Salem Road. In 1962, US 52 northbound was changed to Main Street, Fifth Street, and Liberty Street. By 1964, US 52 was placed onto new freeway from Winston-Salem, just south of East-West Expressway, to Pilot Mountain; this replaced the old route from Stanleyville to Pilot Mountain, becoming simply Old US 52. By 1973, US 52 was completed moved onto the completed North-South Expressway in Forsyth County, completely removing US 52 from all regular roads through the county.

In 1971, US 52 was joined with I-85, from the Yadkin River to Salisbury, leaving the downtown area. In 1980, the freeway from Forsyth County extended into Davidson County at Midway. By 1982, New London was placed on a short bypass west of town. Between 1985-1987, US 52 was given its current Albemarle bypass routing; in October, 2010, the routing was rebuilt along its southern portion. Between 1991-1993, US 52 was extended further south onto new freeway from Midway to Welcome in north Davidson County; by 1995, the freeway connected with the Lexington bypass, completing US 52's move from rural road to freeway from Lexington to Mount Airy.

Future

Currently there is plans to widen US 52 between Wadesboro to NC 24/NC 27, in Albemarle, to four-lanes by around 2015 (STIP: R-2320).^[4]

In the more distant future, US 52 between NC 65, in Winston-Salem, to I-74, near Mount Airy, is planned to be reconstructed to interstate-grade standards (STIP: I-4404).

In Winston-Salem, a bridge replacement (built in 1964) is currently under construction that crosses over Liberty Street and the Norfolk Southern Railroad Switching Yard. The project includes widening of Liberty Street, ramp improvements along US 52, and install new traffic signals in area. It is estimated at $19 million and to be completed on November 1, 2012.^[5][6]

Upgrades of US 52 to interstate grade, between Interstate 85 and Interstate 40/US 311 are estimated to cost $8.725 million. Property acquisition will start in June, 2012, with construction scheduled for May, 2013. Once completed, US 52 will be in concurrency with Interstate 285.^[7]

Junction list

County	Location	Mile[2]	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Anson	Morven	4		NC 145 (Main Street) – Rockingham, Chesterfield
	Wadesboro	12		US 74 east – Rockingham	East end of US 74 overlap
		13.5		NC 109 / NC 742 south (Greene Street)	South end of NC 742 overlap
		14.5		US 74 west – Monroe, Charlotte	West end of US 74 overlap
		15		NC 742 north – Oakboro	North end of NC 742 overlap
Stanly		30.5		NC 731 west – Mount Gilead
	Albemarle	42		US 52 Bus. north / NC 24 east / NC 27 east / NC 73 east – Troy, Mount Gilead	East end of NC 24/27/73 overlap
		42.5		NC 24 west / NC 27 west / NC 138 south – Charlotte, Oakboro	West end of NC 24/27 overlap
		43.5		NC 73 west (Main Street) – Concord	West end of NC 73 overlap
		45		US 52 Bus. south (First Street)
	New London	50.5		NC 8 north / NC 740 south (Gold Street) – Badin
	Richfield	54		NC 49 – Concord, Charlotte, Asheboro
Rowan	Rockwell	64		NC 152 west (Market Street) – China Grove
	Salisbury	72		I-85 south / Innes Street – Charlotte, Salisbury Downtown
US 52 overlaps with Interstate 85 (exits 76 to 87)
Davidson		83		I-85 south – Salisbury, Charlotte	North end of I-85 overlap, south end of I-85 Business overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
		84	84	To I-85 north – Linwood	To Davidson County Airport
		85	85	Green Needles Road
	Lexington	86	86	Salisbury Road – Downtown Lexington
		87	87	I-85 Bus. north / US 29 north / US 70 east – Thomasville, High Point	North end of I-85 Business/US 29 overlap, east end of US 70 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
		89	89	US 64 – Lexington, Mocksville
		92	92	NC 8 south (Old U.S. Hwy 52) – Welcome	South end of NC 8 overlap
	Welcome	97	97	Old U.S. Hwy 52 – Midway
		100	100	Hickory Tree Road
Forsyth	Winston-Salem	103	103	South Main Street
		105	105	Clemmonsville Road
		107	107	I-40 / US 311 south – Statesville, Greensboro, High Point	South end of US 311 overlap
		108	108A	Sprague Street / Waughtown Street	To University of North Carolina School of the Arts
			108B	Vargrave Street
			108C	Stadium Drive – Old Salem	To Winston-Salem State University
		109	109	I-40 Bus. / US 158 / US 421 / NC 150 – Kernersville	Signed as exits 109A (east) and 109B (west)
		110	110A	3rd 4th 5th Streets – Winston-Salem Downtown
			110B	US 311 north (ML King Jr Drive)	North end of US 311 overlap
			110C	Liberty Street
			110D	Northwest Boulevard	Southbound exit only
		111	111A	25th Street / 28th Street
			111B	Liberty Street – Smith Reynolds Airport	Northbound exit only
		112	112	Akron Drive – Smith Reynolds Airport
		113	113	Patterson Avenue
		114	114	NC 8 north (Germanton Road) – Germanton	North end of NC 8 overlap
		115	115	University Parkway	Signed northbound as exits 115A (north) and 115B (south)
		116	116	Hanes Mill Road
	Bethania	117	117	To NC 66 – Germanton	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
				I-74 east / I-274 west	Proposed Winston-Salem Northern Beltway (Unfunded)[8]
	Rural Hall	118	118	NC 65 – Rural Hall, Bethania
		120	120	Westinghouse Road
	King	122	122	Moore-RJR Drive
		123	123	Main Street – King, Tobaccoville
Stokes		129	129	Perch Road – Pinnacle
Surry		131	131	Pilot Knob Park Rd. – Pilot Mountain State Park
	Pilot Mountain	134	134	NC 268 – Pilot Mountain, Elkin
		135	135	Main Street – Pilot Mountain
		136	136	Cook School Road
		140	140	I-74 west to I-77 – Wytheville
		141	141	Holly Springs Church Road	To Mount Airy/Surry County Airport
		143	143	US 52 Bus. north (Main Street)
	Mount Airy	145	145	US 601 south (Rockford Street) – Dobson
		146	146	NC 89 to I-77 (Pine Street) – Mount Airy, Galax
		148	148	US 52 Bus. south (Main Street)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

