U.S. Route 29 in North Carolina

(Redirected from U.S. Route 170 in North Carolina) Highway in North Carolina This article is about the section of U.S. Route 29 in North Carolina. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 29.

U.S. Highway 29

US 29 highlighted in red

Route information

Maintained by NCDOT

Length

168.7 mi (271.5 km)

Existed

1927–present

Major junctions

South end

US 29 at the South Carolina line near Blacksburg

Major intersections

I-85 (several times)
I-485 in Charlotte (twice)
I-77 / US 21 in Charlotte
I-74 in High Point
I-73 / I-85 / US 421 in Greensboro
I-40 / US 220 in Greensboro
I-785 / I-840 in Greensboro
US 158 in Reidsville

North end

US 29 at the Virginia line near Danville

Location

Country

United States

State

North Carolina

Counties

Cleveland, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Rowan, Davidson, Randolph, Guilford, Rockingham, Caswell

Highway system

United States Numbered Highway System

North Carolina Highway System

←

NC 28

→

NC 30

U.S. Highway 29 (US 29) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs for 168.7 miles (271.5 km) from the South Carolina state line, near Blacksburg, to the commonwealth of Virginia, near Danville. It is signed with north–south cardinal directions but is actually a northeast and southwest diagonal highway throughout the state. The route serves the North Carolina Piedmont, including the cities of Charlotte, Salisbury, High Point, and Greensboro. From Salisbury to Greensboro, US 29 spends roughly a third of its length in the state being concurrent with US 70.

Route description

US 29 starts in Grover as a two-lane rural road where it intersects with North Carolina Highway 226 (NC 226) shortly after. It then turns into a four-lane boulevard as it heads to Kings Mountain, briefly overlapping with NC 216 as it merges into Interstate 85 (I-85), sharing a concurrency with the Interstate. It then exits I-85 at exit 10A running together with US 74. US 29/US 74 then overlaps with NC 274 for two miles (3.2 km) as the three routes head toward Gastonia. In downtown Gastonia, US 29/US 74/NC 274 intersects with US 321 with NC 274 splitting off on South Broad Street. US 29/US 74 then meets NC 279 before going into Lowell, McAdenville, and Belmont where US 29/US 74 meets NC 7 and then I-485 before going to Charlotte. US 29/US 74 offers access to Charlotte Douglas International Airport before intersecting with Billy Graham Parkway. Here, US 29/US 74 is named Wilkinson Boulevard. At Morehead Street, US 29 splits from US 74 where US 29 briefly overlaps with NC 27 and then intersects I-77. Afterward, US 29 splits from NC 27 where it meets NC 49 as the two routes go around Bank of America Stadium and go along Graham Street through Uptown Charlotte.

Afterward, US 29/NC 49 turns into a boulevard going east on Dalton Avenue and then north on Tryon Street. Eventually, US 29/NC 49 intersects Old Concord Road where the Lynx Blue Line runs between the northbound and southbound lanes. At University City Boulevard, NC 49 splits from US 29 with NC 49 going around the southern part of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) campus, and US 29 going around the west. Here, the Lynx Blue Line goes under the northbound lanes of US 29 to offer access to UNC Charlotte while US 29 continues as a boulevard toward Concord. Before doing so, it intersects with I-485 once again. Before heading toward Concord, US 29 offers access to Charlotte Motor Speedway before meeting at an interchange with George Liles Parkway. It then briefly overlaps with US 601 and NC 73 in western Concord before US 601 splits to run concurrently with I-85 and NC 73 splitting to head toward downtown Concord. From here, US 29 runs north through Kannapolis. US 29 then goes through Landis and China Grove, briefly overlapping with NC 152 east of China Grove.

US 29 then heads toward Salisbury where, west of downtown Salisbury, it begins to run concurrently with US 70 serving as Salisbury's Main Street. After going through downtown Salisbury, US 29/US 70 offers access to both Spencer and East Spencer before crossing over the Yadkin River. Afterward, US 29/US 70 then merges into I-85/US 52 as the four highways all run together for roughly two miles (3.2 km). At exit 87, US 29/US 52/US 70 splits from I-85 and briefly joins I-285, where US 29 follows the route of former I-85 Business (I-85 Bus.). West of Lexington, US 52 and I-285 split away from US 29/US 70. US 29/US 70 then goes around the northern edge of Lexington where the two routes briefly overlap with US 64 before heading toward Thomasville. In Thomasville, US 70 splits from US 29 and joins NC 68 towards High Point.

