U.S. Route 15 or U.S. Highway 15 (US 15) is a

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 ...

, serving the states of

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from US 17 Alternate (US 17 Alt.) in

Walterboro, South Carolina Walterboro is a city in Colleton County, South Carolina, Colleton County, South Carolina, United States. The city's population was 5,398 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Colleton County. Walterboro is locate ...

, north to Interstate 86 (I-86)/

New York State Route 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate New York, Downstate regions of New York (state), New York in the United States. It begins at the New York–Pennsylvani ...

(NY 17) in Corning, New York. US 15 is one of the original U.S. Highways from 1926.

Route description

, - , SC , , - , NC , , - , VA , , - , MD , , - , PA , , - , NY , , - , Total ,

South Carolina

Starting at US 17 Alt. in Walterboro, US 15 goes east, running parallel to

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

and across I-26. Then it turns north and crosses I-95. Just before the town of Santee, US 15 converges with US 301. In Santee, the two highways merge with I-95 at exit 98 and all three cross Lake Marion. At exit 102, US 15/US 301 split off from I-95 and go into the town of Summerton. US 15 then separates from US 301 and heads mainly north to city of Sumter. From there, it continues north, crosses I-20, and goes through the cities of Bishopville and Hartsville to the town of Society Hill. It is here that US 401 joins US 15 and both go to the North Carolina border.

North Carolina

US 15/US 401 continues to Laurinburg, at which US 401 splits off and US 15 runs concurrent with US 501. US 1 briefly merges with US 15/US 501 through

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and Sanford. The route continues north of Sanford with

North Carolina Highway 87 North Carolina Highway 87 (NC 87) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. NC 87 begins in the Atlantic coastal town of Southport and crosses into Virginia at the Virginia state line five miles (8 km) ...

toward Pittsboro. Past Pittsboro, US 15/US 501 goes toward Chapel Hill and skirts around the southeastern edge of the city and then across I-40 to Durham. (Prior to the construction of the Chapel Hill bypass, US 15 ran through Chapel Hill, and, as of 2018, there is a " Jefferson Davis Highway" marker on Franklin Street, Chapel Hill's main street.) Here, US 15 Business (US 15 Bus.)/ US 501 Bus. split from US 15/US 501. Before the business routes rejoin on the other side of Durham, I-85 merges into US 15 Bus. Then, I-85/US 15 go north. Right after crossing Falls Lake at exit 186, US 15 splits off to the east. US 15 runs parallel to I-85, going through the city of Creedmoor. It then crosses back over I-85, goes through the city of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, on through Bullock, and then to the North Carolina–Virginia state line.

Virginia

Virginia's section of US 15 starts in Mecklenburg County. Not far from the state line, it crosses a narrow finger of Kerr Lake. The highway goes through the town of Clarksville and merges very briefly with US 58/ State Route 49 (SR 49) and then crosses over the main body of Kerr Lake. US 15 continues a little ways and merges with US 360. The two highways go on to the town of Keysville. After Keysville, US 15 branches off and goes to the town of

Farmville ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network games developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to '' Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plo ...

. After a brief merge with US 460, US 15 goes through the towns of Dillwyn, New Canton (on the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

), Fork Union, and

Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...

before crossing I-64 at Zion Crossroads. After passing the Interstate, US 15 goes through the towns of Gordonsville (with a quick merge with US 33) and Orange, and then on to Culpeper. After Culpeper, US 15 runs concurrent with US 29. In Warrenton, they briefly merge with US 17. South of Gainesville, US 15 breaks off and crosses

I-66 Interstate 66 (I-66) is a 76.32 mile east–west Interstate Highway in the East Coast of the United States, eastern United States. The highway runs from an interchange with Interstate 81 in Virginia, I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its w ...

. From there, it goes on to Leesburg and then to the state line.

Maryland

US 15 starts in Maryland at Point of Rocks, crossing the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

and then merges into US 340 just south of Frederick. In Frederick, US 40 merges with US 15 for a very short distance. From there, US 15 goes through Thurmont and on to the Maryland–Pennsylvania border.

Pennsylvania and New York

US 15 enters

south of Gettysburg. US 15 Bus. (Emmitsburg Road) goes through Gettysburg, while US 15 bypasses the borough; the bypass continues to York Springs. US 15 passes through Dillsburg before becoming a freeway near

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

and the Messiah University campus. US 15 continues as a freeway until it intersects US 11 and

Pennsylvania Route 581 The Capital Beltway is a ring road, beltway surrounding Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is concurrency (road), co-designated as Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania, Interstate 81 (I-81), Interstate 83 ...

in Camp Hill. US 15 runs concurrent with US 11, passing

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

on the west shore of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

. The concurrency ends at Shamokin Dam, where US 11 splits and follows the North Branch Susquehanna River, and US 15 follows the

West Branch Susquehanna River The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the ex ...

north toward Williamsport where it passes through Lewisburg and the campus of

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

(which is partially bisected by the highway). In the future, US 15 and US 11 will diverge in Selinsgrove, from which US 15 will proceed north on a road currently under construction and connect back to its current alignment near Winfield. US 11 will be joined to a business loop of US 15 instead of the main route. The segment from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to the northern terminus at I-86 and NY 17 in Painted Post, New York, has been completely upgraded to Interstate standards, except for one access road at milemarker 150.1, in preparation for the eventual transition to designation as I-99, as has the US 15/ I-86 interchange. The segment of US 15 in New York runs parallel to the Tioga River from the state line to its current northern terminus at I-86 and NY 17 exit 44 at the junction of the Tioga and Cohocton rivers in Painted Post, west of downtown Corning. The entire length of US 15 in New York is signed concurrently with I-99.