Alternate names

Though the highway is commonly known as "Highway 52" or "U.S. 52" throughout the state, the highway does have other known names it uses locally in areas.

• George S. Coble Memorial Highway - Official North Carolina name of US 52, from Old US 52 at the Davidson-Forsyth County line to US 29/70 south of Lexington.^[9]
• Gold Memorial Freeway - Official North Carolina name of US 52 within Winston-Salem city limits.^[9]
• J.D. Goins Memorial Highway - Official North Carolina name of US 52, from Albemarle to NC 740.^[9]
• Pilot Mountain Parkway - Official North Carolina name of US 52, it originally went from King to the Virginia state line. In 2002, it was shorten to the I-74 interchange south of Mount Airy, for the Andy Griffith Parkway.^[9]

Andy Griffith Parkway

The Andy Griffith Parkway is an 11 mile (18 km) section of U.S. Route 52 in northern Surry County, North Carolina dedicated in honor of actor Andy Griffith. U.S. Route 52 through this stretch is a limited- controlled-access four-lane divided highway. Approximately 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of the 11 mile (18 km) section passes through the corporate limits of Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, North Carolina.^[9]

Background

Due to its close proximity to Pilot Mountain State Park, in 1977 U.S. Route 52 through Surry County and Stokes County was dedicated as the Pilot Mountain Parkway by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. However, in March 2002, the North Carolina Department of Transportation was approached by a grassroots group of residents of Mount Airy that felt that a highway dedication for Griffith was long overdue.

The group proposed to rename an 11 mile (18 km) section of the Pilot Mountain Parkway running from the Interstate 74 interchange north to the Virginia state line to the Andy Griffith Parkway.The Pilot Mountain Parkway designation would remain from the Interstate 74 intersection south through Stokes County.

The group had the support of the dedication from several North Carolina state agency officials that included: Governor Mike Easley, State Treasurer Richard H. Moore and NCDOT Division 11 Board Member Sam Erby. Each of these officials played an integral role in expediting the re-naming through the North Carolina Department of Transportation's Road and Bridge Naming Committee. The dedication also had the full support of Andy Griffith. The NCDOT Road and Bridge Naming Committee voted unanimously for the dedication at their July, 2002 meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Dedication ceremony

A dedication ceremony was held on October 16, 2002 in the parking lot behind City Hall in Mount Airy. Andy Griffith accepted the invitation to attend the ceremony. It was Griffith’s first public appearance in his hometown in over 40 years.

Also in attendance were: Griffith’s wife Cindi Griffith, Governor Mike Easley, former University of North Carolina President William C. Friday, Grandfather Mountain developer Hugh Morton, as well as many more State and local officials. More than 3000 Andy Griffith fans also attended to welcome Andy Griffith back to Mount Airy.

See also

• Bannered routes of U.S. Route 52
• High Rock Lake
• Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge
• Pee Dee River
• Pilot Mountain State Park
• Rocky River
• Yadkin River

References

U.S. Route 52
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