U.S. Route 19W (US 19W) traverses approximately from Cane River, North Carolina to

Bluff City, Tennessee Bluff City is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,733 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kingsport– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johns ...

Route description

US 19W begins in western Yancey County in the community of

Cane River Cane River (''Rivière aux Cannes'') is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 3, 2011 formed from a portion of the Red River that is located in Natchitoches Pa ...

, at the intersection of US 19/ US 19E. Several signs at the beginning of the route strongly recommend truckers against using this route. The road then proceeds north through the

Pisgah National Forest Pisgah National Forest is a National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Pisgah National Forest is complet ...

, connecting the communities of Elk Shoal, Ramseytown and

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota: /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations peoples in North America. The modern Sioux consist of two major divisions based on language divisions: the Dakota an ...

, to the Tennessee state line (near Spivey Gap), a drive of frequent curves and elevation changes. Once past the state line, the road enters the

Cherokee National Forest The Cherokee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the U.S. states of Tennessee and North Carolina that was created on June 14, 1920. The forest is maintained and managed by the United States Forest Service. It encompasses ...

, and is much the same for another to SR-352/Flag Pond Road. From Flag Pond Road, it is just to

Interstate 26 Interstate 26 (I-26) is a main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Southeastern United States. Nominally east–west, as indicated by its even number, I-26 runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W (US 11W) and US 23 in ...

(I-26), where US 19W merges with the interstate to Johnson City. US 19W overlaps with I-26/ US 23 from exit 43 (Hill Road) to exit 20 (Roan Street). There it leaves I-26 and continues north on the Bristol Highway, overlapped with US 11E, for , after which it reconnects with US 19E to reform US 19 near Bluff City.

History

Established in 1930, US 19 was split at Cane River into US 19E and US 19W. US 19E follows the original routing via Spruce Pine and Elizabethton to Bluff City. US 19W was rerouted with US 23 and NC 692 into

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 t ...

, then through the cities of Erwin and Johnson City, before rejoining US 19E in Bluff City. In late 1934, NC 692 was dropped along the route; then in 1952, US 23 abandoned US 19W in North Carolina by rerouting west through Faust and Wolf Laurel, meeting back at Ernestville. In 1984, US 19 was realigned on a straighter path in Yancey County; US 19W was thus extended .

North Carolina Highway 692

North Carolina Highway 692 (NC 692) was established in 1923 as new primary routing to Tennessee; NC 692 was the original highway number from Cane River to Spivey Gap. In 1929, NC 692 was truncated at

, replaced by an extension of NC 19 from Bakersville. In 1930, US 19W and US 23 were overlapped on the remaining section of NC 692. In late 1934, NC 692 was decommissioned.

Junction list

References

External links