State Route 18 and 210 in North Carolina

State Route 18 in North Carolina

According to a2zdirectory, State Route 18 or NC-18 is a state route in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The road forms a north-south route through the west of the state, through the Foothills Region of the Appalachian Mountains. The road runs from the South Carolina border south of Shelby through Morganton, Lenoir and North Wilkesboro to Lowgap. The road is 234 kilometers long.

Travel directions

State Route 18 begins south of Shelby on the border with the state of South Carolina, where State Route 18 of the same name connects from Gaffney. The road then heads north as a two-lane road and passes as Lafayette Street through the center of Shelby town. On the north side of Shelby one crosses US 74, which has been developed as a freeway. State Route 18 then heads north as a secondary road to Morganton, first through rolling country with meadows and small forests, later through higher hills with peaks of up to 800 meters. Just before Morganton, the road leads over a nearly 400m high mountain pass.

At Morganton one crosses Interstate 40, after which the road leads through the center of the town and crosses US 74 there. State Route 18 then merges with US 64 between Morganton and Lenoir. This is an important route and partly has 4 or 5 lanes. The road bypasses the town of Lenoir, located at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains. The road then heads northeast through an elongated valley to North Wilkesboro.

At Wilkesboro one crosses US 421, which is a freeway in place. The road then leads through greater North Wilkesboro. Then State Route 18 heads northwest into the higher mountains. The road then leads over the approximately 930 meter high Mulberry Gap. This is a partly winding two lane road. The road then turns to the northeast as a winding two-lane road at 900 meters altitude to Sparta, where one crosses the US 21 . State Route 18 then continues northeast to close to the Virginia state border. It crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway here, after which State Route 18 ends north of Lowgap at State Route 89.

History

State Route 18 is one of the original state highways of 1921. The road then ran from Shelby via Morganton and Lenoir to Moravian Falls, just before North Wilkesboro. In 1925, the road was extended south from Shelby to the South Carolina border. In 1929 the route was also extended further north, from Moravian Falls to US 21 in Sparta. In 1930, the last northward extension to NC 89 at Lowgap, taking the road almost from South Carolina to Virginia.

State Route 18 has been upgraded to a limited extent. Around 1948-1949 the road outside the center of Lenoir was moved over a low quality bypass. Subsequent adjustments have mainly been local diversions within the street network of the cities on the route.

State Route 210 in North Carolina

According to allpubliclibraries, State Route 210 or NC-210 is a state route in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The road forms a somewhat distinctive route through the east of the state, from Sneads Ferry via Fayetteville to Smithfield. A large part of the route has a secondary character, but in Fayetteville the road has been partly developed as a highway at Fort Bragg. State Route 210 is 309 kilometers long.

Travel directions

State Route 210 begins near the coast at an intersection with US 17 about 12 miles south of Jacksonville. The road then heads to the coast at North Topsail Beach and then continues for eight miles straight along the Atlantic Ocean beach to Surf City. In Surf City the road turns inland again and then rejoins US 17. State Route 210 then lifts 14 kilometers on US 17 to Hampstead.

The second section from Hampstead to Fayetteville is a secondary route through the sparsely populated interior of eastern North Carolina. The road is a simple two-lane road that requires quite a bit of turning to follow ( TOTSO ). The road leads through a sparsely populated rural area and passes no real towns on a long stretch from US 17 to Fayetteville. This is an approximately 150 kilometer long route.

One then reaches Fayetteville from the southeast, crossing the Cape Fear River leads directly to the center. It crosses US 301, US 401 and State Route 87 at the center. The road then forms a major city road that forms the northern approach road to Fayetteville. Between Interstate 295 and Spring Lake, State Route 210 forms a freeway for a distance of 6 kilometers, which opens up part of the enormous military base Fort Bragg.

After the urbanization of Fayetteville, State Route 210 heads northeast through wooded rural areas with little elevation change. There are only a few small towns on the route here. The road eventually curves east again and ends in Smithfield on US 301.

History

State Route 210 was introduced in 1931. Because of its winding route, it is one of the longest state routes in North Carolina, but the road is largely of little importance.

North of Fayetteville, State Route 210 is formed by Murchison Road, originally a 2×2 divided highway opening east of Fort Bragg, including the Simmons Army Airfield. In the period 2010-2012, the section between I-295 and the south side of Spring Lake was converted into a highway by the construction of two new grade separations and the closing of a side road at Simmons Army Airfield. In the period 2014-2017, a third connection on the south side of Spring Lake was built as access to Fort Bragg and the old intersection in Spring Lake was closed, extending the highway section for another 1 kilometer. Bragg Boulevard through Spring Lake has been partially widened to 5 lanes towards the north.

Traffic intensities

The highway-like section at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville has 13,000 to 20,000 vehicles per day.