North Carolina Highway 9 (NC 9) is a primary

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the U.S. state of

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 So ...

. It serves as a connector route from

South Carolina Highway 9 South Carolina Highway 9 (SC 9) is a major state highway in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The highway travels from Cherry Grove Beach to the North Carolina state line upstate. The highway is currently the longest state highway in ...

to eastern portions of the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

around

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

Route description

NC 9 meets SC 9 at the state border. SC 9 is one of South Carolina's most important state highways, although it is less so in North Carolina. NC 9 begins in

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

south of the Green Creek community. NC 9 is co-signed with

US 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

/ 74A in the city of

Lake Lure Lake Lure is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. In 2020 the town population was 1,634. Lake Lure was incorporated in 1927, and acquired the lake after which it is named in 1965. History In 1902, Dr. Lucius B. Morse and ...

. This is about north of the southern terminus. After crossing into

Buncombe County Buncombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is classified within Western North Carolina. The 2020 census reported the population was 269,452. Its county seat is Asheville. Buncombe County is part of the Ashevill ...

NC 9 crosses over the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly span ...

at Lakey Gap and crosses

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 ...

at exit 64. The stretch of NC 9 from Bat Cave north to Black Mountain has been designated as a North Carolina Scenic Highway. It is known as The Sidewinder in the motorcycle community, many scenic and curvy roads in the NC mountains have nicknames, as well. In addition to the scenery, it is a hilly and twisty route with some steep grades. A sign heading south from Black Mountain points out that heavy trucks are prohibited. The highway runs through the town of Black Mountain ( east of Asheville). Nearly after crossing I-40, NC 9 ends at the vaulted archway entrance to the town of Montreat.

History

1930-1937: There was a previous NC 9 before the current day routing and was known as Leesville Road. The first 9 dates from about 1930, and ran from

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

northwest to

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. Today, part of that road is U.S. 70. It ran in conjunction with US 15A through downtown Raleigh in front of the Capitol Building. The original NC 9 lasted until late 1937, when it was renumbered as US 70A. 1938: NC 9 in Raleigh is renumbered, while NC 192 is renumbered to NC 9 from the SC Border to Lake Lure, and renumbering

NC 119 North Carolina Highway 119 (NC 119) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Route description It runs from NC 54 in Swepsonville north via Mebane, Hightowers, and Semora to the Virginia state line, whe ...

from

Chimney Rock Park Chimney Rock State Park is a North Carolina state park in Chimney Rock, Rutherford County, North Carolina in the United States. The park is located southeast of Asheville, North Carolina, and is owned and managed by the state of North Carolin ...

(just north of Lake Lure) area north to Montreat. The number was chosen because of the SC 9 renumbering in early 1938. 1972: An I-40-related rerouting just south of downtown Black Mountain in 1972. In the years before the Interstate was built 9 entered town along Black Mountain Avenue, proceeding east onto Sutton Avenue before continuing north on Broadway Street. With the completion of

, NC 9 followed an extension of Broadway Street. This is the last major change.

North Carolina Highway 192 (1928-1937)

The first North Carolina Highway 192 (NC 192) was established as a new primary routing between NC 19, in Mill Spring, and US 74/ NC 20, in Lake Lure. In 1931, NC 192 was extended southeast from Mill Spring along new primary routing to the South Carolina state line, where it continued as SC 177 towards

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Offi ...

. In late 1937, part of the renumbering effort for contiguous routes with South Carolina, NC 192 was redesignated as NC 9 to match SC 9, which replaced SC 177 the year prior.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML
NC 9 Info

009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...

Transportation in Polk County, North Carolina Transportation in Rutherford County, North Carolina Transportation in Henderson County, North Carolina Transportation in Buncombe County, North Carolina U.S. Route 70