U.S. Route 70 in North Carolina

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 70 in North Carolina. For the entire length of the highway, see U.S. Route 70.

U.S. Route 70
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	485 mi[1] (781 km)
Existed:	1927 – present
Major junctions
West end:	US-25 / US-70 / SR-9 at the TN line near Hot Springs
	I-26 / I-240 in Asheville I-77 in Statesville I-40 / US 321 / NC 16 in Conover I-74 / US 311 in High Point I-73 / I-85 / US 421 in Greensboro I-40 / I-85 Bus. / US 220 in Greensboro I-540 near Raleigh I-440 / US 1 / NC 50 in Raleigh I-95 near Selma I-795 / US 117 at Goldsboro
East end:	Atlantic
Location
Counties:	Madison, Buncombe, McDowell, Burke, Catawba, Iredell, Rowan, Davidson, Randolph, Guilford, Alamance, Orange, Durham, Wake, Johnston, Wayne, Lenoir, Jones, Craven, Carteret
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced North Carolina Highway System ← NC 69 NC 71 →

U.S. Route 70 traverses approximately 485 miles (781 km) across North Carolina; from the Tennessee state line, near Hot Springs, to the community of Atlantic, along the Pamlico Sound coastline.^[1][2]

Route description

U.S. 70 enters North Carolina on a two-lane road, also signed as U.S. Route 25. The duplex is signed along a divided highway from Marshall to U.S. Route 19 north of Asheville where it splits off from U.S. 25. From here, U.S. 70 parallels Interstate 40. From the town of Ridgecrest at the top of the Blue Ridge, U.S. 70 merges with I-40 to descend the Saluda Grade. It splits from I-40 again at the bottom of the grade at Old Fort, then passing through the towns of Marion, Nebo, Morganton, Hickory, Conover, Statesville and Salisbury, where it changes course and heads northeast.

U.S. 70 parallels Interstate 85 to High Point, sharing a divided highway with U.S. Route 29. The two roads separate in Greensboro, and U.S. Route 70 joins Wendover Avenue out of the city and continues east along the Interstate 40 corridor. Halfway to the Research Triangle, US 70 passes through the major retail district for Burlington. It then becomes a two lane road until it reaches Durham where U.S 70 turns southeast as a divided highway. The road passes straight through downtown Raleigh, before heading back east and away from Interstate 40.

A divided highway from Raleigh to the Atlantic Coastal Plain, U.S. 70 traverses Eastern North Carolina in an east by southeasterly direction. As of 2008, the Clayton Bypass carries US 70 around Clayton, North Carolina. It is signed along as bypass roads around Smithfield (through Selma) and Goldsboro and a freeway around New Bern and is a divided highway again through the Croatan National Forest and Havelock, passing Atlantic Beach in Carteret County, the eastern terminus of NC 24. From here, U.S. 70 maintains a two-lane road with a widened shoulder, to the town of Sealevel and the southern terminus of NC 12. The last few miles of U.S. 70 are signed along a road from Sealevel to its eastern terminus in the town of Atlantic.

Clayton Bypass

The Clayton Bypass is a four-lane highway opened on June 9, 2008, in Johnston County, North Carolina, United States, that carries mainline U.S. Route 70 around the city of Clayton, North Carolina. It connects Interstate 40 near the southeastern corner of Wake County to US 70 just northwest of Smithfield. It is intended to reduce congestion on US 70 in the vicinity of Clayton, cutting an estimated 15 minutes of travel time for drivers traveling between Raleigh and the eastern part of the state,^[3][4] but concerns have been expressed that it will increase congestion on a heavily traveled stretch of Interstate 40 in southeastern Wake County.^[5]

Construction

The bypass was first planned in 1991, but several setbacks, including controversy over building a bridge through territory of an endangered mussel, held up beginning the project until 2005. Originally scheduled for completion in June 2009,^[6] a severe drought in the area through most of 2007 and into the spring of 2008 allowed construction to proceed more rapidly than anticipated, and the highway was opened June 9, 2008.^[4]

Specifications

The western end of the bypass connects to Interstate 40 approximately four miles southeast of the current I-40-US 70 interchange. The eastern end connects to the US 70 bypass and business routes northwest of Smithfield, North Carolina. The combination results in an effectively continuous business route passing through Clayton and Smithfield and an effectively continuous bypass passing south of Clayton and north of Smithfield (and east of the community of Cleveland). Drivers are thus able to bypass Clayton, Smithfield, or both.