Exiting Thomasville, US 29 then goes south of High Point and north of Trinity and Archdale before intersecting I-74 southeast of High Point. Following this, US 29 once again runs together with I-85 proper before splitting at the interchange with I-73/US 421. US 29 then merges into I-40 running together with US 220 south of Greensboro. The now three simultaneously running highways (US 29, US 220, and I-40) go around southern Greensboro before US 29/US 220 splits from I-40 going north around eastern Greensboro as a controlled-access highway named O. Henry Boulevard. As US 29/US 220 intersects Wendover Avenue, US 220 splits from US 29 going west.

US 29, now all alone, goes through the northeastern suburbs of Greensboro where it intersects with I-785 and will run concurrently with I-785 past the Virginia state line once modifications to the existing US 29 are completed. After meeting I-785, US 29 is largely rural with Reidsville being the last town served along the route. Here in Reidsville, US 29 intersects with US 29 Bus. with the latter acting as a beltline stretching around western Reidsville. Afterward, US 29 heads northeast to Virginia just southwest of Danville.

History

Established in 1927, it ran from the South Carolina state line to US 74 in Kings Mountain, with a concurrency with NC 205. In 1929, NC 205 was removed.

US 29's first extension was in 1932, following US 74/NC 20 east into Charlotte. It then replaced US 170 from Charlotte to the Virginia state line. In 1937, it replaced a stretch of NC 7 going between Kings Mountain and Gastonia. The old route briefly became alternates for both U.S. Highways before becoming NC 161 and NC 274.

In 1938, US 29 was moved onto a new bypass around Kannapolis–China Grove, leaving US 29A on the old route. In 1948, the routes were switched. In 1952, US 29 was moved onto new bypasses around Lexington and Thomasville, leaving behind US 29A in both cities. In 1957, US 29 was moved onto its modern route from Thomasville to Jamestown, old route became part of NC 68 and US 70A.

Between 1944 and 1949, US 29 was moved onto a new route north of Greensboro as well as part of the eastern bypass. By 1953, a southern bypass of Greensboro was completed. The eastern bypass was completed to Summit Avenue at Phillips Avenue by December 1956. The widening of eleven and a half miles of US 29 north of Greensboro was announced in 1959.

In 1957 or 1958, US 29 was moved onto new bypass west of Reidsville, leaving US 29A (later US 29 Bus.) through Reidsville. Also around same time, US 29 was moved onto new bypass east of Kings Mountain, extending NC 216 over its old route; then in Charlotte, it moved onto I-85 between Little Rock Road (exit 32) and the University City area (exit 42), old route through Charlotte as US 29 Bus. In 1961 or 1962, US 29 was moved back further to NC 273 going onto I-85, but, surprisingly, in 1963, US 29 was placed back on its original route through Charlotte again. Similar action also in Salisbury, where, in 1960, US 29 was moved onto I-85, then, in 1964 or 1965, it was moved back through town.

In 1973, US 29 was placed on a new freeway bypass east of Reidsville; its old bypass route was reverted to US 29 Bus., while the old US 29 Bus. through Reidsville was removed. Between 1980 and 1982, the freeway from Reidsville was extended into Virginia.

U.S. Route 170

U.S. Highway 170

Location	Charlotte, North Carolina–Virginia state line
Length	141.1 mi (227.1 km)
Existed	1926–1932

U.S. Highway 170 (US 170) was an original U.S. Highway, established in 1926. It began at the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets in Charlotte, traversing northeast, in concurrency with NC 15 to Concord, Kannapolis, and Salisbury. Northeast of Salisbury, it was overlapped with NC 10 to Lexington, High Point, and Greensboro; via High Point Road to Lee Street, to Fairground Avenue, to Spring Garden Street, to Aycock Street, to West Market Street, to Greene Street, and finally to Summit Avenue, where it began its overlap with NC 70 heading northeast to Browns Summit. Heading northeast, it went through Reidsville, Ruffin, and finally Pelham before crossing into Virginia toward Danville and eventually Lynchburg. In 1932, US 29 joined in concurrency with US 170. Later on, the US 170 designation was removed, leaving US 29 on the route.

