U.S. Route 401

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For former routes named U.S. Route 401, see U.S. Route 401 (1926) and U.S. Route 401 (1930s).

U.S. Route 401

US 401 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 1
Length251.0 mi (403.9 km)
Existed1957–present
Major junctions
South end
 US 76 Bus. / US 521 in Sumter, SC
Major intersections
North end I-85 / US 1 near Wise, NC
Location
CountryUnited States
StatesSouth Carolina, North Carolina
CountiesSC: Sumter, Lee, Darlington, Marlboro
NC: Scotland, Hoke, Cumberland, Harnett, Wake, Franklin, Warren
Highway system

← SC 400SC→ SC 402
← NC 400NC→ NC 403

U.S. Route 401 (US 401) is a north–south United States highway, a spur of U.S. Route 1, that travels along the Fall Line from Sumter, South Carolina to Interstate 85 near Wise, North Carolina.

Route description

Starting in Sumter, South Carolina, US 401 goes northeast through mostly swamp and farmland, as it connects the cities of Darlington and Bennettsville before crossing the state line into North Carolina. Traversing the state for 77.2 miles (124.2 km), it is mostly a two-lane rural road, which is likely to only have local traffic along it due to nearby Interstate 95.[1]

In North Carolina, the highway becomes more utilized, as it connects several mid-size and large cities in the state. In the sandhills region, it connects the cities of Laurinburg, Raeford, and Fayetteville, all three of which have business routes connecting the downtown areas. The road is typically two-lane still, but expands to four-lane (or more) in each city. The road then runs somewhat parallel to nearby Interstate 95 from Fayetteville through Lillington to Fuquay-Varina.

In Wake County, US 401 is center-stage again as a major north–south corridor, connecting bedroom communities to downtown Raleigh. Once it leaves the county, it reverts to a rural road connecting the small cities of Louisburg and Warrenton. US 401 finally ends at Interstate 85, just north of the community of Wise; completing a 173.8-mile (279.7 km) through the state.[2]

History

The north end of US 401 at I-85

US 401 was established in 1957 as a renumbering of US 15A, from Sumter to Raleigh, and NC 59, from Raleigh to Norlina; it is the third and current route to bear the name.

In 1967, northbound US 401 was rerouted along South Street west onto McDowell Street, formally using Lenoir Street, in Raleigh.[3] That same year, US 401 was rerouted onto a bypass route northwest of downtown Fayetteville, replacing part of NC 59; its old alignment became US 401 Business.[4] In 1971, US 52/US 401 was placed on a new bypass northwest of Darlington; its old alignment became US 52 Business.[5] In 1984, US 401 was rerouted along the eastern half of the Raleigh Beltline (Tom Bradshaw Freeway and Cliff Benson Beltline); its former alignment through downtown Raleigh was downgraded to secondary roads. In 1991, US 401 was rerouted back through downtown Raleigh after I-440 was established along the entire Raleigh Beltline.[6][7] In 2001, US 401 was extended north, in concurrency with US 1, to its current northern terminus to I-85, north of Norlina.[8][9] On July 16, 2015, US 401 was placed onto new four-lane superstreet alignment bypassing east of Rolesville; its former alignment through downtown Rolesville became US 401 Business.[10][11]

The first US 401 existed between 1926 and 1931, solely in Virginia, it was replaced by US 52. The second US 401 existed between 1932 and 1934, in North Carolina and South Carolina, it was replaced by US 15 and US 15A.

Future

Considered an important link between Fayetteville, Lillington and Raleigh, NCDOT has set up the US 401 Corridor Study. The purpose of the study is to identify deficiencies in the existing corridor and develop alternatives for accommodating future growth in traffic volumes (i.e. widen to multi-lanes). The corridor study also includes NC 55 and NC 210. Estimated costs for all road improvements along the corridor is around $193–222.6 million. Property acquisition and construction is unfunded at this time.[12][13][14]