The Clayton Bypass is a limited access freeway of two lanes in each direction, with interchanges at Interstate 40, North Carolina Highway 42, Ranch Road, and US 70 between Clayton and Smithfield, North Carolina. To complete the bypass and connect with U.S. 70 business, the US 70 bypass actually overlaps with I-40 for four miles (6 km) in southeastern Wake County southeast of Garner.

Electronic signs provide traffic information and estimates of travel time, a first in the area,^[5] and cameras and pavement sensors provide traffic engineers real-time information about the number of vehicles and their speeds.

Junction list

County	Location	Mile[1]	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Madison	Hot Springs	6		NC 209 south (Lance Avenue) – Lake Junaluska
	Hurricane	11		NC 208 north – Greeneville
	Walnut	16.5		NC 213 west – Walnut	West end of NC 213 overlap
	Marshall	20		US 25 Bus. south / US 70 Bus. south (Main Street) – Marshall
		22.5		NC 213 east (Hayes Run Road) – Mars Hill	East end of NC 213 overlap
		23.5		NC 251 south (Tillery Branch Road)
		25		US 25 Bus. north / US 70 Bus. north (Ivy River Road) – Marshall
Buncombe	Weaverville	32		I-26 west / US 19 north / US 23 north – Mars Hill, Johnson City	West end of I-26 overlap, north end of US 19/23 overlap
	US 70 overlaps with Interstate 26 (exits 19 to 26) and Interstate 240 (exits 4A to 5B).
	Asheville	41.5		I-240 east	East end of I-240 overlap
		42		NC 694 north (Town Mountain Road)
		43		I-240 / Chunns Cove Road
		43.4		US 74A east (South Tunnel Road)	East end of US 74A overlap
		43.5		I-240
		45.5		NC 81 west (Swannanoa River Road)
		46		Blue Ridge Parkway
	Black Mountain	56		NC 9 (Montreat Road/Broadway Avenue) – Montreat, Bat Cave
		56.5		I-40 west – Asheville	West end of I-40 overlap, eastbound exit and westbound entrance
US 70 overlaps with Interstate 40 (exits 65 to 72).
McDowell	Old Fort	63.5		I-40 east – Hickory, Statesville	East end of I-40 overlap, eastbound entrance and westbound exit
	Pleasant Garden	73		NC 80 north (Lake Tahoma Road) – Mount Mitchell
	Marion	74.8		US 221 / NC 226 – Spruce Pine, Newland
		75		US 221 Bus. north (Main Street) – Spruce Pine, Newland	North end of US 221 Business overlap
		77		US 221 Bus. south (Main Street) – Rutherfordton	South end of US 221 Business overlap
	Nebo	82		NC 126 east – Lake James
Burke	Morganton	96		US 64 east / US 70 Bus. east (Union Street)	East end of US 64 overlap
		97		US 64 west / US 64 Bus. east (Burkemont Avenue) – Rutherfordton	West end of US 64 overlap
		98		NC 18 (Sterling Street) – Shelby
		100.5		US 70 Bus. west (Union Street)
	Drexel	104		NC 114 (Drexel Road)
Catawba	Hickory	118.5		US 321 / US 321 Bus. – Lenoir, Boone, Lincolnton, Gastonia	North end of US 321 Business overlap
		119.5		NC 127 – Downtown Hickory
		121.5		Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard
	Conover	126.5		US 321 Bus. south – Newton	South end of US 321 Business overlap
		128		NC 16 – Denver
	Catawba	134.5		NC 10 – Newton
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