Future

The freeway stretch of US 29 traveling southwest from Greensboro to Lexington is currently also signed as I-85 Bus. and US 70. On October 5, 2019, the North Carolina Department of Transportation submitted an application to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and was granted approval, for the removal of the I-85 Bus. designation from the freeway and the rerouting of US 70 between Greensboro and Thomasville, leaving US 29 on the route. This plan, according to the state, will simplify overhead signage on the freeway and eliminate route redundancies.

Junction list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Cleveland	Grover	0.00	0.00		US 29 south – Gaffney	Continuation from South Carolina
	Grover	0.1	0.16		NC 226 north – Shelby, Grover
		2.2	3.5		NC 216 south to I-85	South end of NC 216 overlap
		3.5	5.6		NC 216 north – Kings Mountain	North end of NC 216 overlap
		3.9	6.3		I-85 south – Spartanburg, Greenville	South end of I-85 overlap; southbound left exit and northbound entrance; I-85 exit 4
		5.2	8.4	5	Dixon School Road	Exit numbers follow I-85
	Kings Mountain	8.0	12.9	8	NC 161 – Kings Mountain	Exit numbers follow I-85
Gaston	Kings Mountain	9.5– 10.7	15.3– 17.2		I-85 north – Charlotte US 74 west – Kings Mountain, Shelby	North end of I-85 overlap; south end of US 74 overlap; I-85 exit 10A
	Gastonia	15.4	24.8		NC 274 north (Bessemer City Road) – Bessemer City	West end of NC 274 overlap
		17.0	27.4		US 321 south (Chester Street)	One-way couplet
		17.1	27.5		US 321 north (York Street)	One-way couplet
		17.5	28.2		NC 274 south (Broad Street) – Gastonia Municipal Airport	East end of NC 274 overlap
		19.0	30.6		NC 279 (New Hope Road)
		19.2	30.9		To Cox Road – Shopping Mall	Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Belmont	25.4	40.9		NC 7 (Main Street)	To Belmont Abbey College
		26.2	42.2		NC 273 (Park Street) – Mount Holly
		27.1	43.6		NC 7 west (Catawba Street)
Catawba River		27.4	44.1		Sloans Ferry Bridge
Mecklenburg		29.7	47.8		I-485 – Columbia, Spartanburg	I-485 exit 9
	Charlotte	31.3	50.4		Little Rock Road – CLT Airport
		32.4	52.1		Boyer Street to Billy Graham Parkway (Charlotte Route 4) – CLT Airport
		35.0	56.3		US 74 east (Wilkinson Boulevard)	North end of US 74 overlap
		35.8	57.6		NC 27 west (Freedom Drive)	South end of NC 27 overlap
		36.2	58.3		I-77 north / US 21 north – Statesville	I-77 exit 10A
		36.7	59.1		NC 49 south / NC 27 east (Morehead Street east)	North end of NC 27 overlap; south end of NC 49 overlap
		38.0	61.2		I-277 north / NC 16 north (Outer) to I-77 / US 21	I-277 exit 4
		41.1	66.1		Sugar Creek Road (Charlotte Route 4) to I-85
		44.0	70.8		I-85 south	I-85 exit 42; access via I-85 Connector
		44.6	71.8		NC 49 north (University City Boulevard) – Harrisburg	North end of NC 49 overlap
		45.7	73.5		NC 24 (W.T. Harris Boulevard)
		48.3	77.7		I-485 to I-85	Interchange; I-485 exit 32
Cabarrus	Concord	50.6	81.4		Bruton Smith Boulevard to I-85
		56.4	90.8		George Liles Parkway to I-85	Interchange
		56.4	90.8		US 601 south (Warren C. Coleman Boulevard) – Monroe	South end of US 601 overlap
		58.7	94.5		NC 73 west (Davidson Highway) – Davidson	South end of NC 73 overlap
		59.0	95.0		NC 73 east (Davidson Drive)	North end of NC 73 overlap
		60.0	96.6		I-85 / US 601 north – Charlotte, Salisbury, Greensboro	North end of US 601 overlap; I-85 exit 58
	Kannapolis	62.1	99.9		NC 3 (Dale Earnhardt Boulevard)
		63.2	101.7		Lakeview Street	Right-in/right-out; northbound exit and entrance only
		63.3	101.9		Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue – Kannapolis, Downtown	Interchange
Rowan	China Grove	69.4	111.7		NC 152 west (Church Street) – Downtown	South end of NC 152 overlap
	China Grove	70.0	112.7		NC 152 east to I-85 / US 601 – Rockwell	Interchange; north end of NC 152 overlap
	Salisbury	76.8	123.6		US 70 west / US 601 (Jake Alexander Boulevard) – Statesville, Mocksville	Interchange; south end of US 70 overlap
	Salisbury	77.4	124.6		NC 150 west (Mooresville Road)	South end of NC 150 overlap
Yadkin River		84.8	136.5		Bridge
Davidson		85.2	137.1		I-85 / US 52 south – Charlotte	Permanently closed as of April, 2010; was I-85 exit 82
		86.0	138.4		NC 150 east	North end of NC 150 overlap; I-85 exit 84
		86.0	138.4		I-85 south / US 52 south	South end of I-85/US 52 overlap; I-85 exit 84; south end of freeway section
		87.0	140.0	85	Clark Road	Permanently closed as of November, 2012; exit numbers follow I-85
		88.4	142.3	86	Belmont Road
	Lexington	90.1	145.0	—	I-85 north – Greensboro, High Point I-285 begins	North end of I-85 overlap; south end of I-285 overlap; northbound left exit and southbound left entrance; I-85 exit 87; former southern terminus of I-85 BL
		91.1	146.6	84	NC 47 east to I-85 north	Exit numbers follow US 52
		92.0	148.1	85	Green Needles Road
		93.2	150.0	86	Lexington, Downtown