History

Until 1974, US 15 continued north of NY 17 and entered Painted Post on North Hamilton Street. At what is now the junction of County Route 41 and NY 415 in downtown Painted Post, US 15 turned north onto NY 415. At the northern terminus of NY 415, located at NY 15 and NY 21 south of Wayland, US 15 followed the current routing of NY 15 into downtown Rochester, where it terminated at NY 31. US 15 has shed considerable length in near-continuous realignment and regrading over the years. Prior to the completion of the Tioga Creek flood-control project, hastened by the flooding caused after

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes was the List of costliest Atlantic hurricanes, costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, ...

along the Pennsylvania and New York segments of US 15 in June 1972, US 15 passed through many small towns in Pennsylvania as it passed from Lawrenceville, at the New York border, to West Milton, where the road begins to follow the west bank of the

. Originally a winding two-lane road over numerous mountains, US 15 now bypasses many small towns such as Sebring, Blossburg, Covington, Canoe Camp, and Hepburnville. In the 1970s, the challenging two-lane alignment was expanded in some areas to four lanes by building a second set of lanes. Now, for some stretches, the "old" road is the northbound side and in other sections, the southbound side. I-95 US 15 sign

Near

Mansfield, Pennsylvania Mansfield is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough located in east-central Tioga County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Tioga River (Chemung River), Tioga River valley. It is situated at the intersection of U.S. Route 6 in Pennsylvania, U.S. Rou ...

, the old US 15 alignment is now a access road leading to a boat ramp, built where the old road now disappears into the Tioga Reservoir. Near Tioga, Pennsylvania, drivers crossing the tall concrete bridge can see where a two-lane road (formerly US 15), still marked with double yellow lines, disappears into the water.

Scenic Byway

In October 2009, a portion of US 15 from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was designated a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

by the U.S. secretary of transportation. The byway will be known as the Journey Through Hallowed Ground. With this designation, the route and historic sites along the route are now eligible for preservation grants.

Major intersections

;South Carolina : in Walterboro : in

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

: in Rosinville : north-northeast of Rosinville : in Wells : south-southeast of Dantzler : southwest of Santee. The highways travel concurrently to Summerton. : southeast of Santee. The highways travel concurrently to Adams Landing. : in South Sumter. : in Sumter : on the Sumter–

Mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinat ...

city line : southwest of Bishopville : southwest of Society Hill. US 15/US 52 travel concurrently to Society Hill. US 15/US 401 travel concurrently to

Laurinburg, North Carolina Laurinburg is a city in and the county seat of Scotland County, North Carolina, United States. Located in southern North Carolina near the South Carolina border, Laurinburg is southwest of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Fayetteville and is home t ...

. ;North Carolina : in Laurinburg. US 15/US 501 travel concurrently to Durham. : in

. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : south of Sanford. The highways travel concurrently to Sanford. : in Sanford : in Pittsboro : in Durham : in Durham. I-85/US 15 travel concurrently to Dutchville Township. US 15/US 70 travel concurrently through the city. : south-southwest of

: in Oxford ;Virginia : in Clarksville : in Clarksville : north-northeast of Wylliesburg. The highways travel concurrently to north of Keysville. : south of

. The highways travel concurrently to west of Farmville. : in Sprouses Corner : in Zion Crossroads : north-northeast of Zion Crossroads : south of Gordonsville. The highways travel concurrently to Gordonsville. : south of Culpeper. The highways travel concurrently to Gainesville. : southeast of Culpeper : in

Opal Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...

. The highways travel concurrently to Warrenton. : in Haymarket : in Gilberts Corner ;Maryland : east of Jefferson. The highways travel concurrently to . : in Ballenger Creek : in Frederick. US 15/US 40 travel concurrently through the city. ;Pennsylvania : in Straban Township : in Upper Allen Township : in Camp Hill. The highways travel concurrently to Shamokin Dam. : in Summerdale : in Penn Township : in Monroe Township : in White Deer Township : in Williamsport. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Williamsport. I-99/US 15 will travel concurrently to Erwin, New York. : in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

;New York : at the New York–Pennsylvania border. The highways travel concurrently to Erwin. : in Erwin

References

External links

Photographs of U.S. Route 15 in North Central Pennsylvania - ''John Walter''Journey Through Hallowed Ground, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary
{{Authority control 15 Interstate 95