U.S. Route 501 in Virginia

U.S. Route 501 (US 501) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Buena Vista, Virginia. In Virginia, the U.S. Highway runs 111.42 miles (179.31 km) from the North Carolina state line near Cluster Springs north to its northern terminus at US 60 in Buena Vista. US 501 is the primary highway between Lynchburg and both South Boston in Southside Virginia and Durham in North Carolina's Research Triangle. North of Lynchburg, the highway parallels the James River through the Blue Ridge Mountains to the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley.

Route description

North Carolina to Lynchburg

US 501 enters Halifax County, Virginia south of Cluster Springs. The U.S. Highway is a two-lane road at the North Carolina state line but immediately expands to a four-lane divided highway named Huell Matthews Highway. US 501 parallels the Mayo River north to the hamlet of Mayo, where the highway meets the western end of SR 96 (Virgilina Road) and crosses the Hyco River. The U.S. Highway passes through Cluster Springs to the community of Riverdale just south of South Boston. US 501 becomes an undivided highway and intersects US 58 and US 360, which together head west as Philpott Road and east as Bill Tuck Highway. US 501 crosses the Dan River into the town of South Boston. Just north of the river, the highway has a grade crossing of Norfolk Southern Railway's Danville–Richmond rail line and splits into a one-way pair: Broad Street northbound and Main Street southbound. Both directions intersect SR 304 (Seymour Drive). When Main Street veers northeast as two-way SR 129, southbound US 501 continues on two-way Wilborn Avenue to the northern end of the one-way pair.

U.S. Route 501

U.S. Route 501 (US 501) is a spur of U.S. Route 1. It runs 355 miles (571 km) from Buena Vista, Virginia at U.S. Route 60 to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at U.S. Route 17 Business. It passes through the states of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. From Durham to Laurinburg, a 108-mile (174 km) section of US 501 overlaps U.S. Route 15. Sections of US 15-501 also share routings with U.S. Route 1 in sections near Sanford, North Carolina and Aberdeen, North Carolina.

Route description

South Carolina

US 501 begins at US 17 Bus. in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. From Myrtle Beach to Marion, US 501 is a multilane highway, some sections divided, some undivided, mostly with at-grade intersections but having a number of interchanges along the length. It passes through the city of Conway before reaching Marion, where US 501 bypasses the town to the east. North of Marion, US 501 meets SC 38, a connector to Interstate 95. From SC 38, US 501 heads to the northeast, meeting US 301 in Latta. US 301 merges with US 501, forming a concurrency through Dillon to the North Carolina border, where it passes South of the Border prior to exiting South Carolina and an interchange on Interstate 95 near Hamer in Dillon County.

U.S. Route 501 in South Carolina

U.S. Route 501 (US 501) is a north–south United States highway that traverses 73.8 miles (118.8 km) from Myrtle Beach, to North Carolina, near Dillon. It is one of main routes to the Grand Strand.

Route description

US 501 begins at US 17 Bus. in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. From Myrtle Beach to Marion, US 501 is a multilane highway, some sections divided, some undivided, mostly with at-grade intersections but having a number of interchanges along the length. It passes through the city of Conway before reaching Marion, where US 501 bypasses the town to the east. North of Marion, US 501 meets SC 38, a connector to Interstate 95. From SC 38, US 501 heads to the northeast, meeting US 301 in Latta. US 301 merges with US 501, forming a concurrency through Dillon to the North Carolina border, where it passes South of the Border prior to simultaneously exiting South Carolina and interchanging with Interstate 95 near Hamer in Dillon County.

History

Established in 1935 as in extension from North Carolina. US 501 replaced part of US 117 between Myrtle Beach to Socastee, then from there through Conway, Marion, and Latta on what was SC 38. North of Latta, it overlapped with US 301, through Dillon, and into North Carolina.

U.S. Route 501 in North Carolina

U.S. Route 501 is a north–south United States highway that traverses the majority of North Carolina in concurrency with U.S. Route 15, known as "15-501" ("Fifteen Five-o-one").

Route description

US 501 enters North Carolina at the South Carolina state line with an intersection of I-95 while overlapping US 301, nearby South of the Border. It goes northwest, through Rowland where the overlap with US 301 terminates, and Raemon, to Laurinburg. Once at Laurinburg, it overlaps briefly with I-74/US 74 before connecting with US 15. The majority of the route, to this point, is two-lane rural road.

Merging with US 15, it becomes what is known as "15-501" ("Fifteen Five-o-one"), a concurrency that extends for 106 miles (171 km) across central North Carolina. After Laurinburg it goes north to Aberdeen, linking briefly with US 1 before continuing to Pinehurst. In Pinehurst, 15-501 goes through a rare roundabout, then continues north, through Carthage, back to US 1. After another brief concurrency with US 1 through Sanford, it exits off the freeway and goes due north to Pittsboro. After Pittsboro, 15-501 becomes an expressway, connecting the cities of Chapel Hill and Durham; this section of the route is famous because of the two universities it connects: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. Though the road is a symbol of the separation of the Carolina-Duke rivalry, NCDOT has been trying to remedy that by making the route a superstreet for better traffic flow. In Durham, 15-501 upgrades to an urban freeway, allowing for quick access from south Durham to north; the freeway ends merging into Interstate 85. At exit 176B (on I-85), US 501 splits off towards Roxboro, while US 15 continues with I-85 towards Oxford.