Junction list

StateCountyLocationmi[1][2]kmDestinationsNotes
South CarolinaSumterSumter0.00.0
 US 521 (Washington Street) / US 76 Bus.
0.50.80 US 15 (Lafayette Drive) – Summerton, Bishopville
1.93.1 US 76 / US 378 (Robert E. Graham Freeway) – Conway, Columbia
LeeSaint Charles12.620.3 SC 154 (Saint Charles Highway) – Mayesville, Bishopville
Elliott17.127.5 SC 527 (Elliott Highway) – Kingstree, Bishopville
​18.629.9 SC 341 (Lynchburg Highway) – Lynchburg, Bishopville
DarlingtonLamar24.539.4Main Street / Lee State Park Road – Lee State Park
​27.444.1 SC 403 (Oates Highway) – Timmonsville, Hartsville
​28.045.1 I-20 – Florence, Columbia
Darlington37.860.8
 US 52 south (Governor Williams Highway) – Florence		South end of US 52 overlap
38.261.5 SC 34 / SC 151 (Harry Byrd Highway) – Hartsville, Darlington, CharlotteInterchange
​41.166.1

 US 52 Bus. south (Main Street) – Darlington
​52.384.2
 US 15 south (Hartsville Highway) – Hartsville		South end of US 15 overlap
Society Hill54.387.4
 US 52 north (Cheraw Highway) – Cheraw		North end of US 52 overlap
Marlboro​61.398.7 SC 912 (Willamette Road)
Bennettsville64.6104.0
 SC 385 north (Main Street) – Bennettsville
65.6105.6

 SC 9 north / SC 38 north (Cottingham Boulevard) – Cheraw		North end of SC 9/38 overlap
66.5107.0




 SC 38 south / SC 9 Bus. north / SC 38 Bus. north (Broad Street) – Marion, Myrtle Beach		South end of SC 38 overlap
67.6108.8
 SC 9 south (Tyson Avenue) – North Myrtle Beach, Dillon		South end of SC 9 overlap
​ I-73Proposed interchange[15][16]
McColl75.6121.7 SC 381 (Main Street) – Clio, Blenheim, Hamlet
 77.2
0.0		124.2
0.0		South Carolina–North Carolina state line
North CarolinaScotlandLaurinburg5.28.4



 US 15 Bus. north / US 401 Bus. north (Main Street)
5.89.3
 I-74 / US 74 / US 501 south – Rockingham, Lumberton, Wilmington		South end of US 501 overlap
7.011.3
 US 74 Bus. (Church Street)
8.814.2



 US 15 Bus. south / US 501 Bus. south (Aberdeen Road)


 US 15 north / US 501 north (Aberdeen Road) – Aberdeen, Sanford		North end of US 15/US 501 overlap
9.815.8

 US 401 Bus. south (Wagram Road)
Wagram16.827.0
 NC 144 west (Old Wire Road)		To John Charles McNeill House
HokeRaeford26.943.3

 US 401 Bus. north (Harris Avenue)
27.243.8
 To NC 211 (Teal Drive)
​31.450.5

 US 401 Bus. south – Raeford
CumberlandFayetteville43.870.5

 US 401 Bus. north (Raeford Road)
46.374.5All American Expressway – Fort Bragg, Pope Army Airfield
47.175.8 NC 24 / NC 87 (Bragg Boulevard)
49.479.5 NC 210
51.783.2

 US 401 Bus. south (Ramsey Street)
55.288.8


 I-295 north to I-95 / US 13
​64.3103.5
 NC 217 north (Linden Road) – Linden
HarnettLillington74.9120.5
 NC 210 south – Spring Lake, Fort Bragg		South end of NC 210 overlap
75.0120.7
 NC 27 west (Old Road) – Cameron, Carthage		West end of NC 27 overlap
75.4121.3
 US 421 north (Front Street) – Sanford		North end of US 421 overlap; to Raven Rock State Park
77.0123.9


 US 421 south / NC 27 east / NC 210 north – Erwin, Dunn, Angier		South end of US 421, east end of NC 27, and north end of NC 210 overlap
WakeFuquay Varina89.7144.4
 NC 42 west (Academy Street) – Sanford		West end of NC 42 overlap
90.5145.6
 NC 55 west (Ennis Street) – Holly Springs		West end of NC 55 overlap
92.5148.9

