Interstate 85 North - Durham

I-85/NC 86 Truck proceed east from I-40 along the south side of Occoneechee Mountain. The westbound roadway for I-40 passes overhead at these confirming markers.

05/31/21

Interstate 85 leads one mile east from I-40 to meet Churton Street (SR 1009) at Hillsborough. A diamond interchange (Exit 164) links the two roads 0.9 miles south of U.S. 70 Business/NC 86.

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Churton Street north leads directly from Exit 164 into the historic district of Hillsborough as U.S. 70 Business/NC 86 north.

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Trucks are prohibited along NC 86 through the town of Hillsborough. NC 86 Truck continues along I-85 northbound to Exit 165.

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Exit 164 departs Interstate 85 north for Churton Street (SR 1009). Southward, SR 1009 becomes Old Chapel Hill-Hillsborough Road / Old NC 86 to I-40 at Exit 261 and Calvander outside the town of Carrboro.

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Interstate 85 north / NC 86 Truck south drop over 50 feet in elevation to Cates Creek and a Norfolk Southern Railroad underpass over the next mile.

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NC 86 splits with U.S. 70 Business a half mile north of Exit 165 and leaves Hillsborough along a 12.31 mile long course to Chapel Hill.

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Truck traffic bypassing Hillsborough along I-85 south finally returns to NC 86 at Exit 165.

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I-85 north at the diamond interchange (Exit 165) with NC 86. NC 86 continues southward along a rural course five miles to Blackwood and 6.7 miles to I-40 at Exit 266 and the Chapel Hill city line. Big box retail lines the south side of the exchange.

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Interstate 85 lowers toward Rhodes Creek along a forested ridge.

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Downtown Durham is nine miles away via NC 147 southeast from Exit 172. Beyond the City of Medicine, Interstate 85 turns northeastward to Henderson in 52 miles and Petersburg, Virginia in 136 miles.

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University Station Road (SR 1712) crosses over I-85, one mile out from Exit 170 for U.S. 70 Business east to NC 751 southeast to Duke University.

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U.S. 70 passes by Eno River State Park before joining Interstate 85 north through Durham.

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The roadways for U.S. 70 and U.S. 70 Business separate to accommodate ramps with I-85 at Exit 170. Running south of I-85, U.S. 70 Business leads east to the Bennet Place and West Hills neighborhoods in west Durham.

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I-85/U.S. 70 line the south side of Eno River State Park ahead of the Durham city line. U.S. 70 follows the freeway to Exit 178.

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I-85/U.S. 70 cross both the Durham County and city line one mile ahead of NC 147 (Durham Freeway) south at Exit 172.

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NC 147 loops eight miles southeast to I-885 (East End Connector) in Durham. I-885 replaced the remainder of NC 147 along the Durham Freeway south to I-40 at the Triangle Expressway (NC 885) in May 2022.

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NC 147 connects I-85 north with the freeway along U.S. 15/501 south to Duke University and Chapel Hill at Exit 16. U.S. 15/501 north combine with I-85 at a wye interchange just east of Exit 173.

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NC 147 follows the Durham Freeway five miles east to Downtown Durham. The Durham Freeway was temporarily the route for Interstate 40 before it was completed in 1988 to the southwest of Durham.

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The wye interchange (Exit 172) with NC 147 south opened along with the westernmost portion of the Durham Freeway on July 31, 1998.¹

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Cole Mill Road (SR 1401) ties into Interstate 85 from the Croasdaile and the Waterford neighborhoods at Exit 173. The four lane boulevard leads south to a commercialized intersection with U.S. 70 Business (Hillsborough Road).

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A diamond interchange joins I-85 with Cole Springs Road at Exit 173. Adjacent U.S. 70 Business diverges from I-85/U.S. 70 east through the Watts Hospital-Hillandale and Old West Durham neighborhoods en route to Duke University and Downtown.

05/31/21

Traffic from U.S. 15/501 north expands I-85 north / U.S. 70 east briefly to six overall lanes. A $210 million project between 1999 and February 12, 2008 rebuilt Interstate 85 and all interchanges between Exit 173 and 178.^2,3

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Hillandale Road (SR 1321) meets I-85/U.S. 15-70-501 midway between U.S. 70 Business (Hillsboro Road) and Carver Street at Exit 174. A diamond interchange links with Hillandale Road south to Watts Hospital-Hillandale and north to Omah Street.

05/31/21

NC 157 (Guess Road) meets the freeway at Exit 175 a half mile east of Hillandale Road. NC 157 concludes a 29.31 mile long route from Roxboro at Exit 175. Guess Road (SR 1322) continues southeast to Northgate Mall, Walltown and Trinity Park.

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U.S. 501 departs the freeway at a three quarter cloverleaf interchange (Exit 176) for Duke Street north to Roxboro and Lynchburg, Gregson Street (SR 1327) extends southward to Northgate Mall, Trinity Park and Downtown.

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1999-2008 reconstruction of Interstate 85 through Durham added a collector distributor roadway for Exit 176 A/B. While U.S. 501 departs next, U.S. 501 Business meets I-85 at a split diamond interchange (Exit 177) in one mile.

