North Carolina Highway 49

NC 49
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	177.8 mi (286.1 km)
Existed:	1940 – present
Major junctions
South end:	SC 49 at Lake Wylie, SC
	I-485 near Pineville; I-77 / US 21 in Charlotte; I-485 near Harrisburg; I-73 / I-74 / US 220 in Asheboro; US 421 near Liberty; I-40 / I-85 in Burlington;
North end:	SR 49 / SR 96 at Virgilina, VA
Location
Counties:	Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Stanly, Rowan, Davidson, Randolph, Alamance, Orange, Caswell, Person, Granville
Highway system
North Carolina Highway System ← NC 48 NC 50 →

NC 49 is a state highway in the North Carolina Highway System that traverses much of the Piedmont region of North Carolina.

Route description

The highway runs from near Lake Wylie, south of Charlotte, to Virgilina on the Virginia state line.

The route is an important corridor for traffic as it forms a part of the shortest route between Charlotte, the largest city in the Carolinas, and the North Carolina state capital of Raleigh. NC 49 meets US 64 in Asheboro, which forms the majority of the Charlotte-Raleigh link.

From its southern terminus, the highway passes through Charlotte and after crossing the more suburban portions of western Cabarrus County, heads north east into 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 road passes close to Pfeiffer University in Stanly County before crossing the Yadkin River near the Tuckertown Reservoir. After crossing the river, the road skirts the northern foothills of the ancient Uwharrie Mountains and then drops down into the Asheboro area.

In western Asheboro, NC 49 joins US 64 for a 12-mile (19 km) stretch through Asheboro and the outskirts of Franklinville. In Ramseur, the two routes split; NC 49 voyages north through the towns of Liberty and Alamance and into Burlington, where it meets I-40/85. A concurrency of NC 49 and US 70 winds through Burlington and Haw River, where NC 49 splits to the north. In northern Alamance County, NC 49 meets a 4-way at-grade junction with NC 62. The two routes switch directions at this point; NC 49 darts east toward Roxboro. After passing through Roxboro and a short concurrency with US 158 and US 501, NC 49 continues on its final leg to 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 consecutive states, which in this case is Virginia (VA 49) and South Carolina (SC 49).

See also

• Bank of America Stadium
• Cabarrus Arena & Events Center
• Carowinds
• Cedarock Historical Farm
• Cedarock Park
• Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Lake Wylie

