U.S. Route 1A (Wake Forest–Youngsville, North Carolina)
U.S. Route 1A (Wake Forest–Youngsville, North Carolina)
U.S. Highway in North Carolina
U.S. Highway1A (US1A, also stylized as US1-A) is a 9.0-mile-long (14.5km)alternate route of US1 through the towns of Wake Forest and Youngsville in North Carolina. The southern terminus of US1A is located at US1 and Falls of Neuse Road in southern Wake Forest. The highway travels north along South Main Street, intersecting North Carolina Highway 98 (NC98) at the Dr. Calvin Jones Highway. In downtown Wake Forest, US1A travels along the eastern side of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminaryconcurrent with NC98 Business (NC98 Bus.). US1A uses North Main Street to leave Wake Forest toward Youngsville. At the Wake County–Franklin county line the road name changes to Youngsville Boulevard. US1A enters Youngsville from the southwest and runs concurrently with NC96 for 0.6 miles (0.97km) along College Street and Park Avenue before diverging to the north. The northern terminus of US1A is located at US1 north of Youngsville.
US1A follows the former alignment of US1 through the towns of Wake Forest and Youngsville. In 1953, US1 was rerouted to bypass both towns to the west, with the remaining route signed as US1A. Since its establishment, the routing of US1A has remained unchanged.
Route description
The southern terminus of US1A is located at an at-grade intersection with US1 and Falls of Neuse Road south of Wake Forest. From its southern terminus, the highway runs northeast along South Main Street. After intersecting Ligon Mill Road, US1A adjusts slightly to the north, giving the highway a more northerly orientation. At Rogers Road, the highway narrows to a three-lane road with two through lanes and a turning lane. Traveling north, US1A passes through more of Wake Forest and the community of Forestville. At Forestville, the highway approaches CSX Transportation's S-Line[4] from the southwest and parallels it for much of its remaining route. US1A meets NC98 at an at-grade intersection with the Dr. Calvin Jones Highway, named after the physician. From the intersection, US1A travels north along South Main Street, west of the downtown district of Wake Forest. US1A meets NC98 Bus. at a roundabout south of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary campus. The highways run concurrently along South Avenue and Front Street until reaching Roosevelt Avenue. NC98 Bus. turns to follow Roosevelt Avenue to the east, while US1A continues north along Front Street. On the north side of the seminary campus, US1A intersects and turns to follow North Main Street, a divided highway. The highway passes to the west of Glen Royall Mill Village Historic District before exiting Wake Forest to the north.[1][5]
At the Wake County–Franklin county line, the road name changes from North Main Street to Youngsville Boulevard. The highway makes a turn to the north before turning once again to the northeast. US1A enters into the town of Youngsville from the southwest, intersecting NC96 (Main Street) west of downtown. NC96 and US1A run concurrently along College Street to the north. At Park Avenue, US1A and NC96 diverge to the northwest running along the town limits of Youngsville. The 0.6-mile-long (0.97km) concurrency ends northwest of Youngsville as US1A and NC96 split. US1A runs in a northern orientation until reaching its northern terminus at US1.[1][5]
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) measures average daily traffic volumes along many of the roadways it maintains. In 2015, average daily traffic volumes along US1A varied between 2,100vehicles per day north of the Wake–Franklin county line and 28,000vehicles per day north of the US1 and Falls of Neuse Road intersection in southern Wake Forest.[6][7]
History
The general routing of modern US1A appeared in a 1916 proposal for North Carolina's state highway system plan. At the time, the highway was detailed as part of an improved roadway which stretched from Raleigh to east of Warrenton.[8] Upon the creation of the North Carolina Highway System in 1921, the highway running through Wake Forest and Youngsville was unnumbered. By 1924, this stretch of road was assigned as part of NC50. NC50 ran from the South Carolina state line near Rockingham to the Virginia state line near Wise.[9][10] The road through Wake Forest and Youngsville was paved in the 1920s.[10][11] By 1929, US1 was assigned to overlay with NC50, establishing the highway through both Wake Forest and Youngsville.[12] By 1930, NC91 was routed concurrent with US1 for 0.17 miles (0.27km) in Wake Forest. The concurrency followed the modern-day US1A and NC98 Bus. concurrency along the southeastern side of then-Wake Forest College.[13][12][14] By 1941, NC91 was replaced by NC264 which ran concurrent along the same section of US1.[15][16]
By 1953, US1 was routed along a bypass to the west of Wake Forest and Youngsville, with the former alignment being established as US1A. NC98 was extended west, replacing NC264, to Durham. This created a concurrency between NC98 and US1A in downtown Wake Forest.[2][3] Since its establishment, US1A has remained along its modern-day routing. On August 21, 2006, NC98 was routed onto a bypass south of downtown Wake Forest, removing the US1A and NC98 concurrency. The former alignment of NC98 became NC98 Bus., establishing a 0.17-mile (0.27km) concurrency with US1A along South Avenue.[17]
North Carolina State Highway and Public Works Commission (1940). North Carolina Primary Highway System (Map). 1:823,680. North Carolina State Highway and Public Works Commission.
North Carolina State Highway and Public Works Commission (1941). North Carolina Primary Highway System (Map). 1:823,680. North Carolina State Highway and Public Works Commission.