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. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

U.S. Route 221 (US 221) is a north–south highway that travels through

Western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United S ...

. From

Chesnee, South Carolina Chesnee is a city in Spartanburg and Cherokee counties, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 868 as of the 2010 census. History In the early 20th century, the Chesnee Land Company bought a sizeable acreage at what is now C ...

Independence, Virginia Independence is a town located in, and the county seat of, Grayson County, Virginia, United States. At the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 1,001. It is situated on Virginia's Crooked Road, a heritage trail celebrating the musical her ...

, it connects the cities of Rutherfordton,

Marion Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...

, Boone and Jefferson between the two out-of-state destinations. Its most memorable section, known as the Little Parkway Scenic Byway between Linville and

Blowing Rock Blowing Rock may refer to: * The town of Blowing Rock, North Carolina ** The rocky outcropping Blowing Rock (land feature), near the town of the same name * Blowing Rock, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Caribbean island belonging to Anguil ...

, offers area visitors a curvier alternative to the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and National Scenic Byway, All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is the longest linear park in the U.S., runs for through 29 counties in Virginia and ...

and access to

Grandfather Mountain Grandfather Mountain is a mountain, a non-profit attraction, and a North Carolina List of North Carolina state parks, state park near Linville, North Carolina. At 5,946 feet (1,812 m), it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blu ...

Route description

US 221 enters from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

as a rural superstreet highway, with mostly farms, wooded areas, or homes dotting the road. After it connects with US 74, where US 74 Business begins its overlap towards Rutherfordton as a two lane highway (signs of US 74 Business are scarce throughout). At Rutherfordton, the first major intersection is Charlotte Street, where US 74 Business and US 221A go east. After Rutherfordton, the road reverts to a rural highway, and continues on to

. Before entering Marion city limits,

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway in the southeastern and southwestern portions of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and ...

intersects with US 221. US 221 then joins with NC 226, going west around the city on the Marion Bypass. After the expressway passes the shopping centers along US 70, it continues as a four-lane highway with a turning median all the way to Woodlawn. Along the way, several business can be seen including shrubbery farms, stone/rock cutters, and a chemical plant. NC 226 splits at Woodlawn, for travelers that want to go to

Spruce Pine A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' is the sole genus ...

while US 221 continues as a divided highway to Pitts Station Road at North Cove. The climb to

Linville Falls Linville Falls is a waterfall located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in the United States. The falls move in several distinct steps, beginning in a twin set of upper falls, moving down a small gorge, and culminating in a high-vol ...

is somewhat curvy. It is a route heavily traveled by trucks, and a

runaway truck ramp A runaway truck ramp, runaway truck lane, escape lane, safety ramp, emergency escape ramp, or truck arrester bed is a traffic device that enables vehicles which are having braking problems to stop safely. It is typically a long, sand- or gravel- ...

is located along this section. Also located in this section is

Linville Caverns Linville Caverns are privately owned active limestone caverns located in northern McDowell County, North Carolina, just south of the village of Linville Falls, on U.S. Highway 221. The caverns are open to the public year-round for guided tours. ...

, a small tourist destination. At Linville Falls, nearby sites include

Linville Gorge Wilderness The Linville Gorge Wilderness ("The Grand Canyon of North Carolina") is the third largest wilderness area in North Carolina (after Shining Rock Wilderness and Joyce-Kilmer Slickrock Wilderness) and one of only two wilderness gorges in the Sou ...

, (via NC 183) and the

. Between Linville Falls and Linville, the highway goes through large tracts of

fraser fir The Fraser fir (''Abies fraseri''), sometimes spelled Frasier fir, is an endangered species of fir native to the Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States. They are endemic to only seven montane regions in the Appalachian Mountains ...

farms, from the mountain tops to the valleys. At Linville, motorists are recommended to follow NC 105/ US 221 Truck to Boone and

, which is faster and flatter. Those that continue on what is known as the Little Parkway Scenic Byway come upon an segment of numerous curves and elevation changes. The entrance to

is located near Linville; also nearby is the

Linn Cove Viaduct The Linn Cove Viaduct is a , concrete segmental bridge which snakes around Grandfather Mountain in western North Carolina. Completed in 1983 at a cost of $10 million, it was one of the last major construction projects on the Blue Ridge Parkway ...

, via the Blue Ridge Parkway. Those that continue along the scenic route can take a short break at the state rest area. Near Blowing Rock, visitors may also visit the

Julian Price Memorial Park Julian Price Memorial Park is a park of at the foot of Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, named in honor of Julian Price. It is at milepost 297 on the Blue Ridge Parkway and directly adjacent to the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. Together ...

and Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, via Blue Ridge Parkway. Blowing Rock and Boone are popular year-round tourist destinations; as such the highway between the two towns offers an array of activities include skiing, shopping, amusement rides, and golf. In Boone, US 221 turns early along NC 105 to King Street, avoiding

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

and the downtown area; once on King Street (with US 421/ NC 194 concurrency), it heads east out of town on a four-lane expressway. At Deep Gap, US 221 goes north again on what was formerly a slightly curvy two-lane road to Jefferson. This road has been twinned. As the road nears West Jefferson, the road appears to open up, allowing for more views of the surrounding areas. At West Jefferson and Jefferson, the road serves as a bypass, as well as the last commercialized area along US 221 until

Galax, Virginia Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Galax with neighboring Carroll County for statisti ...

