| U.S. Route 70 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NCDOT | ||||
| Length: | 485 mi[1] (781 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1927 – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: | US-25 / US-70 / SR-9 at the TN line near Hot Springs | |||
|
I-26 / I-240 in Asheville |
||||
| East end: | Atlantic | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Madison, Buncombe, McDowell, Burke, Catawba, Iredell, Rowan, Davidson, Randolph, Guilford, Alamance, Orange, Durham, Wake, Johnston, Wayne, Lenoir, Jones, Craven, Carteret | |||
| Highway system | ||||
|
United States Numbered Highways
|
||||
U.S. Route 70 traverses approximately 485 miles (781 km) across North Carolina; from the Tennessee state line, near Hot Springs, to the community of Atlantic, along the Pamlico Sound coastline.[1][2]
Contents |
U.S. 70 enters North Carolina on a two-lane road, also signed as U.S. Route 25. The duplex is signed along a divided highway from Marshall to U.S. Route 19 north of Asheville where it splits off from U.S. 25. From here, U.S. 70 parallels Interstate 40. From the town of Ridgecrest at the top of the Blue Ridge, U.S. 70 merges with I-40 to descend the Saluda Grade. It splits from I-40 again at the bottom of the grade at Old Fort, then passing through the towns of Marion, Nebo, Morganton, Hickory, Conover, Statesville and Salisbury, where it changes course and heads northeast.
U.S. 70 parallels Interstate 85 to High Point, sharing a divided highway with U.S. Route 29. The two roads separate in Greensboro, and U.S. Route 70 joins Wendover Avenue out of the city and continues east along the Interstate 40 corridor. Halfway to the Research Triangle, US 70 passes through the major retail district for Burlington. It then becomes a two lane road until it reaches Durham where U.S 70 turns southeast as a divided highway. The road passes straight through downtown Raleigh, before heading back east and away from Interstate 40.
A divided highway from Raleigh to the Atlantic Coastal Plain, U.S. 70 traverses Eastern North Carolina in an east by southeasterly direction. As of 2008, the Clayton Bypass carries US 70 around Clayton, North Carolina. It is signed along as bypass roads around Smithfield (through Selma) and Goldsboro and a freeway around New Bern and is a divided highway again through the Croatan National Forest and Havelock, passing Atlantic Beach in Carteret County, the eastern terminus of NC 24. From here, U.S. 70 maintains a two-lane road with a widened shoulder, to the town of Sealevel and the southern terminus of NC 12. The last few miles of U.S. 70 are signed along a road from Sealevel to its eastern terminus in the town of Atlantic.
The Clayton Bypass is a four-lane highway opened on June 9, 2008, in Johnston County, North Carolina, United States, that carries mainline U.S. Route 70 around the city of Clayton, North Carolina. It connects Interstate 40 near the southeastern corner of Wake County to US 70 just northwest of Smithfield. It is intended to reduce congestion on US 70 in the vicinity of Clayton, cutting an estimated 15 minutes of travel time for drivers traveling between Raleigh and the eastern part of the state,[3][4] but concerns have been expressed that it will increase congestion on a heavily traveled stretch of Interstate 40 in southeastern Wake County.[5]
The bypass was first planned in 1991, but several setbacks, including controversy over building a bridge through territory of an endangered mussel, held up beginning the project until 2005. Originally scheduled for completion in June 2009,[6] a severe drought in the area through most of 2007 and into the spring of 2008 allowed construction to proceed more rapidly than anticipated, and the highway was opened June 9, 2008.[4]
The western end of the bypass connects to Interstate 40 approximately four miles southeast of the current I-40-US 70 interchange. The eastern end connects to the US 70 bypass and business routes northwest of Smithfield, North Carolina. The combination results in an effectively continuous business route passing through Clayton and Smithfield and an effectively continuous bypass passing south of Clayton and north of Smithfield (and east of the community of Cleveland). Drivers are thus able to bypass Clayton, Smithfield, or both.
The Clayton Bypass is a limited access freeway of two lanes in each direction, with interchanges at Interstate 40, North Carolina Highway 42, Ranch Road, and US 70 between Clayton and Smithfield, North Carolina. To complete the bypass and connect with U.S. 70 business, the US 70 bypass actually overlaps with I-40 for four miles (6 km) in southeastern Wake County southeast of Garner.
