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North Carolina Highway 581 facts for kids

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NC 581 marker

NC 581
Route of NC 581 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length 72.1 mi (116.0 km)
Existed 1933–present
Major junctions
South end NC 111 in Goldsboro
 
  • US 13 / US 117 in Goldsboro
  • US 70 in Goldsboro
  • US 301 in Kirbys Crossing
  • US 264 in Bailey
  • US 64 in Spring Hope
North end US 401 / NC 39 / NC 56 in Louisburg
Location
Counties: Wayne, Wilson, Nash, Franklin
Highway system
North Carolina Highway System
NC 561 US 601

North Carolina Highway 581 (NC 581) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The highway travels from Goldsboro to Louisburg, connecting various rural communities in between.

History

Established in 1933 as a new primary routing, NC 581 originally traversed from US 264/NC 91 in Bailey, north to US 64/NC 90 in Spring Hope. In 1937, NC 581 was extended south on new primary routing to US 301 near Lucama. By 1941, NC 581 was also extended north on new primary routing to NC 56 in Mapleville.

By 1950, NC 581 extended again on new primary routing south to US 70, then east replacing NC 111, ending at US 70 Business (US 70 Bus.) and US 117 Bus. in downtown Goldsboro. In 1982, NC 581 was extended north from Mapleville, concurrency overlapped with NC 56, to its current northern terminus in Louisburg.

In 1998, NC 581 was removed from downtown Goldsboro and redirected south along US 13/US 117, from Ash Street to Arrington Bridge Road, then southeast to its current southern terminus with NC 111. In 2008, NC 581 was realigned onto new freeway extension with US 117, removing it from part of Ash Street and overlap with US 13/US 117 Alternate (US 117 Alt.); a year later US 117 would revert to its former route, leaving NC 581 on the new freeway segment.

In 2015, NC 581 was rerouted in Bailey, following along the truck route along Main, Benson and Deans Streets; the one block of Sanford Street became SR 1186 and is restricted to all thru trucks with a load limit exceeding 13,000 pounds (5,900 kg). The justification for the route change was because of the railroad underpass with a 8.6 feet (2.6 m) vertical clearance. Nine crashes, including a school activity bus, happened between May 1, 2008 and April 30, 2013; also, representatives from Carolina and Northwestern Railroad indicated that they would not allow a widening of the underpass.

Junction list

County Location Mile Roads intersected Notes
Wayne Goldsboro 0.0 0.0 NC 111 – Beulaville, Goldsboro
6.0 9.7 US 13 south / US 117 south South end of US 13/US 117 overlap
6.9 11.1
US 117 Bus. north (George Street)
Southern terminus of US 117 Bus.
8.4 13.5 US 13 north / US 117 north – Kinston, Greenville North end of US 13/US 117 overlap
8.9 14.3 To I-795 north (NC 581 Conn.) – Wilson Southern terminus of NC 581 Conn.
14.6 23.5 US 70 – Goldsboro, Smithfield, Raleigh
15.1 24.3
US 70 Byp.
Exit 351 (US 70 Bypass)
24.7 39.8 NC 222 – Fremont, Kenly
Wilson Kirbys Crossing 29.8 48.0 US 301 – Wilson, Kenly
Buckhorn Crossroads 34.7 55.8 NC 42 – Wilson, Clayton
Nash Bailey 42.5 68.4
US 264 Alt. east (Deans Street) / Benson Street – Wilson
South end of US 264 Alt. concurrency
42.7 68.7
US 264 Alt. west (Deans Street) / Sanford Street – Middlesex
North end of US 264 Alt. concurrency
43.2 69.5 US 264 – Wilson, Raleigh Exit 30 (US 264)
Floods Chapel 48.9 78.7 NC 97 – Rocky Mount, Zebulon
53.8 86.6 US 64 – Rocky Mount, Raleigh Interchange
Spring Hope 55.1 88.7
US 64 Alt. west (Nash Street) – Zebulon
West end of US 64 Alt. overlap
55.6 89.5
US 64 Alt. east (Nash Street) – Nashville
East end of US 64 Alt. overlap
Franklin Mapleville 67.8 109.1 NC 56 east – Castalia, Rocky Mount South end of NC 56 overlap
Louisburg 72.1 116.0 US 401 / NC 39 / NC 56 west – Henderson, Raleigh North end of NC 56 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Special routes

Goldsboro connector


NC 581 Connector
Location: Goldsboro, North Carolina
Length: 0.6 mi (1.0 km)
Existed: 2009–present

North Carolina Highway 581 Connector (NC 581 Conn.) was established in 2009 as a renumbering of US 117 along a 0.6-mile (0.97 km) of freeway, connecting Interstate 795 at Grantham Street (US 70) and NC 581 at Ash Street. Identified only on official state maps, the route is only marked as either "TO I-795" or "TO US 117."

Bailey truck route


NC 581 Truck
Location: Bailey, North Carolina
Length: 0.4 mi (0.6 km)

North Carolina Highway 581 Truck (NC 581 Truck) was a detour for all trucks and vehicles that are 8.6 feet (2.6 m) or taller. The route avoids a low railroad overpass bridge on NC 581; travelers who took the route would traverse along Main, Benson and Deans Street (US 264 Alt.) in Bailey. On August 12, 2015, the truck route was eliminated in favor of rerouting NC 581 along said route.

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