		94.2	151.6	—	I-285 north / US 52 north – Winston-Salem	North end of I-285/US 52 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance; US 52 exit 87
		95.2	153.2	—	Old US 64
		95.7	154.0	—	US 64 west – Mocksville	South end of US 64 overlap
				—	Smokehouse Lane	Right-in/right-out; southbound exit and entrance; exit unsigned
		96.6	155.5	—	NC 8 (Winston Road) – Lexington, Winston-Salem	North end of freeway section
		97.5	156.9		US 64 east – Asheboro	Interchange; north end of US 64 overlap
	Thomasville	104.8	168.7		Thomasville	Interchange northbound; former US 29 north; southbound access via Kanoy Road
		107.2	172.5		NC 109 (Salem Street) – Thomasville, Winston-Salem	Interchange
		108.9	175.3		US 70 east / NC 68 (National Highway) – Thomasville, West High Point	Interchange; north end of US 70 overlap; to PTI Airport
Randolph	High Point	110.0	177.0	—	Old Thomasville Road – High Point	South end of expressway section
Guilford		110.7	178.2	—	Prospect Street
		111.8	179.9	—	West Green Drive
		112.6	181.2	—	Surrett Drive
		113.2	182.2	—	Main Street – High Point
		114.5	184.3	—	I-74 / Brentwood Street – Winston-Salem, Asheboro	North end of expressway section; Brentwood Street has a separate exit northbound; three-level diamond interchange; I-74 exit 71B
		115.6	186.0		Baker Road	Interchange
		116.7	187.8		Kivett Drive – East High Point	Interchange
	Greensboro	119.3	192.0	—	Vickery Chapel Road / Guilford College Road – Jamestown	South end of freeway section
		120.8	194.4	—	I-85 south – Charlotte, Salisbury	South end of I-85 overlap; I-85 exit 118
		121.8	196.0	33A	Groometown Road to Grandover Parkway	Exit numbers based on former I-85 BL mileage; signed as exit 119 northbound; southbound exit ramp shared with exit 33B
		122.6	197.3	—	I-85 north to US 421 south – Durham, Sanford	North end of I-85 overlap; southbound left exit and northbound left entrance; I-85 exit 120A
		122.6	197.3	33B	I-73 / US 421 north to I-40 west – Winston-Salem	No northbound exit; I-73 exit 97; I-85 exit 120B
		123.5	198.8	34	Holden Road
		124.4	200.2	35A	US 220 south to I-73 south – Asheboro	US 220 north exits 79A-B
		124.6	200.5	35B	US 220 north to I-40 west – Coliseum Area	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; US 220 south exit 79
		124.9	201.0	35C	Rehobeth Church Road / Vandalia Road
				220	Randleman Road	Northbound exit and southbound left entrance; exit numbers follow I-40
		125.9	202.6	—	I-40 west / US 220 south – Winston-Salem	No northbound exit; south end of I-40/US 220 overlap; I-40 exit 219
		126.1	202.9	220	Randleman Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		126.7	203.9	221	South Elm-Eugene Street – Downtown Greensboro
		127.9	205.8	222	Martin Luther King Jr. Drive	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; former US 421 south
		128.2	206.3	—	I-40 east	North end of I-40 overlap; former I-85 BL north; northbound left exit and southbound entrance; I-40 exit 223
				—	Martin Luther King Jr. Drive east to I-40	Southbound left exit and northbound entrance; former US 421 south
		128.6	207.0	—	Florida Street	Northbound exit and entrance only
		129.4	208.2	—	Gate City Boulevard	Cloverleaf interchange
		130.2	209.5	—	Market Street	To North Carolina A&T State University
		130.6	210.2	—	Sullivan Street	Northbound exit and entrance only
		130.8	210.5	—	Bessemer Avenue
		131.1	211.0	—	US 220 / US 70 (Wendover Avenue)	Cloverleaf interchange; north end of US 220 overlap; north end of freeway section
		131.9	212.3	—	Summit Avenue – Downtown	South end of expressway; southbound exit and northbound entrance
		132.4	213.1	—	16th Street
		132.9	213.9	—	Cone Boulevard	North end of expressway
		135.3	217.7	135	I-785 south / I-840 – Raleigh, Charlotte, Winston-Salem	Interchange; signed as exits 135A (east) and 135B (west); northern terminus of I-785; I-840 exits 14A-B
		136.0	218.9	136	Hicone Road	Interchange
		137.9	221.9		Reedy Fork Parkway TO Summit Avenue	Interchange
		140.9	226.8		NC 150 – Brown Summit	Interchange
		141.9	228.4		Benaja Road	Interchange
Rockingham		144.7	232.9	145	US 29 Bus. north	South end of freeway; access to/from Candy Creek Road
	Reidsville	148.5	239.0	149	NC 87 to US 158 west (Freeway Drive) – Reidsville, Burlington
	Reidsville	149.6	240.8	150	Barnes Street – Reidsville Downtown
		152.1	244.8	153	US 158 / NC 14 (Freeway Drive) – Reidsville, Eden, Yanceyville
		155.5	250.3	156	Narrow Gauge Road
		158.3	254.8	159	US 29 Bus. to NC 87 north – Ruffin
	Ruffin	160.6	258.5	161	US 29 Bus. south (Mayfield Road)
Caswell		164.2	264.3	165	Law Road
Caswell	Pelham	166.7	268.3	167	NC 700 (Shady Grove Road) – Eden
North Carolina–Virginia line		168.3– 168.7	270.9– 271.5	169	US 29 Bus. north / US 58 west – Danville, Martinsville
North Carolina–Virginia line		168.3– 168.7	270.9– 271.5		US 29 north / US 58 east – Lynchburg, South Boston	Continuation into Virginia
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Closed/former Concurrency terminus Incomplete access