• Mayo Reservoir
• Tryon Street
• Tuckertown Reservoir
• UNC Charlotte
• Uwharrie National Forest
• Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
South Carolina state line		0.0	SC 49 south (Charlotte Highway) – York	Southern terminus
Mecklenburg	Charlotte	3.5	NC 160 (Steele Creek Road)
		7.7	I-485 (Seddon Rusty Goode Jr. Freeway) to I-85 / I-77 – Greensboro, Columbia, SC	Diamond interchange; I-485 exit 1
		11.6	Route 4 (Billy Graham Parkway) to I-77 south / US 21 south – Columbia, SC	Access to Charlotte/Douglas International Airport; Access to I-77/US 21 south
		11.8	I-77 north / US 21 north – Statesville	I-77 exit 6; Partial cloverleaf interchange; northbound exit only
		14.4	NC 160 south (West Boulevard)	Northern terminus of NC 160
		15.2	NC 27 east (Morehead Street) – Albemarle	South end of concurrency with NC 27
		15.3	I-277 / US 74 east – Monroe	Eastbound access only
		15.4	US 29 south / NC 27 west (Morehead Street) – Gastonia, Lincolnton	South end of concurrency with US 29; North end of concurrency with NC 27
		16.8	I-277 / NC 16 north (Brookshire Freeway) to I-77 / I-85 – Columbia, Gastonia, Greensboro, Lowesville	I-277 outer loop and NC 16 northbound exit only via W. 12th Street
		19.9	Route 4 (Sugar Creek Road) to I-85 – Gastonia, Salisbury	I-85 exit 41
		23.4	US 29 north (Tryon Street) – Concord	North end of concurrency with US 29
		24.1	NC 24 (W.T. Harris Boulevard) – Albemarle	Partial cloverleaf interchange
		26.4	I-485 to I-85 / I-77 – Greensboro, Statesville	I-485 exit 33; Partial cloverleaf interchange
Cabarrus	Concord	37.0	US 601 – Monroe, Salisbury	Partial cloverleaf interchange
	Mt. Pleasant	42.9	NC 73 – Concord, Albemarle	Full interchange
Stanly	Richfield	54.7	US 52 (Church Street) – Albemarle, Lexington
		58.6	NC 8 south – New London	South end of concurrency with NC 8
Davidson	Newsom	62.4	NC 8 north – Lexington	North end of concurrency with NC 8
	Handy	66.5	NC 109 – Troy, Denton	Diamond interchange
Randolph		71.0	NC 47 west – Denton, Lexington	Eastern terminus of NC 47
	Asheboro	84.2	US 64 west (Dixie Drive) – Lexington	South end of concurrency with US 64
		84.4	Future I-73 / Future I-74 / US 220 – Rockingham, Greensboro	Cloverleaf interchange
		85.3	US 220 Bus. (Fayetteville Street)
		85.7	NC 159 south (Zoo Parkway) – Seagrove	Access to North Carolina Zoo
		87.1	NC 42 – Coleridge
	Ramseur	95.0	NC 22 north – Climax	South end of wrong-way concurrency with NC 22
		95.3	NC 22 south (Colridge Road) – Carthage	North end of wrong-way concurrency with NC 22
		95.9	US 64 east (Jordan Road) – Siler City, Pittsboro	North end of concurrency with US 64
	Liberty	103.1	US 421 – Greensboro, Sanford	Diamond interchange
Alamance	Burlington	123.1	I-85 / I-40 – Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Durham, Raleigh	I-85 exit 145; Diamond interchange
		123.5	NC 54 west (Chapel Hill Road) / NC 100 west (Maple Avenue) – Whitsett	South end of concurrency with NC 54; Eastern terminus of NC 100
	Graham	124.5	NC 87 north (Elm Street) – Reidsville	South end of wrong-way concurrency with NC 87
		125.1	NC 87 south (Main Street) – Fayetteville	North end of wrong-way concurrency with NC 87
		125.4	NC 54 east (Harden Street) – Raleigh	North end of concurrency with NC 54
	Haw River	127.2	US 70 west (Main Street) – Greensboro	South end of concurrency with US 70
		128.2	US 70 east (Main Street) – Durham	North end of concurrency with US 70
	Pleasant Grove	135.2	NC 62 – Archdale, Yanceyville
		137.8	NC 119 – Swepsonville, Hightowers
Orange		144.3	NC 86 south – Chapel Hill	South end of concurrency with NC 86
Caswell	Prospect Hill	144.7	NC 86 north – Hillsborough	North end of concurrency with NC 86
Person	Roxboro	159.8	US 158 west (Leasburg Road) – Yanceyville	South end of concurrency with US 158
		160.3	NC 57 (Concord Road) – Milton	South end of wrong-way concurrency with NC 57
		160.6	US 158 east / US 501 south / NC 57 south (S. Madison Boulevard) – Oxford, Durham, Hillsborough	North end of concurrency with US 158; South end of concurrency with US 501; North End of wrong-way concurrency with NC 57
		162.2	US 501 north (Main Street) – South Boston	North end of concurrency with US 501
Granville		177.6	NC 96 south (Little Batterwhite Road) – Oxford	South end of concurrency with NC 96
Virginia state line		177.8	SR 49 / SR 96 (Florence Avenue) – Virgilina, Clarksville	Northern terminus
Concurrency terminus       Closed/former       HOV only       Incomplete access       Tolled/ETC       Unopened