North Carolina Highway 98

NC 98
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	45 mi (72 km)
Existed:	1936[1] – present
Major junctions
East end:	US 64 Alt. / NC 231 near Spring Hope
	US 401 near Youngsville NC 96 near Youngsville NC 98 Bus. in Wake Forest US 1 near Wake Forest NC 50 near Durham US 70 in Durham NC 55 in Durham
West end:	US 15 Bus. / US 501 Bus. / US 70 Bus. in Durham
Location
Counties:	Nash, Franklin, Wake, Durham
Highway system
North Carolina Highway System ← NC 97 NC 99 →

NC 98 is a 45-mile (72 km) North Carolina state highway and a semi-urban traffic artery connecting Durham to Wake Forest as well as many small-to-medium sized towns in the north portion of The Triangle region. A bypass was recently completed around Wake Forest to the south, which made the old route passing through town become NC 98 Business.

Route description

The eastern terminus of NC 98 begins at US 64 Alternate and the northern terminus of NC 231 just west of Spring Hope. The highway travels west to Bunn, where it merges with NC 39. NC 98 breaks off in the center of town and continues west to Wake Forest, crossing over US 401 and NC 96 on opposite sides of the Franklin/Wake County line.

The bypass and business routes split at Jones Dairy Road upon entering Wake Forest, with the bypass staying straight meeting with US 1A (South Main Street) a little ways up. Until recently, the NC 98 Bypass ended at U.S. 1 (Capital Boulevard) and followed the highway north to the original exit (now for NC 98 Business and NC 98 West). However, in September 2010, the bypass was extended to the original NC 98 a few miles east of U.S. 1. From there, NC 98 continues west towards Durham.

The highway will go under the US 70 Bypass on its way to downtown Durham and junction with US 70 Business (North Miami Boulevard). The two highways will run concurrent (Holloway Street), continuing west to cross over NC 55 and meet with US 15 Business/US 501 Business (North Roxboro Street) coming into downtown Durham. NC 98 terminates there as US 70 Business proceeds straight.

History

The original NC 98 from 1930 began at US 264 in Wilson and traveled southward to US 13 near Snow Hill, which is now a portion of NC 58. The current NC 98 was formed in 1936 and initially ran from US 1 in Wake Forest to US 64 near Spring Hope, superseding the older NC 561. It was rerouted northwest in 1940 to terminate at US 1 in Youngsville (originally NC 500) when US 264 was extended to Wake Forest over the old section. In 1952, NC 98 was changed back to passing through Wake Forest and extended west to its present terminus in Durham. The 1940 portion which went to Youngsville became part of NC 96.

Attractions along the way

• Durham Downtown District
• American Tobacco Company
• Carolina Theatre
• Falls Lake State Recreation Area
• Mountains-to-Sea Trail
• Wake Forest Historic District
• Wake Forest College Birthplace (see Wake Forest University)
• Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
• Unique Tomb (NC Senator William Andrew Jeffreys grave)

Links and references

• State-Ends.com - NC 98

1. ^ NCRoads - NC 98