U.S. Route 19E (US 19E) is a divided highway of US 19 in the U.S. states 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 ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. The

United States Numbered Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

, which is complemented by US 19W to the west, travels from US 19 and US 19W at

Cane River, North Carolina Cane River is an unincorporated community of Yancey County, North Carolina, United States. It is located west of Burnsville, at the intersection of U.S. Routes 19, 19E and 19W, along the Cane River. Cane River Middle School and Blue Ridge Ele ...

, north to US 11E, US 19, and US 19W in

Bluff City, Tennessee Bluff City is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee. The population of this town according to the 2024 census is 1,839 occupants. It is part of the Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johns ...

. US 19E connects

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

, and

Bristol, Tennessee Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 27,147 at the 2020 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundary be ...

, with Burnsville,

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 ...

, and Elk Park in North Carolina and Roan Mountain and

Elizabethton Elizabethton () is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of bo ...

in Tennessee. US 19E also has an unsigned concurrency with State Route 37 (SR 37) for its entire course in Tennessee.

Route description

US 19E begins at its split with US 19 and US 19W at Cane River. US 19 heads west and then south toward Interstate 26 (I-26) and

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populous city in Western North Carolina a ...

. The transition from US 19 to US 19E is a seamless transition that treats US 19W as a side route. US 19E heads east toward the towns of Burnsville and

. The highway is an easy drive, as it nears Spruce Pine, it expands to a four-lane that then bypasses the mountain city. US 19E reverts to two-lane once out of city limits, briefly widening to four-lane again after entering Avery County. Once reaching the community of Ingalls, the highway becomes curvy as it follows along the banks of the

North Toe River The North Toe River is the headwaters of the Nolichucky River and a tributary in the French Broad River basin. From its source at Sugar Gap, between Bald Mountain and Sugar Mountain, it flows westerly through Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey cou ...

. Most travelers will take turn onto

North Carolina Highway 194 North Carolina Highway 194 (NC 194) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Entirely in the High Country, it runs from US 19E, in Ingalls, to the Virginia state line, near Helton. Route description The natu ...

(NC 194, Mullen Hill Road; a shortcut bypassing Ingalls) as an alternate route toward Elk Park. Passing through several small communities, it eventually reaches the town of Elk Park, where it then proceeds into Tennessee. US 19E travels a total of from Cane River to the Tennessee state line. From the North Carolina state line, US 19E lazily curves down to Roan Mountain, from which SR 143 heads south toward

Roan Mountain State Park Roan Mountain State Park is a Tennessee state park in Carter County, in Northeast Tennessee. It is close to the Tennessee-North Carolina border and near the community of Roan Mountain, Tennessee. Situated in the Blue Ridge of the Appalachia ...

and actual Roan Mountain at the Tennessee–North Carolina border. Near

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbour ...

, US 19E widens to an expressway and begins to run concurrently with US 321. At

, US 321 splits west toward Johnson City. At Bluff City, US 19E and US 19W merge back into US 19, heading north to Bristol.

History

Established in 1927, US 19 traversed from the Georgia state line (at Bellview) to the Tennessee state line (at Elk Park), roughly similar to the route seen today. In 1930, US 19 was truncated at Cane River, where it was split into US 19E and US 19W; US 19E follows the original US 19 routing north. In 1984, US 19E was realigned in

Yancey County Yancey County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,470. Its county seat is Burnsville. History The area of Yancey County was inhabited by the Cherokee prior to European settlem ...

to its current routing. On November 2, 2012, US 19 and US 19E were widened from I-26 to Jacks Creek Road, just west of Burnsville. At a cost of $107.9 million (equivalent to $ in ), the two-lane mountain road was upgraded to a four-lane highway, and the first for Yancey County. Governor

Bev Perdue Beverly Marlene Eaves Perdue (née Moore; January 14, 1947) is an American businesswoman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 73rd governor of North Carolina from 2009 to 2013. She was the first female governor o ...

was on hand at the ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the highway. US 19 first appeared in Tennessee in 1927, from the North Carolina state line (near Elk Park) to Bluff City. Later in the same year, it was extended through

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

into Virginia. In 1930, US 19 was truncated at Bluff City, splitting into US 19E along the original route into North Carolina and US 19W going toward Johnson City and then on into North Carolina. In 1994, a new four-lane expressway was completed between

to Bluff City; the abandoned route became Old Bristol Highway in Carter County and Old Elizabethton Highway in Sullivan County.

Future

US 19E from the east end of the four-lane divided highway west of Burnsville to Ingalls is to be widened into a multilane highway. The segment through Burnsville to Micaville is complete. The newest section west of

was completed in October 2020. The last remaining section east of

is currently subject to reprioritization.

Junction list

References

External links