North Carolina Highway 8

North Carolina Highway 8 (NC 8) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The route connects the cities of Lexington and Winston-Salem to various recreational and natural sites including Uwharrie National Forest, High Rock Lake and Hanging Rock State Park. NC 8 is part of a two-state, 151 mile highway 8 system.

North Carolina Highway 8
Route of NC 8 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length94.6 mi[1] (152.2 km)
Existed1930–present
Major junctions
South end US 52 in New London
 
North end SR 8 at the Virginia state line
Location
CountiesStanly, Rowan, Davidson, Forsyth, Stokes
Highway system
NC 7 NC 9

Route description

NC 8 begins with NC 740 at the intersection with US 52 and Gold Street, in New London. After a short concurrency with NC 740, it goes northeast to connect with NC 49, then travels briefly on divided four-lane through Rowan County and over the Yadkin River. After briefly serving as the northern perimeter for the Uwharrie National Forest, it splits with NC 49 and goes north to Southmont. Continuing north, it enters the Lexington city limits near I-85. Turning on Talbert Boulevard, it bypasses south of downtown Lexington, then continues north along Raleigh Road and the one-way streets of Fifth and Sixth streets. On the north side of Lexington, it connects with I-85 Business/US 29/US 64/US 70 before pressing on along Winston Road to Welcome, where it begins its longest concurrency with US 52.

With US 52, it bypasses east of Welcome and west of Midway before entering Winston-Salem, where the freeway becomes known as the North-South Expressway. With a brief concurrency with US 311, it eventually splits from US 52 at Germanton Road, where it continues along north as a two-lane rural highway. After joining with NC 65, it crosses into Stokes County and enters Germanton. 1-mile (1.6 km) later, it splits north from NC 65 to meet-up with NC 89 and traverse through Danbury. Ending its last concurrency just north of Hanging Rock State Park, it continues north crossing NC 704 before ending at the Virginia state line. Continuing into Virginia, it becomes State Route 8, towards Stuart, Virginia.

History

NC 8 was established in 1930 as a new primary routing from Lexington, 5 miles (8.0 km) south to the Junior Order United American Mechanics (JOUAM) children's home, located near High Rock Lake.[2] In 1936, it was extended further south to Abbot Creek, passing through Southmont. In 1939, NC 8 was extended southeast on new primary routing, crossing Abbot Creek, to NC 62.[3]

In late 1940, NC 8 was extended north, in concurrency with US 52 to Winston-Salem, then replaced NC 109 in Forsyth and Stokes Counties to the Virginia state line, where it continued on as already existing SR 8. Between 1945-1949, NC 8 was rerouted north of Winston-Salem, from Indiana Avenue, Cherry Street and part of Germanton Road, and onto Patterson Avenue.[4]

In 1953, NC 8 was extended southwest, with a short concurrency with NC 49 and replacing NC 6, to New London. In 1954, NC 8 was placed on one-way streets in downtown Winston-Salem, using 4th Street (southbound) and 5th Street (northbound). In 1960, NC 8 was moved from Main Street to Old Salem Road, in the Salem College area. In 1962, NC 8 was adjusted downtown Winston-Salem: northbound using Main StreetFifth StreetLiberty Street, and southbound using Liberty StreetFirst Street. In 1967, NC 8 northbound was rerouted on a short concurrency with US 158/US 421 then north along a completed section of the North-South Freeway; NC 8 southbound remained unchanged until 1973, when the rest of the North-South Expressway was completed, eliminating its routing through downtown Winston-Salem.[5][6] In 1972, NC 8 was adjusted from Third Street to Sixth Street in Lexington.[7] In 1981, NC 8 was extended to Gold Street, then share short concurrency with NC 740 to its current southern terminus with US 52.[8] In 1982, US 52/NC 8 was placed on new freeway west of Midway.[9] Between 1991-1993, US 52/NC 8 was placed on new freeway bypassing east of Welcome. In 2002, NC 8 was rerouted in Lexington, from Main Street to continue along Raleigh Road to Talbert Boulevard then back to Cotton Grove Road.[10]

