U.S. 158
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Photo: Think of U.S. 158 as the alternate route to the Outer Banks. (Actually, this sign was found along N.C. 32, but is just as appropriate for 158.)
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U.S. 158
All U.S. Highways | Home Photo: Think of U.S. 158 as the alternate route to the Outer Banks. (Actually, this sign was found along N.C. 32, but is just as appropriate for 158.) |
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| U.S. 158 about 360 miles | |||
| The Road: | Starts at U.S. 64/601 in Mocksville, Davie County.
Ends at U.S. 64/264 in Nags Head, Dare County. |
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| Towns and Attractions: | Forsyth Co.: Winston-Salem (Stratford Road, Downtown Expressway,
Reidsville Road)
Rockingham Co.: Reidsville (Freeway Drive) Caswell Co.: Yanceyville Person Co.: Roxboro Granville Co.: Oxford Vance Co.: Henderson. N.C.'s "Northern Tier" has more than its share of one-town counties. Warren Co.: Norlina Halifax Co.: Roanoake Rapids, Weldon Northampton Co.: Garysburg Hertford Co.: Murfeesboro Pasquotank Co.: Great Dismal Swamp; Elizabeth City Dare Co.: Crosses Currituck Sound on the Wright Memorial Bridge; Kitty Hawk; Kill Devil Hills; Nags Head. Wright Brothers National Memorial. U.S. 158 is known as the Croatan Highway or simply "the Byapss" on Bodie Island. |
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| Multilane Segments: | Four lanes or more from Clemmons (Forsyth County)
all the way through Winston-Salem.
Four lanes in the Weldon area, east of Roanoake Rapids. Four lanes around Murfeesboro to the south. Four lanes while co-signed with U.S. 17 in Pasquotank County. Four lanes from the junction of N.C. 168 in Currituck County to its eastern terminus at U.S. 64. |
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| History: | U.S. 158 didn't come into being until 1932. Its original
1920s/early 30s numbering was:
Originally, 158 was a legitimate multi-state U.S. highway. From Murfeesboro, it ran northeast along today's U.S. 258 into Virginia. (258's northern terminus was at 158 west of Murfeesboro.) By 1939, 158 was extended eastward through Elizabeth City and along Currituck Sound and Bodie Island, all the way to Manteo. The original 158 north of Murfeesboro was renumbered as an extension of U.S. 258. From Kitty Hawk to Manteo, 158 was at first routed along today's N.C. 12 and U.S. 64/264. Around 1957, U.S. 64/264 was extended onto Roanoke Island, and 158 was truncated to its current terminus in Nags Head. The road on Bodie Island was split into Business and Bypass routes by the early 1960s; Bypass 158 (Croatan Highway) was widened to four lanes in pieces during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Business 158 on Bodie Island was redesignated N.C. 12 in the mid-1980s. Along Currituck Sound, 158 was widened to four lanes during the late 1980s and 1990s. Bypasses were built north of Gatesville was by 1948, and north of Warrenton between 1951 and 1955. As soon as the Downtown Expressway (originally I-40; now Green 40) was opened through Winston-Salem around 1960, 158 was signed over it between Stratford Road and Reidsville Road. My best guess for 158's original routing through downtown W-S (west to east): Stratford, First Avenue, Glade Street, Fifth Street, Old Greensboro Road and Reidsville Road. The bypass to the west and north of Reidsville was finished partially (only the Business U.S. 29 portion) by 1979, and completely by 1982. In the Oxford/Henderson area, 158 has been rerouted several times over the years. Currently, if the most recent N.C. Official Transportation Map is to be believed, it runs parallel to I-85 between 85's exits 206 and 213, is co-signed along 85 between exits 213 and 215 and stays south of 85 as a separate road east of exit 215. This alignment of 158 predates I-85 by a couple decades; 158 was split into mainline (northern) and "A" (southern) routes by 1950. Other current maps show 158 signed along 85 all the way between exits 206 and 223. (Who can help me here?) In the early 1990s, 158 (Stratford Road) between Clemmons and I-40 exit 189 was widened to four lanes. |
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| Comments: | Nowadays, U.S. 158 is a one-state U.S. highway, a la U.S. 264.
It hasn't touched its parent route, U.S. 58, since the 1930s. To be fair,
U.S. 58 itself was a one-state highway until the early 1990s, and even
today only runs a few thousand feet into Tennessee. 158 should really be
called U.S. 364, given its endpoints.
Truly the "alternate route" to the Outer Banks, as opposed to U.S. 64. Along Currituck Sound, the majority of traffic sports Virginia license plates. When 158 ended on Roanoake Island, it was a "wrong-way" highway: eastbound 158 actually ran west through Manteo, and vice versa. The traffic light in Nags Head where U.S. 158, 64 and 264 all meet is one of the few places in the country where three U.S. highways end simultaneously. |
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| Business U.S. 158 dead | |
| Formerly: | Signed over Marshall Street north of Green 40 (I-40 back then), and Fifth Street through downtown Winston-Salem. Shown on a 1964 map, this Business 158 was gone by 1977. |
| Business U.S. 158 5 miles | |
| The Road: | Richardson Drive, Harrison Street and Lawsonville Avenue through Reidsville, Rockingham County. |
| Comments: | Completely bypassed by 1982. Part of today's 158 bypass had existed several years before then, but was only signed as Business U.S. 29. |
| Business U.S. 158 3 miles | |
| The Road: | Roxboro Road, College Street and Williamsboro Street through Oxford, Granville County. |
| Comments: | Bypassed around 1994. |
| U.S. 158A (Business 158?) 8 miles | |
| The Road: | Oxford Road and Garnett Street through Henderson, Vance County. |
| Comments: | Western terminus is just inside Granville County. Bypassed around 1950.
Always stays south of I-85, unlike the "other" U.S. 158.
Was apparently designated as U.S. 158A from birth. 1990s maps differ on whether 158A is still called that, or designated as Business 158 instead. |
| U.S. 158A 8 miles | |
| The Road: | Macon Street et al. through Warrenton, Warren County. |
| Comments: | Bypassed in the early 1950s. Earlier, in the 1930s, this road
had been part of the original U.S. 117.
Eastern half is co-signed as U.S. 401. The DeLorme calls this road Business 158, rather than 158A, but no other map I've seen corroborates this designation. |
| Business U.S. 158 4 miles | |
| The Road: | Main Street through Murfeesboro, Hertford County. |
| Comments: | Wasn't bypassed until 1996. |
| Business U.S. 158 5 miles | |
| The Road: | Through Gatesville, Gates County. |
| Comments: | Bypassed by 1948. |
| Business U.S. 158 dead | |
| Formerly: | Designation of today's N.C. 12 (Virginia Dare Trail) between Kitty Hawk and Nags Head. Shown on maps as early as 1963; still present in 1986 but removed by 1988. Some mapmakers haven't gotten the message yet; Business 158 still appears on many current maps. |