. The next of US 221 is very curvy, similar to the stretch between Linville and Blowing Rock (minus the continuous elevation changes). Between the southern terminus of NC 93 and US 21 in Twin Oaks, US 221 is concurrent with North Carolina Bicycle Route 4. US 221 and US 21 form a concurrency north from Twin Oaks to the Virginia state line.

Dedicated and memorial names

US 221 in North Carolina features a few dedicated or memorialized stretches of highway. * Dr. Mary Martin Sloop Highway – official North Carolina name of US 221 between Crossnore and Linville. It is named in honor of Dr. Mary Martin Sloop, the founder of the Crossnore School in 1913. * Robert C. Hunter Expressway – official North Carolina name of the Marion Bypass in McDowell County. It is named in honor of Robert C. Hunter, who was a judge in the

North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was create ...

(approved on November 3, 1989). * Robert G. Barr Expressway – official North Carolina name of US 221 between

Baldwin Baldwin may refer to: People * Baldwin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, ...

and Jefferson, named after a politician from West Jefferson (approved on August 14, 1981). * Trooper Pete Peterson Bridge – official North Carolina name of bridge that carries US 221 over US 74. It is named in honor of

State Trooper State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction ...

Robert L. (Pete) Peterson (approved on January 5, 2001).

History

US 221 and US 321 Business in Blowing Rock

US 221 was established in 1930, from US 19E/ NC 69, in Ingalls to US 21/ NC 26, in Twin Oaks; it was in complete concurrency with NC 691. In 1931, US 221 was extended north, in concurrency with US 21, into

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. In 1932, US 221 was removed from Ingalls/ Three Mile area, which remained NC 691, and was placed on new routing south through Woodlawn, Marion, Rutherfordton, Spindale, Forest City and Cliffside, before entering

. In late 1934, the following concurrences were removed from US 221: NC 19, NC 28 and NC 207. In 1941, US 221 was rerouted south of Rutherfordton on a more direct route to Chesnee; its former alignment through Spindale–Cliffside became US 221A. Around 1953, US 221 was rerouted between Boone and

, by linking with US 421 to Deep Gap then north on new construction; the old alignment through

Todd Todd or Todds may refer to: Places Australia * Todd River, an ephemeral river United States * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated c ...

became an extension of NC 194. In 1972, US 221 was rerouted with concurrency with NC 105 to King Street in Boone, ending the US 221/US 321/US 421 intersection at Kings Street and Blowing Rock Road. In 1981, US 221 was placed on new construction between Baldwin and Jefferson, which was two-lane that can be expanded later into a divided four-lane; the old alignment, that went through downtown West Jefferson and Jefferson, became US 221 Business. In 1991, US 221 was placed on new bypass west of Marion; the old alignment became US 221 Business. The same year, US 221/NC 181 was placed on a new bypass west of Linville; the former alignment became a secondary road. In 1997, US 221/US 421 was placed on new construction between NC 194 to the

South Fork New River The South Fork New River is a river in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It stretches from its headwaters at a spring near Blowing Rock and the Eastern Continental Divide and meanders northward along the northwestern face of the Blue Ridge Moun ...

, in Boone. In 2005, US 221/US 421 was placed on new four-lane expressway between the South Fork New River and Deep Gap; its old alignment, which partially paralleled the Blue Ridge Parkway, was downgraded to secondary roads.

North Carolina Highway 19

North Carolina Highway 19 (NC 19) was an original state highway that traversed from the South Carolina state line, near Tryon, through

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

, Rutherfordton,

and

, to Bakersville. In 1929, NC 19 was extended to the Tennessee state line, via Ramseytown, replacing part of NC 692. In 1934, NC 19 was decommissioned: South Carolina state line–Tryon to US 176, Tryon–Rutherfordton to NC 181, Rutherford– Woodlawn to US 221, Woodlawn–Ramseytown to NC 26 and Ramseytown–Tennessee state line to US 19W/ US 23.

North Carolina Highway 741

North Carolina Highway 741 (NC 741) existed twice in the state. Its first appeared by 1930 as a new primary routing between NC 151, north of Midland, through Mount Pleasant, to US 601/ NC 80, in Gold Hill. In 1933, the highway south of Mount Pleasant was downgraded to secondary roads, while north was partially replaced by NC 62 and secondary roads. The second NC 741 was established in 1935 as a new primary routing between the South Carolina state line, through

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle ...

, to US 74/US 221/ NC 181, in Rutherfordton. In 1941, NC 741 was decommissioned and replaced mostly by US 221, with Jack McKinney Road, between the state line to Harris, as secondary road.

Future

In the Rutherfordton area, NCDOT is constructing an approximately four-lane freeway bypass to the east of downtown between US 74 to the south and Roper Loop Road in the north. The project is part of a larger plan by NCDOT to convert US 221 between the South Carolina state line and I-40 near Marion to a four-lane divided highway. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was approved on May 26, 2011. NCDOT selected Alternate 3 for the alignment of the highway, designated as "Project R-2233B". Construction on the bypass began on February 28, 2022.

Junction list

References

External links