U.S. Route 15 in North Carolina

U.S. Highway 15
U.S. Highway 15
	US 15 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by NCDOT
Length	159 mi (256 km)
Existed	1927–present
Major junctions
South end	US 15 / US 401 at the South Carolina state line near McColl, SC
	I-74 / US 74 in Laurinburg; US 421 in Sanford ; I-40 in Durham; NC 147 in Durham; I-85 / I-885 / US 70 in Durham
North end	US 15 at the Virginia state line near Clarksville, VA
Location
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Counties	Scotland, Hoke, Moore, Lee, Chatham, Orange, Durham, Granville
Highway system
	United States Numbered Highway System; List; Special; Divided; North Carolina Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Scenic;

U.S. Highway 15 (US 15) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway running from Walterboro, South Carolina, to Painted Post, New York. In the U.S. state of North Carolina, the highway runs for 159 miles (256 km) from the South Carolina state line to the south of Laurinburg to the Virginia state line north of Bullock. US 15 travels in concurrency with US 501 for 106 miles (171 km) between Laurinburg and Durham.^[2]

Route description

US 15/US 501 turns left in Durham

From the South Carolina state line, US 15 is in concurrency with US 401 to Laurinburg. Merging with US 501, it becomes what is known as "15-501" ("Fifteen Five-o-one"), a concurrency that extends for 106 miles (171 km) across central North Carolina; US 15 also the dominant partner, using its milemarkers along the route. After Laurinburg, it goes north to Aberdeen, linking briefly with US 1 before continuing to Pinehurst. In Pinehurst, US 15/US 501 goes through a rare roundabout, then continues north, through Carthage, back to US 1. After another brief concurrency with US 1 through Sanford, it exits off the freeway and goes due north to Pittsboro. After Pittsboro, US 15/US 501 becomes an expressway, connecting the cities of Chapel Hill and Durham; this section of the route is famous because of the two universities it connects: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. Though the road is a symbol of the separation of the Carolina–Duke rivalry, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has been trying to remedy that by making the route a superstreet for better traffic flow.^[3] In Durham, US 15/US 501 upgrades to an urban freeway, allowing for quick access from south Durham to north; the freeway ends merging into Interstate 85 (I-85). At exit 176B (on I-85), US 501 splits off toward Roxboro, while US 15 continues with I-85 toward Oxford.

After Durham, US 15 continues to follow I-85 till exit 186A, where it goes first to Creedmoor, then on into Oxford. After going through downtown Oxford, it continues north, near Mayo Lake, to Clarksville, Virginia.

History

Established in 1927, it was aligned along North Carolina Highway 75 from the South Carolina state line, through Rockingham, Pinehurst, and Durham, to the Virginia state line.^[4]

