North Carolina Highway 49 (NC 49) is a 177.8-mile (286.1 km) 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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
,
Asheboro
Asheboro is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 25,012 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Greensboro–High Point metropolitan area of the Piedmont Triad and is home of the s ...
The highway is part of a three-state highway 49 system, entering North Carolina near
Lake Wylie
Lake Wylie is a reservoir or man-made lake in the U.S. states of South Carolina and North Carolina. The lake has a surface area of 13,400 acres (54.2 km2) (20.9 mi2) (5420 ha) and features of shoreline.
History
The man-made lake was first f ...
, south of
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, and exiting the state near
Virgilina, Virginia
Virgilina is a town in Halifax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 154 at the 2010 census. Virgilina was once a copper mining town. It was a stop on the Atlantic and Danville Railway as recently as the 1950s. It is named "Virgili ...
on the
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 are ...
state line.
The route is an important corridor for traffic as it forms a part of the shortest route between the two largest cities in
the Carolinas
The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east.
Combining Nor ...
:
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, and the North Carolina state capital of
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 ...
. in
Asheboro
Asheboro is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 25,012 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Greensboro–High Point metropolitan area of the Piedmont Triad and is home of the s ...
, NC 49 meets US 64, which forms the majority of the Charlotte-Raleigh link.
From where it enters the state, the highway passes through Charlotte (where it follows most of Tryon Street and the uptown portion of Graham Street) and after crossing the more suburban portions of western
Cabarrus County
Cabarrus County ( ) , from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
Stanly County. From uptown Charlotte to University City NC 49 is concurrent with US 29. After passing Mount Pleasant in eastern Cabarrus County, the road becomes a designated
North Carolina Scenic Byway
The North Carolina Scenic Byways consists of roads in the state of North Carolina that travel through areas of scenic, historic, and cultural significance. Launched in March 1990, the scenic byway program has presently 59 designated byways, incl ...
. The route passes close to
Pfeiffer University
Pfeiffer University is a private university in Misenheimer, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
History
Pfeiffer originated from a home school operated by Miss Emily Prudden in the late 19th century. The schoo ...
in Stanly County before crossing the
Yadkin River
The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in North Carolina, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river are impounded by dams for water, p ...
near the
Tuckertown Reservoir
The Tuckertown Reservoir is the reservoir formed by the Tuckertown Dam at the North end of Badin Lake and the High Rock Dam at the bottom of High Rock Lake in the Uwharrie Lakes Region in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
The reservoir is loca ...
. After crossing the river, the road skirts the northern foothills of the ancient
Uwharrie Mountains
The Uwharrie Mountains () from the North Carolina Collection's website at the Franklinville. In Ramseur, the two routes split; NC 49 goes north through the towns of
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
and
Alamance
Alamance is a village in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 951 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 cens ...
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 ...
/
I-85
Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, n ...
. A concurrency of NC 49 and US 70 winds through Burlington before the two routes diverge at
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 ...
, where NC 49 heads north. In northern Alamance County, NC 49 meets NC 62 at a 4-way at-grade junction. The two routes switch directions at this point; NC 49 turns east toward Roxboro. After passing through Roxboro and a short interval of concurrency with US 158 and US 501, NC 49 continues on toward the Virginia state line.
One unique fact about the route is that NC 49 is one of limited number of state highways that maintain their numbers in more than two contiguous states, in this case Virginia ( SR 49) and South Carolina ( SC 49), with an aggregate length in the three states of more than .
History
Established in late 1934 as a renumbering of NC 15, it traversed from Lake Wylie to Morehead and
Tryon Street Tryon may refer to:
* Tryon (surname)
Places
* Tryon Creek, tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon
* Tryon Street, major north-south street of Charlotte, North Carolina
* Tryon, Prince Edward Island, Canada, unincorporated area
* Settl ...
, in
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, where it connected with US 21/ US 29/ US 74/ NC 27. In 1940, NC 49 was extended northeast from Charlotte to the Virginia state line, near
Virgilina, Virginia
Virgilina is a town in Halifax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 154 at the 2010 census. Virgilina was once a copper mining town. It was a stop on the Atlantic and Danville Railway as recently as the 1950s. It is named "Virgili ...