Major intersections

End of NC 8/NC 740 at US 52
CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
StanlyNew London0.00.0 US 52 Albemarle, SalisburySouthern terminus; North end of NC 740 overlap
0.20.32 NC 740 south BadinSouth end of NC 740 overlap; to Morrow Mountain State Park
4.06.4 NC 49 south ConcordSouth end of NC 49 overlap
Rowan
No major junctions
Davidson7.812.6 NC 49 north AsheboroNorth end of NC 49 overlap
30.348.8 NC 47 (Junior Order Home Road) Denton, Linwood
Lexington31.751.0 I-85 Greensboro, CharlottePartial cloverleaf interchange; exit 91
37.059.5 I-85 Bus. / US 29 / US 64 / US 70 High Point, Asheboro, Mocksville, Salisbury
Welcome39.763.992 I-285 south / US 52 south SalisburySouth end of I-285/US 52 overlap
45.072.497Old U.S. Hwy 52 Midway
Midway47.276.0100Hickory Tree Road
ForsythWinston-Salem50.381.0103South Main Street
52.784.8105Clemmonsville Road
53.886.6107
A-B
A: I-40 east / I-285 end Greensboro, High Point
B: I-40 west Statesville
North end of I-285 overlap
Signed as exits 107A (east) and 107B (west)
54.587.7108ASprague Street/Waughtown StreetTo University of North Carolina School of the Arts
108BResearch ParkwayDDI[11]
55.389.0108BVargrave StreetPermanently closed as of January 6, 2014[11]
55.889.8108CStadium Drive Old SalemTo Winston-Salem State University
56.190.3109
A-B
A: US 158 east / US 421 east / NC 150 south Kernersville
B: US 158 west / US 421 west / NC 150 north Downtown
Signed as exits 109A (east) and 109B (west)
56.590.9110A3rd 4th 5th Streets DowntownPermanently closed as of February 18, 2013[12][13]
56.991.6110B US 311 north (ML King Jr Drive)
57.191.9110CLiberty Street
57.492.4110DNorthwest BoulevardSouthbound exit only
58.293.7111A25th Street/28th Street
58.494.0111BLiberty Street Smith Reynolds AirportWas northbound exit only; permanently closed
59.495.6112Akron Drive Smith Reynolds AirportTo Coliseum and BB&T Field
60.296.9113Patterson Avenue
61.899.5114 US 52 north Mount AiryNorth end of US 52 overlap
63.9102.8 NC 66 (Old Hollow Road) Walkertown, Rural Hall
NC 74 (Winston-Salem Northern Beltway)Future interchange (under construction)[14]
68.6110.4 NC 65 west (Rural Hall-Germanton Road) Rural HallWest end of NC 65 overlap
StokesGermanton69.6112.0 NC 65 east Walnut CoveEast end of NC 65 overlap
Meadows79.2127.5 NC 89 east Walnut CoveEast end of NC 89 overlap
85.9138.2 NC 89 west Mount AiryWest end of NC 89 overlap
Coleville94.3151.8 NC 704 (Wesley D. Webster Highway) Sandy Ridge, Westfield
Campbell94.6152.2 SR 8 north StuartNorthern terminus; Virginia state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

  • North Carolina Bicycle Route 4-Concurrent with NC 8 between Sheppard Mill Road and Hanging Rock Park Road

References

  1. Google (June 10, 2014). "North Carolina Highway 8" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  2. State Highway System of North Carolina (PDF) (Map). Cartography by NCDOT. North Carolina Department of Transportation. 1930. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  3. North Carolina Primary Highway System (PDF) (Map). Cartography by NCDOT. North Carolina Department of Transportation. 1940. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  4. North Carolina Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Cartography by NCDOT. North Carolina Department of Transportation. 1951. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  5. "Route Change (1967-09-29)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. September 29, 1967. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  6. "Route Change (1973-12-01)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. December 1, 1973. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  7. "Route Change (1972-06-29)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. June 29, 1972. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  8. "Route Change (1981-06-01)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. June 1, 1981. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  9. "Route Change (1982-01-01)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. January 1, 1982. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  10. "Route Change (2002-04-15)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. April 15, 2002. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  11. "NCDOT News Release: Construction of Salem Creek Connector Ramps up in Winston-Salem". NCDOT. December 27, 2013. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  12. "NCDOT News Release: NCDOT to Close U.S. 52; Third, Fourth, Fifth Street Ramps in Winston-Salem Starting Sunday Night". NCDOT. June 7, 2012. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  13. "Ramp from Fifth Street to US 52 north closes Monday". WXII-TV. Winston-Salem, NC. February 18, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  14. "NCDOT: Winston-Salem Northern Beltway". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
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