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Gregson and Duke Streets form a one way couplet from I-85/U.S. 15-501 southward to the Warehouse District and western reaches of Downtown at NC 147. Points of interest for Exit 176 include Durham Bulls Athletic Park and the Museum of Life and Science.

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U.S. 501 (Duke Street) combines with U.S. 501 Business (Roxboro Street) 2.3 miles to the north beyond the Stadium Heights neighborhood. U.S. 501 reaches the Person County seat of Roxboro in 30 miles.

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I-85/U.S. 15-70 continue east to Exit 177 with U.S. 15-501 Business (Roxboro Street) and NC 55 (Avondale Drive).

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Exit 177 originally consisted of separate parclo interchanges (Exits 177 ABC) with Roxboro Street and Avondale Drive. U.S. 15 Business travels southward with U.S. 501 Business via Mangum / Roxboro Streets through the Duke Park and Old North Durham neighborhoods.

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U.S. 15/501 Business overlap 10.3 miles southwest through Downtown, Forest Hills, Rockwood and the end of the freeway along U.S. 15/501. NC 55 commences a 193 mile route nearby along Avondale Drive.

05/31/21

NC 55 follows Avondale Drive south through Duke Park to Alston Avenue and the Albright community.

12/16/22

Separating from I-85/U.S. 15, U.S. 70 combines with Interstate 885 south to NC 98 (Holloway Street) at Wellons Village and U.S. 70 Business (Miami Boulevard).

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U.S. 70 converges with U.S. 70 Business (Miami Boulevard) 2.57 miles to the south en route to Raleigh Durham International Airport (RDU) and I-540.

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Opened to traffic on June 30, 2022, Interstate 885 connects with the Durham Freeway (NC 147) near the vicinity of Hayes and Research Triangle Park (RTP).

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I-85/U.S. 15 continue northeast from Durham toward Oxford and Petersburg, Virginia while U.S. 70 turns south toward Raleigh alongside I-885 to the East End Connector.

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U.S. 70 formerly split with I-85/U.S. 15 north at a wye interchange. U.S. 70 west joined I-85 southbound at a left side entrance ramp. The freeway to freeway connection at Exit 178 was into a directional T interchange during the 1999-2008 widening project.

12/16/22

I-85/U.S. 15 reduce to four lanes beyond the exchange with I-885/U.S. 70.

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E Club Boulevard (SR 1671) heads east from U.S. 501 Business (Duke Street) through Colonial Village to vacate Durham at a diamond interchange (Exit 179) with I-85/U.S. 15.

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Exit 179 leaves I-85/U.S. 15 north for E Club Boulevard (SR 1671). Ferrell Road continues SR 1671 east from E Club Boulevard at parallel Geer Street. Geer Street (SR 1670) is the historic route of U.S. 15 northeast to Falls Lake.

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A 12.6 mile stretch of I-85, between Exit 178 to 191, was resurfaced between June 1, 2011 and July 15, 2012 at a cost of $8 million.⁴

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Glen School Road (SR 1675) arcs northwest from Geer Street (SR 1670) and Junction Road to cross paths with I-85/U.S. 15 at Exit 180.

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Glenn School Road (SR 1675) connects the diamond interchange at Exit 180 with Glenn Road (SR 1636) northeast through expanding suburbs to Red Mill Road.

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I-85/U.S. 15 reassurance markers posted after Exit 180. The two routes overlap for 11.7 miles.

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Parallel Geer Street (old U.S. 15) travels by the communities of Gorman and Burton to Red Mill Road (SR 1632), south of Exit 182.

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Red Mill Road (SR 1632) spans the Ellerbe and Eno Rivers northward 3.65 miles from Exit 182 to Teknika Parkway (SR 1794).

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Entering the diamond interchange (Exit 182) with Red Mill Road on I-85/U.S. 15 north. Red Mill Road travels 3.88 miles overall between Geer Street and Teknika Parkway.

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The final exit within Durham County joins I-85/U.S. 15 with Redwood Road (SR 1637) in one mile.

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Redwood Road loops north from Fletchers Chapel Road (SR 1815) at Glen Forest to Redwood by Panther Creek and Falls Lake. The road bends westward to Lake Ridge Aero Park, Exit 183 and Tom Clark Road (SR 1637).

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A parclo B2 interchange joins I-85/U.S. 15 with Redwood Road (SR 1637) at Exit 183.

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I-85/U.S. 15 cross Falls Lake and its recreation area north of Redwood Road.

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I-85/U.S. 15 cross the Falls Lake area along a causeway one mile ahead of their split at Exit 186 A.

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The original alignment for U.S. 15 crossed the lake at roughly the same location between Geer Street (SR 1670) and Roycroft Road (SR 1224).

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Falls Lake was formed by impounding water along the Neuse River at Falls Lake Dam near Wake Forest.

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I-85/U.S. 15 crossing the Falls Lake bridge just ahead of the Granville County line.

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