North Carolina Highway 57
Encyclopedia
NC 57 is a 43-mile North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 and a semi-rural traffic artery connecting Roxboro to a few small-to-medium sized towns in the The Triangle
The Triangle (North Carolina)
The Research Triangle, also known as Raleigh-Durham and commonly referred to as simply "The Triangle", is a region in the Piedmont of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by North Carolina State University, Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and cities of...

 region north of the cities of Durham and Chapel Hill.

Route description

The northern terminus of NC 57 begins at NC 62 near the Dan River
Dan River
The Dan River flows in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. It originates in Patrick County, Virginia, and crosses the state border into Stokes County, North Carolina. It then flows into Rockingham County. From there it goes back into Virginia. It reenters North Carolina near the...

 in the border town of Milton...just shy of the Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 state line. From there, the highway travels through the center of town and southeast to Roxboro. NC 57 merges with US 158 and NC 49 in Roxboro and continues east to US 501 (North Madison Boulevard) just west of downtown. At that point, US 158 and NC 57 turn right to follow US 501 through the southern section of Roxboro, passing the northern terminus of NC 157. US 158 breaks off just past that junction and heads east to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

 while US 501 and NC 57 continue southward towards Durham.

The two highways remain concurrent almost to the Durham County line where NC 57 turns right before Rougemont and crosses into Orange County on its way to Hillsborough
Hillsborough, North Carolina
Hillsborough is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,653 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat of Orange County....

 where the highway ends at NC 86 just north of town.

Concurrencies

NC 57 has three highway concurrencies along its route. These include...
  • US 158 for 1.6 miles (2.6 km) in Roxboro
  • NC 49 for 0.4 mile (0.6 km) in Roxboro
  • US 501 for 11.1 miles (17.9 km) between Roxboro and Rougemont

History

During the 1920s, NC 57 originally ran east–west from Roxboro to Henderson along present day US 158. By 1940, the highway was changed to its current route.

Attractions along the way

  • Virginia International Raceway
    Virginia International Raceway
    The Virginia International Raceway is a road course located in the community of Alton, Virginia near Danville, Virginia. It is found less than a half-mile from the North Carolina/Virginia border just outside Milton, North Carolina on the banks of the Dan River...

  • Hyco Lake
    Hyco Lake
    Hyco Lake is a reservoir in Person and Caswell counties, North Carolina. It is the area's main destination for fishing, boating, water skiing, wake boarding, and recreation and is the larger of Person County's two lakes, the other being Mayo Lake. The lake was formed from the Hyco River and has...

  • Roxboro Historic District
  • Roxboro Country Club
  • Orange County Speedway
    Orange County Speedway
    Orange County Speedway is a 3/8 mile asphalt oval in Orange County, near Rougemont, North Carolina. It first opened in 1966 as 1/4 mile and 5/8 mile dirt ovals, which operated until 1967 and 1973, respectively...


Links and references


The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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