North Carolina Highway 55

NC 55
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	193 mi (311 km)
Existed:	1957[1] – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 501 Bus. in Durham
	I‑85 / US 15 / US 70 in Durham I‑40 in Durham NC 147 in Durham NC 540 in Morrisville I‑95 in Dunn I‑40 near Newton Grove US 70 in New Bern
East end:	Oriental Road in Oriental
Location
Counties:	Durham, Wake, Harnett, Sampson, Johnston, Wayne, Lenoir, Craven, Pamilico
Highway system
North Carolina Highway System Interstates U.S. State Scenic ← NC 54 NC 56 →

NC 55 is a 192-mile (309 km) North Carolina state highway that serves as a traffic artery connecting Durham with Cary and numerous small cities and towns in The Triangle on its way toward the Pamlico Sound. A portion of NC 55 extends through Research Triangle Park. NC 55 is a major artery in the central part of The Triangle region, and is a four lane, divided highway between Durham and Cary and Apex. NC 55 is also a divided highway between Apex and Fuquay-Varina.

Route description

Although NC 55 is signed east–west, the most used section of road actually runs in a north–south alignment. Between Durham and Erwin "east" is really southbound and "west" is really northbound.

Starting at the northern terminus from US 501 Business (North Roxboro Street) near the concurrent I-85, US 15 and US 70, the highway passes through North Carolina Central University and then cuts a path through a fairly urbanized section of Durham. As it exits Durham, NC 55 widens to a four lane divided highway as it passes through the western side of Research Triangle Park. The next leg of the journey enters Cary and Apex. Extensive reconstruction of the roadway in this area, widened in anticipation of higher traffic volumes from NC-540 and construction in Apex and Cary, was completed in 2007. NC 55 is a major highway in western Wake County and is a direct link connecting the Triangle cities of Durham and Cary via the Research Triangle Park.

After the junction with US 64 and a few shopping-centers, NC 55 narrows as it passes through Apex (Williams St). After the junction with U.S. 1, NC 55 widens again and splits into business and bypass routes in Holly Springs. Finally, it proceeds to an open landscape with scattered sections of dense forest for the stretch towards Fuquay-Varina. The highway continues southeastward across US 401, eventually exiting Wake County into Harnett County.

In the Erwin/Dunn area the road heads east and merges with NC 50 in Newton Grove. NC 55 leaves to take a more easterly course towards the coast, ending at the Pamlico Sound in Oriental.^[1]

History

NC 55 was first routed from NC 50 and US 1 (current US 1A) in Franklinton, North Carolina to Durham. In 1930 maps showed that NC 91 had replaced NC 55 route from Franklinton to Durham and instead NC 55 took the place of NC 13 north of Durham to the Virginia state line. In 1932 NC 55 was extended south through Apex and Holly Springs. The road then turned east to go to US 401 and NC 21 in Cardenas. NC 55 then replaced NC 210 through Angier and Erwin. It then ended at US 301 and NC 22 in Godwin. In 1934 NC 55 was removed from its routing north of Durham and US 501 got the route. At the same time that year NC 55 was routed east along US 421 from Erwin to Dunn then as a new primary route to Newton Grove (near present day I-40). Then it would replace US 117 through Mount Olive and Kinston and then ended at US 70 in Jasper. The route from Erwin to Godwin became NC 82. In 1938 NC 55 was rerouted further east through Tuscarora and ended at US 70 in Clark. In 1940 NC 55 was rerouted from Mount Olive to Seven Springs which is its current routing. Also that year NC 55 was routed from Jasper to New Bern then crossed the Neuse River along with US 17. The same year was extended along NC 302 from Bridgetown to Oriental. NC 302 was dissolved. In 1941 US 70 and NC 55 "swapped" routes from Kinston to Clarks. In 1948 NC 55 was rerouted along new primary routing to avoid an overlap with US 64. The old route became NC 751. Between the years of 1958 and 1962, NC 55 was rerouted along the north side of Mount Olive. In 2012, Mount Olive-based restaurant chain Andy's Cheesesteaks and Cheeseburgers renamed itself Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries in honor of the highway.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Major intersections

