| U.S. Route 221 | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Auxiliary route of US 21 | |
| Length: | 734 mi[2] (1,181 km) |
| Existed: | 1930[1] – present |
| Major junctions | |
| South end: | US 19 / US 27 Alt. / US 98 / SR 55 in Perry, FL |
| I-10 near Greenville, FL I-75 in Valdosta, GA I-16 near Soperton, GA I-20 near Harlem, GA I-385 near Laurens, SC I-26 in Roebuck, SC I-85 in Spartanburg, SC I-40 in Marion, NC I-77 near Hillsville, VA I-581 in Roanoke, VA |
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| North end: | US 29 Bus. / US 460 Bus. / US 501 Bus. at Lynchburg, VA |
| Highway system | |
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United States Numbered Highways |
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U.S. Route 221 is a spur of U.S. Route 21. It runs for 734 miles (1,181 km) from Perry, Florida at US Routes 19/98/ALT 27 to Lynchburg, Virginia at U.S. Route 29 (Lynchburg Expressway). It passes through the states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. It goes through the cities of Valdosta, Georgia, Spartanburg, South Carolina, Roanoke, Virginia, and Lynchburg, Virginia.
Throughout western North Carolina from the Virginia border to the Blue Ridge Parkway, U.S. 221 is a challenging drive, and can be described as one climb after another. There are few places where the road builders attempted to skirt around large foothills.
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U.S. Route 221 originates just south of the city of Perry with its southern terminus intersecting with the cosigned U.S. Route 19 and U.S. Route ALT 27. It continues through the city of Perry and intersects Interstate 10 and U.S. Route 90 in rural Madison County before crossing into Georgia.
U.S. Route 221 runs through the cities of Quitman, Valdosta, Lakeland, Pearson, and Douglas in southern Georgia. It continues north to Augusta, GA.
In Quitman it joins U.S. Route 84 (cosigned Georgia State Route 38) to Valdosta. From Valdosta to Douglas it joins with Georgia State Route 31. It also joins with Georgia State Route 135 and State Route 56. From Pearson to Douglas it joins with US Route 441 as a four-lane highway, which was completed in 2000.
In Douglas, U.S. Route 221 runs as the eastern part of Bowens Mill Rd. and will be widened in the future. It continues past Interstate 16 and Interstate 20 /Georgia State Route 402 . In Valdosta, it passes Interstate 75 /State Route 401.
U.S. Route 221 enters South Carolina in rural McCormick County at the southeast edge of Lake Strom Thurmond. It continues north and northwesterly to the town of McCormick. From McCormick, it continues northerly to the city of Greenwood.
From Greenwood, U.S. Route 221 continues northeasterly to the city of Laurens. U.S. Truck Route 221 bypasses the city of Laurens on the east side. It continues northerly and intersects Interstate 385 in rural Laurens County and proceeds to intersect Interstate 26 in rural Spartanburg County.
U.S. Route 221 continues through the center of the city of Spartanburg before intersecting Interstate 85 just north of the city. It continues to the city of Chesnee before exiting the state in a rural area of Cherokee County. The southern terminus of U.S. Alternate Route 221 intersects the main route in the city of Chesnee and exits the state a few miles to the east of the main route.
U.S. Route 221 runs through the cities of Rutherfordton, Marion, Blowing Rock, Boone, and Jefferson. The highway is majority 2-lane, while 4-lane in Marion, Blowing Rock, and Boone. Two sections of the highway can be considered challenging and twisty: 13-mile stretch between Linville and Blowing Rock, and a 21-mile stretch between Jefferson and Twin Oaks; most travelers will make the mistake once before either finding an alternate route or using the truck route.
U.S. Route 221 has one Alternate (continuing from South Carolina) and two Business Routes (in Marion and Jefferson). It intersects two major highways: U.S. Route 74 near Rutherfordton and I-40 near Marion; and also intersects with the Blue Ridge Parkway four times.
In Virginia, US 221 runs 149.61 miles (240.77 km) from the North Carolina state line near Independence north to its northern terminus at US 29 Business, US 460 Business, and US 501 Business in Lynchburg. US 221 connects Independence, Galax, and Hillsville in Southwest Virginia while running concurrently with US 58. The U.S. Highway connects those communities with Roanoke via Floyd County, within which US 221 is the main east–west highway. The U.S. Highway also runs concurrently with US 460 from Roanoke to Bedford and parallels that U.S. Highway from Bedford to Lynchburg.