See also

	North Carolina portal
	U.S. Roads portal

Bannered routes of U.S. Route 70 Blue Ridge Parkway Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge Catawba River Croatan National Forest Death Valley (North Carolina) Eno River Eno River State Park French Broad River Greensboro Urban Loop

Haw River I-85 Corridor Lake James State Park Pamlico Sound Pisgah National Forest Swannanoa River Wendover Avenue (Greensboro) William B. Umstead State Park Yadkin River

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Google, Inc. Google Maps – US 70 in NC (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=US-25+S%2FUS-70+E&daddr=35.5982807,-82.5434619+to:35.68874,-82.07746+to:35.7321689,-81.741495+to:35.74621,-81.57666+to:35.72225,-81.38083+to:35.70256,-81.18344+to:35.779586,-80.926067+to:35.72261,-80.66431+to:35.6538203,-80.4951492+to:35.69564,-80.42121+to:35.87084,-80.15929+to:36.08748,-79.74771+to:36.0806,-79.54097+to:36.0925888,-79.249824+to:36.0792881,-79.0755809+to:35.93879,-78.8186+to:35.81539,-78.65327+to:35.7409979,-78.6493216+to:Seashore+Dr&hl=en&geocode=FRAQJAIdrdsO-w%3BFcgvHwIdm3wU-ymXhLmLoPRZiDHcWdnXh1DfeQ%3BFSSRIAId7Jgb-ymJvZemBK1QiDHq7vpX3SODxw%3BFcg6IQIdSbkg-ylV0gccj85QiDHiPYmQ-KfCrg%3BFaJxIQIdLD0j-ym74YM_4dZQiDH-flK7dYCoag%3BFQoUIQIdIjom-ylv-0HhWC5RiDEWTH6Ku6Wmdw%3BFSDHIAIdMD0p-ylPEveRPzZRiDFofar3kBhokA%3BFQL0IQIdjSot-ym3XbhXT1pRiDFwNjpZlkAWBA%3BFXIVIQIdCikx-ynzpH1l0vpTiDGRxAYwJLIJgA%3BFbwIIAId070z-yl1v4dgCfNTiDFdaSK_EwacCw%3BFRisIAIdpt40-ylBnBPgb41TiDG3D-0liyjGYg%3BFXhYIwIdxt04-yld7KEx3aFTiDHymeiiG5Q8KQ%3BFbimJgIdgiU_-yk5ByXMUx9TiDHY3fh1gvZF9g%3BFdiLJgIdFk1C-ykjfK9AuShTiDF45JJWFOJfwQ%3BFay6JgIdYL5G-ynryzAAUtasiTFfzHyLWqPZ2g%3BFbiGJgIdBGdJ-yn3_FvSEd-siTGUyWLrtTE97A%3BFeZhJAId2FJN-ymnK2NbwfqsiTFXdSS8WyNxaQ%3BFd5_IgIdqthP-ymZZjO2q1isiTGuA7jAOVH4hw%3BFUVdIQIdF-hP-ymdciba81-siTG9RFtIgCjAjg%3BFbpPFAIdakBz-w&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=10&sz=13&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18&sll=35.688115,-80.441551&sspn=0.10415,0.222988&ie=UTF8&ll=35.344255,-79.744263&spn=3.346772,7.13562&z=8. Retrieved 2011-02-01. 
2. ^ "NCRoads.com Annex: U.S. 70". http://members.cox.net/ncroads/us070.html. Retrieved 2011-01-30. 
3. ^ newsobserver.com | U.S. 70 bypass to open in '08
4. ^ ^{a b} Bypass will speed trip east of Raleigh on U.S. 70, I-40 :: WRAL.com
5. ^ ^{a b} newsobserver.com | Clayton Bypass completion is in sight
6. ^ http://www.ncdot.org/projects/us70claytonbypass/

U.S. Route 70
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