The Highways of North Carolina
U.S. 1 
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Photo: US 1 leaves Virginia (JP Natsiaka)
US 1
U.S. 1  171 miles
The Road: Begins at the South Carolina state line below Rockingham (Richmond County) and ends at the Virginia state line above Norlina (Warren County). Nationally the road runs from Key West, FL to Fort Kent, ME.
Towns and Attractions: Richmond Co.: Rockingham  
Moore Co.: Pine Bluff, Aberdeen, Southern Pines,  
Lee Co.: Sanford  
Chatham Co.: None  
Wake Co.: Apex, Cary, Raleigh, Wake Forest  
Franklin Co.: Franklinton  
Vance Co.: Henderson  
Warren Co.: Norlina  
History: US 1 is an original US Highway. When it appeared in late 1926 it was assigned to the entirety of the original NC 50 and ran broadly the way it does now. A closer look from a geographic standpoint:

South Carolina to Sanford: US 1 appears not to made any changes from the South Carolina line to Pine Bluff.
Between 1937-44, US 1 was rerouted in Aberdeen to today's routing. Initially, US 1 used S. Pinehurst St, a small bit of today's NC 5 and Poplar Ave.

1936 Moore County
US 1 on Poplar
1944 Moore County
US 1 moves west to current alignment

In 1956 or 1957, US 1 was given a bypass to the west of Southern Pines. The old route through town on May Ave became US 1-A but is unnumbered today.

1953 Moore County
US 1 through Southern Pines
1957 Moore County
US 1 bypasses Southern Pines

In June 2005, a new freeway bypass of Vass and Cameron opened. The old route became US 1 Business.

2005 Official
US 1 through Vass-Cameron
2006 Official
US 1 bypasses Vass-Cameron


In 1933, US 1 south of Tramway was removed from Rocky Fork Church Rd and put on today's US 1.

1930 Lee County
US 1 swings east
1936 Lee County
US 1 straightened out

In 1956 or 1957, US 1 was given a western bypass of Sanford. The old route through town became US 1/15/501-A (now US 1 Bus except on Carthage St below NC 42 which is now unnumbered).

1953 Lee County
US 1 through Sanford
1957 Lee County
US 1 bypasses Sanford

Sanford to Raleigh:
In 1960, US 1 was given a new super-2 routing bypassing Moncure leaving behind "Old US 1"
In 1963, a new segment of US 1 superhighway opened between NC 55 Apex and HIllsborough St in Western Raleigh. US 1 was duplexed with NC 55 at this time to get from old 1 to new 1. The old route through Apex became Salem Rd, a little US 64 (also not numbered today) and an extended NC 54.
In 1964 or 1965, another super-2 segment opened connecting the Moncure bypass to NC 55, leaving behind more "Old US 1" plus the NC 55 duplex.
In 1975, the final super-2 segment connecting the Sanford Bypass to the Moncure bypass was opened, leaving behind a couple miles of US 15-501/NC 87 and Deep River Rd.
The Sanford to Apex Super-2 was upgraded to full freeway in stages in the mid 90s.

1959 Official
US 1 original Sanford to Raleigh route
1960 Official
US 1 bypasses Moncure
1963 Official
US 1 bypasses Cary
1965 Official
US 1 bypasses Merry Hill
1975-76 Official
US 1 rerouted above Sanford

Raleigh:
US 1's originally left Cary via Hillsborough St and headed to central Raleigh. Hillsborough became New Bern Ave at the Capitol, then US 1 left New Bern on Person St NB. US 1 then followed today's Wake Forest and Old Wake Forest Rds out of the area.
The 1930 Wake COunty map seems to show US 1 leaving HIllsborough/New Bern at Halifax north to Edenton then over to Person.
In 1948, US 1 was removed from most of Wake Forest Rd and instead placed on Louisburg Rd, replacing what had been briefly US 1-A. Wake Forest Rd then became US 1-A.
In 1956 or 1957, US 1 was rerouted in Raleigh to leave Hillsborough at Dawson/McDowell Sts (one-way pairs) which connected to a new road, Capital Blvd which took US 1 to Louisburg Rd. Person St and Wake Forest Rds have been secondary ever since.
About 1963, US 1 was removed from city streets of Cary and Raleigh and put onto today's Beltline. Hillsborough Rd from Cary to the Beltline became an extended NC 54. The rest of the old US 1 through Raleigh became US 1 Business for a while (today Hillsborough is unnumbered but the rest is still part of US 401).

1926 Auto Trails
US 1 original Raleigh route
1930 Wake County
US 1 removed from New Bern

1947 Gen Draft
US 1-A on Louisburg Rd

1948 Amoco
US 1 moved to Louisburg Rd
1958 Official
US 1 removed from Person/Wake Forest

Raleigh to Virginia:
About 1953, US 1 was placed on new western bypasses of Wake Forest, Youngsville and Franklinton. The old routes through those places became US 1-A's. The Franklinton US 1-A is now SRs 2130 and 1297 Main St.

1951 Official
US 1 north of Raleigh
1953 Official
US 1 bypasses Wake Forest and Franklinton


In 1956 or 1957, US 1 was given a super-2 bypass to the east of Henderson. The original route through Henderson became US 1-A (now US 1 BUsiness). This was turned into a full freeway between 1991-93.

1953 Vance County
US 1 through Henderson
1957 Vance County
US 1 bypasses Henderson


Above Henderson, US 1 really hasn't changed from today's routing except US 1 was removed from Mac Powell Rd between 1937-44.

Comments:
US 1 is not the whipping boy for I-95 in North Carolina like it is in many other states. It is a major thoroughfare through most of its Tar Heel run.
US 1 is multilane from Henderson south to the Richmond County Line.
US 1 with I-85 in Virginia is an attractive alternative to get from Richmond and points north to Raleigh.

Last Update: 20 July 2024

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