North Carolina Highway 68
Encyclopedia
North Carolina Highway 68 is a north–south 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...

 in 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...

. It most notably serves as a connector between Interstate 40
Interstate 40 in North Carolina
Interstate 40 runs through the state of North Carolina from the Tennessee state line in the west to its eastern terminus in Wilmington.-Pigeon River Gorge:...

 (I-40) and Piedmont Triad International Airport
Piedmont Triad International Airport
Piedmont Triad International Airport is an airport just west of Greensboro, serving Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem as well as the entire Piedmont Triad Region in North Carolina. The airport has 3 runways; the third opened January 27, 2010 for traffic. The airport is located just off...

 (via Bryan Boulevard
Bryan Boulevard (Greensboro)
Joseph M. Bryan Boulevard is a limited-access corridor connecting North Carolina Highway 68 with Benjamin Parkway in Greensboro, North Carolina. Segments of this road may be used as the Future Interstate 73 corridor. The 4-lane highway serves as the main entrance for Piedmont Triad International...

). On its routing from Thomasville
Thomasville, North Carolina
Thomasville is a city in Davidson County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,354 at the 2010 census. The city is notable for its furniture industry as are its neighbors of High Point and Lexington. This Piedmont Triad community was established in 1852 and hosts the state's...

 to Stokesdale
Stokesdale, North Carolina
Stokesdale is a town in the northwestern corner of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,267 at the 2000 census. Belews Lake is located nearby.-Geography:Stokesdale is located at ....

, NC 68 passes through urban High Point
High Point, North Carolina
High Point is a city located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina. As of 2010 the city had a total population of 104,371, according to the US Census Bureau. High Point is currently the eighth-largest municipality in North Carolina....

, the western outskirts of Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...

, and the town of Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, North Carolina
Oak Ridge is a town in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,988 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the US Census Bureau indicated that the population had risen to 6,185 . The Oak Ridge Military Academy, a private, coed, college-preparatory military boarding...

. The segment from just north of the I-40 interchange to Pleasant Ridge Road in Guilford County
Guilford County, North Carolina
Guilford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2010, the Census Bureau estimated the county's population to be 491,230. Its seat is Greensboro. Since 1938, an additional county court has been located in High Point, North Carolina, making Guilford one of only a handful...

 is a limited access freeway and is planned to be partially used as part of the Interstate 73 corridor.

Route description

Beginning in the south at Business I-85
Interstate 85 Business (North Carolina)
In the U.S. state of North Carolina, Interstate 85 Business is a business loop of Interstate 85; which serves several cities in the Piedmont Triad.-Route description:...

/US 29/70, the route travels north out of Thomasville in Davidson County
Davidson County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 149,331 people, 58,156 households, and 42,512 families residing in the county. The population density was 267 people per square mile . There were 62,432 housing units at an average density of 113 per square mile...

 as National Highway, a name which referred to the former routing of US 29/70 (later US 29A/70A) along this segment. Crossing from Davidson County
Davidson County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 149,331 people, 58,156 households, and 42,512 families residing in the county. The population density was 267 people per square mile . There were 62,432 housing units at an average density of 113 per square mile...

 into neighboring Guilford County and the city of High Point, NC 68 is cosigned with English Road. Approximately one mile within the city limits, NC 68 turns left onto Westchester Drive, a boulevard
Boulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...

 that bypasses High Point's downtown area. Arriving at the US 311 Business (Main Street) interchange, the city's busiest, NC 68 continues onto Eastchester Drive, another boulevard. After passing Oak Hollow Mall
Oak Hollow Mall
Oak Hollow Mall is a regional shopping mall located in High Point, North Carolina. It is located at the intersection of Eastchester Drive and East Hartley Drive. At nearly 1.3 million square feet, Oak Hollow is the largest mall in Guilford County and the second largest mall in the Triad after...

, the US 311 Bypass (Future Interstate 74) freeway, and the Wendover Avenue interchange, NC 68 and Eastchester Drive continue north into neighboring Greensboro.

Shortly after entering Greensboro, NC 68 meets Interstate 40/US 421, and becomes a limited access freeway after a traffic signal at Triad Center Drive. Continuing north as a divided four-lane highway, NC 68 has junctions with W. Market Street (Colfax
Colfax, North Carolina
Colfax is a small unincorporated community located in Guilford County, North Carolina. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a population of 2,469. Colfax is located at ....

 exit) and Bryan Boulevard, the exit for Piedmont Triad International Airport
Piedmont Triad International Airport
Piedmont Triad International Airport is an airport just west of Greensboro, serving Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem as well as the entire Piedmont Triad Region in North Carolina. The airport has 3 runways; the third opened January 27, 2010 for traffic. The airport is located just off...

