North Carolina Highway 68 (NC 68) is a north–south state highway in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. It serves as a connector between

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

(I-40)/

U.S. Route 421 U.S. Route 421 (also U.S. Highway 421, US 421) is a diagonal northwest–southeast United States Numbered Highway in the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. The highway runs for from Fort Fisher, North Caro ...

(US 421) and

Piedmont Triad International Airport Piedmont Triad International Airport (commonly referred to locally as "PTI") is an airport located in unincorporated Guilford County, North Carolina, west of Greensboro, serving the Piedmont Triad region of Greensboro, High Point and Winsto ...

(via

I-73 Interstate 73 (I-73) is a north–south Interstate Highway, located within the US state of North Carolina. Currently, there is one continuous section of I-73, totaling , first traversing the U.S. Route 220 (US 220) freeway from ...

). On its routing from Thomasville to Stokesdale, NC 68 passes through urban High Point, the western outskirts of

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, and the town of Oak Ridge. The segment from just north of the I-40/US 421 interchange to Pleasant Ridge Road in

Guilford County Guilford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population is 541,299, making it the third-most populous county in North Carolina. The county seat, and largest municipality, is Greensboro. S ...

is a limited access freeway.

Route description

Beginning in the south at Business I-85/

US 29 U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida to the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland in the Southern United States, connecting the Florida Panhandle to the Baltimore-Washington ...

/ US 70, the route travels north out of Thomasville in Davidson County 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 into neighboring Guilford County and the city of High Point, NC 68 is cosigned with English Road. Approximately within the city limits, NC 68 turns left onto Westchester Drive, a

boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...

that bypasses High Point's downtown area. Arriving at the Main Street interchange, NC 68 continues onto Eastchester Drive, another boulevard. After passing

Oak Hollow Mall Oak Hollow Mall was a regional shopping mall which had over 80 working stores. At the time of its closing in 2017, occupancy was down to 11 stores. Most of the former mall building is owned by High Point University. Oak Hollow Mall was located in ...

I-74 } Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchang ...

(High Point East Belt), and the

Wendover Avenue Wendover Avenue is a road in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. Most of the road is hybrid in character: it is like an expressway in that it has a mix of interchanges and traffic light-controlled intersections, but like a boulevard ...

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

controlled access A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

highway after a traffic signal controlled intersection with Triad Center Drive. Continuing north as a divided four-lane highway, NC 68 has junctions with W. Market Street ( Colfax exit) and

, the exit for

. 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 is a town in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,185 at the 2010 census, up from 3,988 in 2000. As of 2018, the population had risen to an estimated 6,977. Oak Ridge is northwest of the cent ...

, passing the

Oak Ridge Military Academy Oak Ridge Military Academy (ORMA) is a college-preparatory military school in northwestern Guilford County, North Carolina. The school is the third oldest military academy in the United States and the first military boarding school to admit girl ...

at the route's intersection with NC 150. After crossing the

Haw River The Haw River is a tributary of the Cape Fear River, approximately 110 mi (177 km) long, that is entirely contained in north central North Carolina in the United States. It was first documented as the "Hau River" by John Lawson, an E ...

into Stokesdale, NC 68 crosses US 158 and joins NC 65 for a short concurrency, before splitting to the northeast en route to its northern terminus at US 220 in Rockingham County. This interchange doubles as the current northern terminus of I-73 though no direct access is provided between I-73 and NC 68.

History

The first NC 68 was an original state highway that traversed from NC 60, in Millers Creek (west of Wilkesboro), northwest through Glendale Springs,

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

and Crumpler, before crossing into

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. By 1928, NC 68 was rerouted west of Jefferson onto new primary routing west to the

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

state line; the old alignment becoming NC 681. In 1929, all of NC 68 was replaced by an extension of NC 16. The second and current NC 68 was established in 1930 as a new primary routing from US 70/ US 170/ NC 10, northeast of High Point, to NC 65, in Stokesdale. In 1936, NC 68 was rerouted south through High Point to US 29A/ US 70A (Lexington Avenue); its old alignment, along Penny Road, became a secondary road. In 1941, NC 68 was extended north on new primary routing to US 220 (Sylvania Road). In 1952, NC 68 was extended north to its current terminus with the then new US 220 bypass, replacing part of old US 220 (Sylvania Road). Between 1950 and 1953, NC 68 was extended south to English Street. In 1956 or 1957, NC 68 was extended to its current southern terminus, sharing a concurrency with US 29A/ US 70A, until 1991. In 1982, NC 68 was placed on new freeway connecting

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

and bypassing the

, its old alignment along Bull Road (today's Regional Road) a secondary road.

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{commons category-inline, North Carolina Highway 68
NCRoads.com: N.C. 68
068 Transportation in Davidson County, North Carolina Transportation in Guilford County, North Carolina Transportation in Rockingham County, North Carolina Transportation in Greensboro, North Carolina High Point, North Carolina