References

^ "US 29" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
Guilford County (PDF) (Map). Cartography by NCDOT. Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Transportation. 1944. p. 61. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
Guilford County (PDF) (Map). Cartography by NCDOT. Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Transportation. 1949. p. 62. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
Guilford County Supplement (PDF) (Map). Cartography by NCDOT. Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Transportation. 1949. p. 63. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
Guilford County Supplement No. 1 (PDF) (Map). Cartography by NCDOT. Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Transportation. 1953. p. 63. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
"Huge Interchange Opens". Greensboro Record. December 11, 1956. p. B1 – via newspapers.com.
"3 Major Road Jobs Will Be Started Within A Year". Greensboro Daily News. November 6, 1959. p. B1 – via newspapers.com.
"U.S. Route 170" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
Transportation Advisory Committee (July 2019). "Removal of 'Business 85'". High Point Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (October 6, 2019). "2019 Annual Meeting Report to the Council on Highways and Streets" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 23, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2020. "Ballot" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 23, 2019.
"NCDOT: I-85 Corridor Improvement Project". Retrieved June 19, 2011.
Minn, Karissa (April 9, 2010). "Safety concerns lead to closing of Wil-Cox Bridge; no timeframe on reopening". Salisbury Post. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
"NC 150 Route Change (2012-03-01)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. March 1, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
NC 150 Route Change (2012-01-04) (PDF) (Map). North Carolina Department of Transportation. January 4, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
Staff (July 27, 2011). "NCDOT to close Clark Road entrance and exits ramps on I-85 north, section of Snider Kines Road in Davidson County starting Monday". Project Details. North Carolina Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 26, 2012.