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Durham	Durham	0.0	0.0	US 501 Bus. (Roxboro Street)	Western terminus
		0.2	0.3	I‑85 / US 15 / US 70 – Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, Oxford, Raleigh	Diamond interchange; exit 177 on I-85
		1.7	2.7	US 70 Bus. / NC 98 (Holloway Street) – Wake Forest, Youngsville
		2.5	4.0	NC 147 (East-West Expressway) – Morrisville	Diamond interchange
		7.8	12.6	I‑40 (John Motley Morehead III Freeway) – Greensboro, Wilmington	Partial cloverleaf interchange; exit 278 on I-40
		8.2	13.2	NC 54 (Nelson Chapel Hill Highway) – Chapel Hill, Raleigh
Wake	Morrisville	12.8	20.6	NC 540 Toll to I‑540 – Raleigh
	Apex	19.4	31.2	US 64 – Pittsboro, Cary	Partial cloverleaf interchange
		22.5	36.2	US 1 (Claude E. Pope Memorial Highway) – Moncure, Wake Forest	Diamond interchange
		24.0	38.6	NC 55 Byp. east – Fuquay-Varina
	Holly Springs	28.4	45.7	NC 55 Byp. west – Apex
	Fuquay-Varina	32.5	52.3	US 401 south / NC 42 west (Main Street) – Lillington, Sanford	West end of concurrency with US 401 and NC 42
		34.5	55.5	US 401 north (Main Street) – Garner, Raleigh	East end of concurrency with US 401
		34.6	55.7	NC 42 east – Clayton, Wilson	East end of concurrency with NC 42
Harnett	Angier	40.9	65.8	NC 210 (Depot Street) – Lillington, Smithfield
	Coats	48.9	78.7	NC 27 (Stewart Street) – Lillington, Benson
	Erwin	54.4	87.5	US 421 north (Jackson Boulevard) / NC 82 east (13th Street) – Sanford, Godwin	West end of concurrency with US 421; western terminus of NC 82
	Dunn	58.8	94.6	US 301 (Clinton Avenue) – Eastover, Benson
		59.5	95.8	I‑95 – Fayetteville, Rocky Mount	Diamond interchange; exit 73 on I-95
		59.7	96.1	US 421 south (Cumberland Street) – Clinton	East end of concurrency with US 421
Sampson		66.5	107.0	NC 242 (Benson Highway) – Salemburg, Benson
Johnston	No major junctions
Sampson	Newton Grove	69.0	111.0	NC 96 north – Selma	Southern terminus of NC 96
		73.1	117.6	NC 50 north (Johnston Highway) – Benson	West end of concurrency with NC 50
		73.3	118.0	I‑40 – Raleigh, Wilmington	Diamond interchange; exit 341 on I-40
		74.6	120.1	US 13 (Fayetteville Highway) / US 701 (Clinton and Main streets) – Eastover, Goldsboro, Clinton, Four Oaks	Six-way intersection with a traffic roundabout
		81.4	131.0	NC 50 south (Julius Sutton Highway) – Faison	East end of concurrency with NC 50
Wayne	Mount Olive	92.0	148.1	US 117 – Calypso, Goldsboro	Diamond interchange
		92.3	148.5	US 117 Alt. (Breazeale Avenue)
	Williams	97.9	157.6	NC 403 west (Williams X Road) – Faison	Eastern terminus of NC 403
	Hines Crossroads	103.0	165.8	NC 111 – Beulaville, Goldsboro
Lenoir		107.7	173.3	NC 903 – Kenansville, La Grange
	Parrott Fork	118.5	190.7	NC 11 south – Pink Hill	West end of concurrency with NC 11
	Kinston	122.0	196.3	US 70 / US 258 (New Bern Road) – La Grange, Snow Hill, New Bern, Richlands
		123.3	198.4	US 70 / US 258 / NC 58 (Queen Street) – Cape Carteret, Snow Hill
		127.1	204.5	NC 11 north – Grifton	East end of concurrency with NC 11
Craven	New Bern	158.6	255.2	NC 43 (Washington Post Road) – Vanceboro, Greenville
		162.0	260.7	US 70 Bus. west (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard)	West end of concurrency with Business US 70
		162.5	261.5	US 70 Bus. east (Broad Street)	East end of concurrency with Business US 70
		163.3	262.8	US 17 south / US 70 west – Dover, Pollocksville	West end of concurrency with US 17/US 70; partial diamond interchange
	James City	164.2	264.3	US 70 east / US 70 Bus. west – Havelock	East end of concurrency with US 70; eastern terminus of Business US 70; partial cloverleaf interchange
	Bridgeton	167.2	269.1	US 17 north (D Street) – Vanceboro	East end of concurrency with US 17
Pamlico	Grantsboro	178.0	286.5	NC 306 (Point Road) – Arapahoe, Aurora
	Bayboro	182.2	293.2	NC 304 east (Vandemere Road) – Vandemere	Western terminus of NC 304
	Oriental	193.0	310.6	Oriental Road	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Bannered routes

Holly Springs bypass

NC 55 Bypass
Location:	Holly Springs, North Carolina
Length:	4.4 mi[5] (7.1 km)
Existed:	2002–present

North Carolina Highway 55 Bypass (NC 55 By-pass) was established in 2002 as a new primary route that bypass west of Holly Springs. Typically, the old alignment would become a business loop, but instead the NC 55 mainline remained unchanged. The bypass is built as an expressway, that is semi-controlled and superstreet intersections; it also has a full interchange with NC 540.^[6][7]

Bridgeton alternate spur

North Carolina Highway 55 Alternate (NC 55A) was established around 1950-1953 as a renumbering of a piece of mainline NC 55 in Bridgeton. It was created thanks to a new bridge carrying US 17/NC 55 over the Neuse River and a spur was needed to be made to connect each highway. Between 1958-1962, this short road was downgraded to a secondary road; today it no longer exists.

See also

• North Carolina Bicycle Route 3
• North Carolina Bicycle Route 5
• North Carolina Bicycle Route 7

References

External links

• Media related to North Carolina Highway 55 at Wikimedia Commons
• NC 55 Widening in Pamlico County
• State-Ends.com - NC 55