Junction list

County	Location	mi^[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Scotland		0.00	0.00		US 15 south / US 401 south – Bennettsville	Continuation into South Carolina
	Laurinburg	5.0	8.0		US 15 Bus. / US 401 Bus.
		6.0	9.7		US 501 south / US 74 (I-74) – Rockingham, Lumberton, Myrtle Beach	Southern end of US 501 concurrency; I-74 exit 183
		7.0	11.3		US 74 Bus. (Church Street)
		9.0	14.5		US 401 / US 15 Bus. / US 501 Bus. – Fayetteville	Northern end of US 401 concurrency
		12.0	19.3		NC 144 (Old Wire Road) – Wagram, Laurel Hill
Drowning Creek					Scotland-Hoke county line
Moore	Aberdeen	31.8	51.2		NC 211 – Raeford	Southern end of NC 211 concurrency
		32.0	51.5		US 1 – Rockingham	Southern end of US 1 concurrency
		32.2	51.8		NC 5 – Pinehurst
		34.0	54.7		US 1 – Southern Pines	Northern end of US 1 concurrency
	Pinehurst	38.0	61.2		NC 2 / NC 211 – Southern Pines, West End	Roundabout; northern end of NC 211 concurrency
		41.5	66.8		NC 73 – West End
	Carthage	45.0	72.4		NC 22 – Southern Pines	Southern end of NC 22 concurrency
		46.0	74.0		NC 22 (McNeill Street)	Northern end of NC 22 concurrency
		48.0	77.2		NC 24 / NC 27 (Monroe Street)	Southern end of NC 24 / NC 27 concurrency
		50.0	80.5		NC 24 / NC 27 – Cameron	Northern end of NC 24 / NC 27 concurrency
Lee		59.0	95.0		US 1 – Cameron, Southern Pines	Southern end of US 1 concurrency
	Tramway	61.0	98.2		NC 78 (Tramway Road) – Cameron
	Sanford	63.5	102.2	66	NC 42 / US 1 Bus. – Asheboro, Fuquay-Varina	South end of freeway; exit numbers follow US 1
		65.0	104.6	68	Spring Lane
		65.5	105.4	69A	NC 87 / US 421 Bus. – Olivia, Pineview, Spout Springs	Southern end of NC 87 concurrency
		66.0	106.2	69B	Burns Drive / Canterbury Road
		66.5	107.0	70	US 421 – Fuquay-Varina, Dunn, Greensboro
		67.5	108.6		US 1 north (Claude E. Pope Memorial Highway north) / US 1 Bus. south – Sanford	Roundabout interchange; north end of freeway section; northern end of US 1 concurrency; US 1 exit 71
Deep River				Bridge
Chatham	Pittsboro	81.0	130.4		NC 87 – Graham, Burlington	Northern end of NC 87 concurrency
		82.0	132.0		US 64 Bus.
		84.0	135.2		US 64 – Siler City, Raleigh	US 64 exit 383
Orange	Chapel Hill	97.0	156.1		NC 54 west (Fordham Boulevard South west) / NC 86 north – Carrboro, UNC Chapel Hill	Interchange; southern end of NC 54 concurrency
		99.0	159.3		NC 54 (Raleigh Road) – Raleigh, UNC Chapel Hill	Cloverleaf interchange; northern end of NC 54 concurrency
		102.0	164.2		Franklin Street	Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
Durham	Durham	103.0	165.8		I-40 – Greensboro, Raleigh	I-40 exit 270
		105.0	169.0	105A-B	US 15 Bus. / US 501 Bus. (Chapel Hill Boulevard) / Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway – South Square	South end of freeway; signed as exit 105A (US 15 Bus./US 501 Bus.) and 105B (MLK Pkwy.)
		106.0	170.6	106	Cornwallis Road
		107.0	172.2	107	NC 751 (Cameron Boulevard)
		108.0– 108.5	173.8– 174.6	108A	Morreene Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance ramps use C/D lanes
				108B-C	NC 147 (Durham Freeway) to I-85 south / US 70 west	Access via C/D lanes; signed as exits 108B (south) and 108C (north)
				108D	US 70 Bus. (Hillsborough Road)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance ramps use C/D lanes
		109.0	175.4	—	I-85 south / US 70 west – Burlington, Greensboro	Southern end of I-85 / US 70 concurrency; I-85 exit 174A; southbound left exit and northbound left entrance
				174B	Hillandale Road	Exit numbers follow I-85
				175	NC 157 (Guess Road)	To NC School of Science & Math and Duke Homestead
		111.5	179.4	176	US 501 north (Duke Street) / Gregson Street – Northgate	North end of US 501 overlap; signed northbound as exits 176A (Gregson St.) and 176B (US 501)
				177	US 15 Bus. south / US 501 Bus. (Roxboro Street) / NC 55 east (Avondale Drive)	To North Carolina Central University
		112.5	181.1	178	US 70 – RDU Airport, Raleigh	Northern end of US 70 concurrency; US 70 exit 285
				179	East Club Boulevard
				180	Glenn School Road
	Gorman			182	Red Mill Road
	Gorman			183	Redwood Road
Falls Lake				Bridge
Granville		122.0	196.3		I-85 north – Petersburg	Northern end of I-85 concurrency; north end of freeway section; I-85 exit 186A
	Creedmoor	127.0	204.4		NC 50 / NC 56 – Butner, Wilton, Franklinton
		139.0	223.7		I-85 – Durham, Petersburg	I-85 exit 202
	Oxford	142.0	228.5		NC 96 (MLK Jr. Avenue) – Henderson	Southern end of NC 96 concurrency
		142.3	229.0		US 158 Bus. (Williamsboro Street)	Southern end of US 158 Bus. concurrency
		143.0	230.1		NC 96 (Roxboro Road) / US 158 Bus. – Roxboro	Northern terminus of NC 96 / US 158 Bus. concurrency
		144.0	231.7		US 158 (Oxford Loop Road) – Roxboro, Henderson
		159.0	255.9		US 15 north – Clarksville	Continuation into Virginia
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access