 NC 42 east / NC 55 east – Angier, Clayton		East end of NC 42/NC 55 overlap
Garner103.8167.0

 US 70 east / NC 50 south – Garner, Smithfield, Goldsboro		East end of US 70 and south end of NC 50 overlap
Raleigh104.8168.7Wilmington Street – Downtown Raleigh
105.5169.8 I-40 / US 64 – Cary, Durham, Benson
106.7171.7Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard / Western Boulevard
108.2174.1Peace Street
108.7174.9

 US 70 west / NC 50 north (Wade Avenue) – RDU Airport, Research Triangle Park		West end of US 70 and north end of NC 50 overlap
108.8175.1Fairview AvenueNorthbound left exit, no northbound entrance
109.5176.2North Wake Forest RoadNo southbound exit
109.7176.5South Wake Forest Road / Atlantic Avenue
111.2179.0
 I-440 / US 1 south – Sanford, Rocky Mount		South end of US 1 overlap
113.5182.7
 US 1 north (Capital Boulevard) – Wake Forest, Henderson		North end of US 1 overlap
115.9186.5 I-540 – Rocky Mount, Wilson, DurhamSPUI
​125.5202.0 NC 96 (Zebulon Road) – Zebulon, Youngsville
Franklin​127.4205.0 NC 98 – Bunn, Wake Forest
Louisburg136.9220.3
 NC 56 west – Franklinton		West end of NC 56 overlap
137.6221.4
 NC 39 south – Bunn		South end of NC 39 overlap
138.5222.9

 NC 56 east / NC 581 south (Nash Street) – Rocky Mount		East end of NC 56 overlap
139.1223.9
 NC 561 east – Centerville
Ingleside144.0231.7
 NC 39 north – Henderson		North end of NC 39 overlap
WarrenWarrenton162.3261.2


 US 158 Bus. east / NC 58 south (Macon Street) – Macon, Centerville		East end of US 158 Business overlap
Norlina165.5266.3
 US 158 east – Macon, Roanoke Rapids		East end of US 158 and west end of US 158 Business overlap
166.7268.3

 US 1 south / US 158 west – Middleburg, Henderson		South end of US 1 and west end of US 158 overlap
​173.8279.7
 I-85 / US 1 north – Henderson, Richmond		Continuation as US 1
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Special routes

Main article: Special routes of U.S. Route 401

References

  1. ^ a b Google (February 26, 2013). "Overview map of US 401 in South Carolina" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  2. ^ a b Google (November 29, 2011). "Overview map of US 401 in North Carolina" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  3. ^ "Route Change (1967-03-09)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. March 9, 1967. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  4. ^ "Route Changes (1967-11-03)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. November 3, 1967. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  5. ^ U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee (November 7, 1970). "U.S. Route Numbering Subcommittee Agenda Showing Action Taken by the Executive Committee" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway Officials. p. 6. Retrieved August 2, 2015 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  6. ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (June 10, 1991). "Report of the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering to the Executive Committee" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  7. ^ "Route Changes (1991-07-16)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. July 16, 1991. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  8. ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (May 19, 2001). "Report of the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering to the Standing Committee on Highways" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  9. ^ "Route Changes (2001-06-29)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. June 29, 2001. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  10. ^ "Special Committee on U. S. Route Numbering - Louisville, Kentucky - Report to SCOH". AASHTO. May 29, 2014. Archived from the original (DOC) on May 31, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  11. ^ WTVD Staff (July 16, 2015). "DOT opens 6-mile long Rolesville Bypass". Durham, NC: WTVD. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  12. ^ "NCDOT: US 401 Corridor Study". Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  13. ^ "NCDOT: US 401 Corridor Study Project Map" (PDF). Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  14. ^ "NCDOT: Project R-2609". Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  15. ^ Staff. "Project Status: Northern Project". I-73 Environmental Impact Study. South Carolina Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  16. ^ I-73 Northern Map (PDF) (Map). South Carolina Department of Transportation. Bennettsvile inset. Retrieved February 26, 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to U.S. Route 401.
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