; its routing went as follows: In Charlotte, it was overlapped with US 29 along Tryon Street and Old Concord Road. Traveling through
Concord
Concord may refer to:
Meaning "agreement"
* Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony)
* Harmony, in music
* Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...
, via Old Charlotte Road, it then overlaps with NC 73 to Mount Pleasant. Replacing NC 62, it travels northeast, through Richfield and
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...
, to Asheboro. With a brief overlap with US 220 (Fayetteville Street), it continues its northeasterly along Old Liberty road, replacing NC 62, through
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
,
Graham
Graham and Graeme may refer to:
People
* Graham (given name), an English-language given name
* Graham (surname), an English-language surname
* Graeme (surname), an English-language surname
* Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer
* Clan ...
,
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 ...
, to Pleasant Grove. Going east from Pleasant Grove, NC 49 replaced NC 144, through Roxboro, to the Virginia state line, near Virgilina.
In or by 1947, NC 49 was rerouted in Richfield, removing a concurrency with US 52. And in Asheboro, NC 49 was rerouted onto US 64 to Ramseur, then northeast to Liberty; its old alignment becoming NC 49A.
In 1949, NC 49 was rerouted in Roxboro from Main Street onto newly constructed Madison Boulevard. In 1953, NC 49 was given its modern routing bypassing Concord and a concurrency with NC 73; that same year, in the Charlotte area, it was moved from Old Concord Road to University City Boulevard. Around 1960, NC 49 was given a new alignment south of Farmer, in Randolph County. By 1962, in Roxboro, NC 49 was removed along Morgan Street and Concord Road to an overlap with US 158 on Leasburg Road.
In 1982, NC 49, in concurrency with US 29, was rerouted in
Uptown Charlotte
Uptown Charlotte, also called Center City, is the central business district of Charlotte, North Carolina. The area is split into four wards by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets, and bordered by Interstate 277 and Interstate 77. The ar ...
from Tryon Street onto Morehead and Graham Streets, cutting back onto Tryon Street via Dalton Avenue. By 1993, NC 49 was adjusted in Pleasant Grove to intersect with NC 62; before it would turn nearby without connecting. In 2004, NC 49/ NC 57 was rerouted from a section of Leasburg Road onto Long Avenue, in Roxboro.
North Carolina Highway 15
North Carolina Highway 15 (NC 15) was an original state highway, established in 1921. It began at the intersection of Trade and
Tryon Street Tryon may refer to:
* Tryon (surname)
Places
* Tryon Creek, tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon
* Tryon Street, major north-south street of Charlotte, North Carolina
* Tryon, Prince Edward Island, Canada, unincorporated area
* Settl ...
in
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, connecting with NC 20/ NC 27, traversing northeast along Tryon Street and Old Concord Road to
Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in ...
and Concord. From Concord, it went north through
Kannapolis
Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. Th ...
and Landis before ending in Salisbury at Main and Innes Street, connecting with NC 10/ NC 80. In 1927, US 170 was assigned on all of NC 15. By 1930, NC 15 was extended south on Tryon Street/York Road to SC 163, at Lake Wylie. In 1932, US 170 was renumbered as an extension of US 29. In 1934, because of US 15 establishing in the state, NC 15 was removed on all sections overlapping with US 29 and the remaining section was renumbered to NC 49.
Major intersections
Special routes
New London alternate route
North Carolina Highway 49A (NC 49A) was established as a renumbering of NC 62A. A spur route of NC 49, it went south near the
Tuckertown Reservoir
The Tuckertown Reservoir is the reservoir formed by the Tuckertown Dam at the North end of Badin Lake and the High Rock Dam at the bottom of High Rock Lake in the Uwharrie Lakes Region in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
The reservoir is loca ...
to New London, connecting with US 52/ NC 740 on Gold Street. In 1948, it was renumbered to NC 6; it later became part of NC 8 in 1953.
Asheboro–Liberty alternate route
North Carolina Highway 49A (NC 49A) was established after mainline NC 49 was rerouted onto US 64 from Asheboro to Ramseur, then northeast to Liberty; NC 49A continued the old alignment through Asheboro via Albemarle Avenue, Park Street, Salisbury Street, and Fayetteville Street. North of Asheboro it followed Old Liberty Road to Liberty. On November, 1967, NC 49A was decommissioned, most of which (except for Fayetteville Street) becoming secondary roads.