After the interchange with North Carolina 751/Cameron Boulevard (which serves Duke University), Southbound U.S. 15-501 approaches Exit 106, Cornwallis Road. Photo taken 06/05/05.
Cornwallis Road traverses the city of Durham in a diagonal fashion, entering the city from the northwest, passing U.S. 15-501 near the southern tip of Duke University Golf Course, and meeting Business U.S. 15-501 near Chapel Hill Road. Photo taken 06/05/05.
southbound U.S. 15-501 approaches Exit 105A, Junction Business U.S. 15-501/Chapel Hill Boulevard north to downtown Durham. The spire of University Tower comes into view. Photo taken 06/05/05.
Only the two right lanes continue south on U.S. 15-501 toward Chapel Hill, while the left lane exits either onto northbound Business U.S. 15-501/Chapel Hill Boulevard or onto Exit 105B, Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway. In addition to University Tower, this exit also serves South Square Mall and other shopping plazas. Photo taken 06/05/05.
Southbound U.S. 15-501 reaches Exit 105A, Junction Business U.S. 15-501/Chapel Hill Boulevard north toward Durham. The next exit is Exit 105B, which serves Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway. The parkway, which is not numbered, continues in a southeasterly trajectory, arcing to its end at North Carolina 55/Alston Avenue. Photo taken 06/05/05.
A second diagrammatical sign illustrates that the left lane exits only onto southeastbound Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway. The two right lanes continue south on U.S. 15-501 toward Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina. Photo taken 06/05/05.
Traffic from southbound Business U.S. 15-501 merges onto southbound U.S. 15-501. The freeway downgrades into a surface street from here south into Chapel Hill. Photo taken 06/05/05.
Southbound U.S. 15-501 reaches the Garrett Road. Garrett Road serves a couple of shopping malls (Willow Park Mall and Gold Center Shopping Center). Photo taken 06/05/05.
The next major intersection is a pair of traffic signals that connect U.S. 15-501 with Interstate 40. Here, southbound U.S. 15-501 connects with Interstate 40 west to Burlington. Photo taken 06/05/05.
Southbound U.S. 15-501 reaches the left turn to eastbound Interstate 40 to Raleigh, the international airport, Benson, and ultimately Wilmington. Photo taken 06/05/05.
Upon crossing the Interstate 40 interchange, U.S. 15-501 enters the city of Chapel Hill. Franklin Avenue used to be the business route for U.S. 15-501, but it is now locally maintained. The mainline of U.S. 15-501 bypasses the city center of Chapel Hill to the east, choosing to follow Fordham Boulevard instaed. Photo taken 06/05/05.
These small overhead signs guide the lane allocations for U.S. 15-501 (left two lanes) and Franklin Avenue (right lane). To downtown Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina, use Franklin Avenue south. Photo taken 06/05/05.
U.S. 15-501 North
Coming into Chapel Hill from the south, U.S. 15-501 bring a fair amount of traffic into the Triangle region. Merged together since Laurinburg, U.S. 15-501 spend much of their time in North Carolina sharing pavement. The two routes serve Laurinburg, Pinehurst, Sanford, Pittsboro, Chapel Hill, and Durham together. At Durham, they split, with U.S. 15 traveling northeast via Interstate 85 toward Oxford and U.S. 501 continuing north toward Roxboro and South Boston, Virginia. This picture was taken at the James Taylor Bridge prior to the interchange with North Carolina 54. Photo taken 06/05/05.
Frequently mentioned in articles about the sometimes difficult traffic in both Chapel Hill and Durham, U.S. 15-501 is something of an enigma. Near downtown Durham and Duke University, U.S. 15-501 is a full freeway, with interchanges as far south as Business U.S. 15-501 (Chapel Hill Boulevard). However, congestion rules U.S. 15-501 from that point south into Chapel Hill, with back-ups common at the Interstate 40 interchange that is governed by a pair of traffic signals. Plans call for improvements to the entire U.S. 15-501 corridor through the Triangle, including possibly adding more freeway segments. At the point shown in the photo, U.S. 15-501 merge onto the Chapel Hill Bypass (Fordham Avenue), which also carries North Carolina 54 around the city. Photo taken 06/05/05.
North U.S. 15-501 departs from Columbia Street and joins eastbound North Carolina 54 to bypass downtown Chapel Hill. Continue straight ahead to follow Columbia Street and North Carolina 86 north into downtown. (North Carolina 86, which is not signed very well from this interchange, follows Columbia Street north into downtown, meeting Old Business U.S. 15-501/Franklin Street near the University of North Carolina.) North Carolina 54 is a major route that connects Burlington, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh together along a route that parallels Interstate 40 but generally remains south of the freeway. Photo taken 06/05/05.
Continuing around Chapel Hill, U.S. 15-501 bypasses the city center, following Fordham Boulevard to the east of downtown. The bypass for Chapel Hill, unlike the Durham bypass, is not a freeway. However, it does carry four to six lanes of traffic. Between Columbia Street and Raleigh Road, U.S. 15-501 north also carries North Carolina 54 east. Photo taken 06/05/05.
Northbound U.S. 15-501 reaches the offramp for North Carolina 54/Raleigh Road. Use North Carolina 54/Raleigh Road east to Interstate 40 and a variety of motels and shopping areas. Use Raleigh Road west (shown as Business North Carolina 54 on some maps, but it was not signed in the field) to downtown Chapel Hill, the University of North Carolina, and Franklin Street (the main street through town). Photo taken 06/05/05.
Other Pictures Related to U.S. 15-501: North Carolina 751
North Carolina 751 enters the city of Durham from the south via Hope Valley Road. It moves onto Academy Road near its junction with Business U.S. 15-501, then changes into Cameron Boulevard upon passing by Duke University. This shield assembly, which announces the pending interchange with the U.S. 15-501 freeway, is found on northbound North Carolina 751/Cameron Boulevard. Photo taken 06/05/05.
A right turn from northbound North Carolina 751/Cameron Boulevard connects to northbound U.S. 15-501. The next four exits on northbound U.S. 15-501 are Morreene Road, Junction North Carolina 147/Durham Freeway (use northbound Durham Freeway to south Interstate 85/west U.S. 70), Junction Business U.S. 70/Hillsborough Road, and Junction Interstate 85 north/U.S. 70 east. Photo taken 06/05/05.
The second traffic signal in this diamond interchange is the connection from northbound North Carolina 751 to southbound U.S. 15-501 freeway to Chapel Hill and Orange County. Photo taken 06/05/05.