Electronic signs provide traffic information and estimates of travel time, a first in the area,[5] and cameras and pavement sensors provide traffic engineers real-time information about the number of vehicles and their speeds.
A multi-county project called the "Super 70 Corridor" is currently in various stages of construction and planning in the following counties: Wake, Johnston, Wayne, Lenoir, Jones, Craven, and Carteret. Goal is to make US 70 from Raleigh to Morehead City into a limited-access freeway. The project also organizes all various projects in an order that is agreed to the counties involved.[7][8]
Projects currently involved:
| County | Location | Mile[1] | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | Hot Springs | 6 | NC 209 south (Lance Avenue) – Lake Junaluska | ||
| Hurricane | 11 | NC 208 north – Greeneville | |||
| Walnut | 16.5 | NC 213 west – Walnut | West end of NC 213 overlap | ||
| Marshall | 20 | US 25 Bus. south / US 70 Bus. south (Main Street) – Marshall |
|||
| 22.5 | NC 213 east (Hayes Run Road) – Mars Hill | East end of NC 213 overlap | |||
| 23.5 | NC 251 south (Tillery Branch Road) | ||||
| 25 | US 25 Bus. north / US 70 Bus. north (Ivy River Road) – Marshall |
||||
| Buncombe | Weaverville | 32 | I-26 west / US 19 north / US 23 north – Mars Hill, Johnson City | West end of I-26 overlap, north end of US 19/23 overlap | |
| US 70 overlaps with Interstate 26 (exits 19 to 26) and Interstate 240 (exits 4A to 5B). | |||||
| Asheville | 41.5 | I-240 east | East end of I-240 overlap | ||
| 42 | NC 694 north (Town Mountain Road) | ||||
| 43 | I-240 / Chunns Cove Road | ||||
| 43.4 | US 74A east (South Tunnel Road) | East end of US 74A overlap | |||
| 43.5 | I-240 | ||||
| 45.5 | NC 81 west (Swannanoa River Road) | ||||
| 46 | Blue Ridge Parkway | ||||
| Black Mountain | 56 | NC 9 (Montreat Road/Broadway Avenue) – Montreat, Bat Cave | |||
| 56.5 | I-40 west – Asheville | West end of I-40 overlap, eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |||
| US 70 overlaps with Interstate 40 (exits 65 to 72). | |||||
| McDowell | Old Fort | 63.5 | I-40 east – Hickory, Statesville | East end of I-40 overlap, eastbound entrance and westbound exit | |
| Pleasant Garden | 73 | NC 80 north (Lake Tahoma Road) – Mount Mitchell | |||
| Marion | 74.8 | US 221 / NC 226 – Spruce Pine, Newland | |||
| 75 | US 221 Bus. north (Main Street) – Spruce Pine, Newland |
North end of US 221 Business overlap | |||
| 77 | US 221 Bus. south (Main Street) – Rutherfordton |
South end of US 221 Business overlap | |||
| Nebo | 82 | NC 126 east – Lake James | |||
| Burke | Morganton | 96 | US 64 east / US 70 Bus. east (Union Street) |
East end of US 64 overlap | |
| 97 | US 64 west / US 64 Bus. east (Burkemont Avenue) – Rutherfordton |
West end of US 64 overlap | |||
| 98 | NC 18 (Sterling Street) – Shelby | ||||
| 100.5 | US 70 Bus. west (Union Street) |
||||
| Drexel | 104 | NC 114 (Drexel Road) | |||
| Catawba | Hickory | 118.5 | US 321 / US 321 Bus. – Lenoir, Boone, Lincolnton, Gastonia |
North end of US 321 Business overlap | |
| 119.5 | NC 127 – Downtown Hickory | ||||
| 121.5 | Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard | ||||
| Conover | 126.5 | US 321 Bus. south – Newton |
South end of US 321 Business overlap | ||
| 128 | NC 16 – Denver | ||||
| Catawba | 134.5 | NC 10 – Newton | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus • Closed/Former • Incomplete access • Unopened |
|||||
| U.S. Route 70 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous state: Tennessee |
North Carolina | Next state: Terminus |