. The road downgrades to an undivided primary road at the Pleasant Ridge Road junction. From there, the route heads north through the heart of Oak Ridge, North Carolina
Oak Ridge, North Carolina
Oak Ridge is a town in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,988 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the US Census Bureau indicated that the population had risen to 6,185 . The Oak Ridge Military Academy, a private, coed, college-preparatory military boarding...

, passing the Oak Ridge Military Academy
Oak Ridge Military Academy
' is a college-preparatory military school in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina. The academy is located within the town limits of Oak Ridge, North Carolina, which is named after the school...

 at the route's intersection with NC 150. In Stokesdale
Stokesdale, North Carolina
Stokesdale is a town in the northwestern corner of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,267 at the 2000 census. Belews Lake is located nearby.-Geography:Stokesdale is located at ....

, NC 68 crosses US 158 and joins NC 65 for a short one-mile (1.6 km) concurrency, before splitting to the northeast en route to its northern terminus at NC 220 in Rockingham County
Rockingham County, North Carolina
Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 93,643. Its county seat is Wentworth.- History :The county was formed in 1785 from Guilford County...

.

History

North Carolina Highway 68 was first commissioned by 1924 as a route running from Wilkesboro
Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Wilkesboro is a town in and the county seat of Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,159 at the 2000 census, and it is the second largest municipality in the county. The 2010 Census listed the town's population at 3,044. The town is located along the south bank of the...

 to 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, passing through Jefferson
Jefferson, North Carolina
Jefferson is a town in Ashe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,422 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ashe County.-History:...

, a routing that today is served mainly by U.S. Highway 421. Around 1928, NC 68 was rerouted to end at the Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 state line. The old NC 68 route was designated as NC 681 for a while before becoming the unnumbered Healing Springs Road of today. By 1928, an extension of NC 16 took all of NC 68's routing and NC 68 was decommissioned. The 68 number was recommissioned in the mid-1930s as a state highway running from east of High Point to Stokesdale. By 1938, NC 68 had changed its southern terminus to Thomasville and the northern terminus was moved northward in 1941 to its current location at US 220.

Near the I-40 junction, NC 68 used to be routed along Regional Road (formerly John Bull Road), but increased traffic between the Interstate and the international airport required a new road. A new four-lane boulevard/freeway and new I-40 interchange was built to the west of Regional Road to better accommodate the traffic; the new road was finished in 1980 and NC 68 was signed along it.

Future

Future NCDOT plans call for the construction of a new four-lane highway connector between NC 68 and US 220 to serve as the future I-73 corridor. It should be constructed between Oak Ridge and Summerfield
Summerfield, North Carolina
Summerfield is a town in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,018 at the 2000 census. The official town limits of Summerfield are entirely located within Guilford County....

. NC 68 is not planned to follow this new road.

North of Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, North Carolina
Oak Ridge is a town in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,988 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the US Census Bureau indicated that the population had risen to 6,185 . The Oak Ridge Military Academy, a private, coed, college-preparatory military boarding...

, safety improvements are to be done between East Harrell Road (S.R. 2111) and Bartonshire Drive (S.R. 4831). The estimated cost is $1.96 million. Property acquisition is expected to start in December, 2014.

See also

  • Haw River
    Haw River
    The Haw River is a tributary of the Cape Fear River, approximately 110 mi long, that is entirely contained in north central North Carolina in the United States...

  • Oak Hollow Mall
    Oak Hollow Mall
    Oak Hollow Mall is a regional shopping mall located in High Point, North Carolina. It is located at the intersection of Eastchester Drive and East Hartley Drive. At nearly 1.3 million square feet, Oak Hollow is the largest mall in Guilford County and the second largest mall in the Triad after...

  • Oak Ridge Military Academy
    Oak Ridge Military Academy
    ' is a college-preparatory military school in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina. The academy is located within the town limits of Oak Ridge, North Carolina, which is named after the school...

  • Piedmont Triad International Airport
    Piedmont Triad International Airport
    Piedmont Triad International Airport is an airport just west of Greensboro, serving Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem as well as the entire Piedmont Triad Region in North Carolina. The airport has 3 runways; the third opened January 27, 2010 for traffic. The airport is located just off...


External links

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