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| U.S. 129 66 miles | ||
| Enters Cherokee County from Georgia.
Crosses from Swain County into Tennessee at Deals Gap, elevation 1856 feet.
In Cherokee County, 129 runs around the towns of Murphy and Andrews, and throughout the county is cosigned with U.S. 19. 129 carries four lanes from the point where it meets U.S. 64/74 south of Murphy to the east side of Andrews. Between Murphy and Andrews, 129 follows the Valley River through a broad, flat area surrounded by mountains -- yes, you can call it the Valley River Valley. Just south of the Nantahala Gorge, 129 breaks
northwest from 19/74 and enters Graham County. It follows the Talula Creek,
passes Robbinsville and Lake Santeelah and runs along the Cheoah River.
The highway then crosses the Little Tennessee River near Cheoah Dam. The
elevation at this crossing is 1117 feet, the lowest elevation of any road
in North Carolina's mountain region. The road then follows the Little Tennessee
while rising to Deals Gap.
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| History | ||
| U.S. 129 was first signed in North
Carolina in 1934 or early 1935, at the tail end of the state's great renumbering.
(Before 1934, 129's northern terminus was in northern Georgia, where 19
and 129 converge.) The lower half of the road was run over U.S. 19, then
as now, but through Graham and Swain counties 129 replaced the original
N.C. 108.
Cherokee County. 129's (and 19's) original routing south of Murphy was a bit different than it is today. From the center of Murphy, 19/129 ran due south over Hiawassee Street and Martin Creek Road (SR 1556), rather than southwest over 64/74 as it does now. Martin Creek Road hits modern 19/129 about a mile north of the Georgia line. See Map #1. 129 was taken off Martin Creek Road and given its current alignment south of Murphy around 1951. The four-lane road southwest of Murphy (that also carries 64/74) was finished by 1970. The four-lane portion from Murphy north to Andrews, including the bridge over the Hiwassee River, was begun in the late 1970s, and almost all of it was a brand-new road. It was finished around Andrews by 1979, and all the way south to Murphy by 1981. The evanescent Business 129. Before the four-lane road was built, 19/129 ran through the center of Murphy along Hiawassee Street, Valley River Avenue and Andrews Road. When the four-lane 19/129 was built around the south side of town, the old route was for a short time signed as Business 19/129. By 1983, however, Business 129 was removed, leaving only Business 19 in Murphy. See Map #2. The four-lane 19/129 along the Valley River bypassed several older, parallel routings, which will be explained under U.S. 19. Business 129 may also have been signed in Andrews, but this is uncertain. Graham County. The old N.C. 108 received at least one major rerouting
(in the Cheoah River area; see the 108 page)
before it was renumbered to U.S. 129. Since then, there have been several
minor reroutings, most notably in the Lake Santeelah area. There are about
10 "Old U.S. 129"s in Graham in the state's secondary road inventory. Most
of them lie just north of Robbinsville.
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| Future | ||
| The state's
2002-08 TIP lists a $13 million project to upgrade the 3 miles of 129
between the Little Tennessee River and the Tennessee state line. This project
is unfunded, which means it won't happen anytime soon.
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| Comments | ||
| U.S. 129 though Cherokee County gets lost in the mess of
other U.S. highways in the Murphy area, to the extent that it might as
well not be signed. In Graham County, however, 129 comes into its own as
a sometimes-scenic, sometimes-wild romp through the nether reaches of western
North Carolina (Map #3).
On 129 Two miles north of the divergence from 19 lies an overlook into the Nantahala Gorge below. The 1937 TVA book The Scenic Resources of the Tennessee Valley states "the view is well worthy of further development of the present observation point." The overlook today remains an unpaved parking area. Heading west to Robbinsville, the Tulula Creek valley is mostly wide-open. To the north of Robbinsville, 129 affords occasional glimpses of Lake Santeelah and the surrounding mountains, and sports at least one well-developed parking area. But soon the terrain closes in. The Cheoah and Little Tennessee valleys are high and steep, with little other traffic to accompany you. Between Lake Santeelah and Deals Gap, an average of only 300-500 vehicles travel 129 daily, and that figure is much lower in the off-season. The closer you get to Tennessee, the twistier 129 gets, also. The real fun starts across the state line, where the road makes one switchback after another, with very few straight stretches in between, for 11 miles. This stretch of 129, known as "The Tail of The Dragon" or simply "The Dragon", is well renowned among motorcyclists. (Most sources put The Dragon's eastern end at 129's crossing of the Little Tennessee in North Carolina, and its western end where 129 emerges from the dark forest into the wide-open Little Tennessee Valley.) Bikers congregate around the 28/129 junction when the weather's nice; it's a good starting point for exploring other roads in the area, such as the Cherohala Skyway. How many curves The Dragon possesses depends on whom you ask. One Web site claims more than 300 curves. That's stretching the truth a bit, but another site gives The Dragon a very credible and even more appropriate 129 curves. 130 curves seems to be the most cited number. Many of the curves are named, as one map from another site shows. If you would rather tour The Dragon by car, it would be a good idea to wait until the off-season, when fewer bikers are zipping around. You'll be happier that way, and so will they. If you have an RV, try somewhere flatter, like rural Illinois. Links: Tail of The
Dragon
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