End of US highway 158
View a map showing this route.
Additional research and/or photo credits: David Montgomery; Alex Nitzman; Mike Roberson; Matt Stefora
| Approx. time period | East terminus | West terminus |
|---|---|---|
| 1932-1940 | Franklin, VA | Mocksville, NC |
| 1940-1942 | Murfreesboro, NC | Mocksville, NC |
| 1942-1951 | Manteo, NC | Mocksville, NC |
| 1951-present | (near Nags Head, NC) | Mocksville, NC |
The west end of US 158 has always been in Mocksville NC. Originally US 64 and US 601 came in from the northwest on Wilkesboro Street, which becomes Salisbury Street. At Depot Street, traffic was routed east for 1.5 blocks, then south on Main Street. The photo below is looking south on Main:
Montgomery, Apr. 2011
US 64/601 traffic came in from the right on Depot, and continued straight ahead on Main. So this was the original west end of US 158. That was the case until about 1949, when US 64/601 traffic was rerouted such that it stayed on Salisbury all the way to Lexington Road. So at that point, US 158 was extended two blocks ahead on Main to its current terminus. Though there was no "End" sign, the designation ends at the intersection shown below:
Montgomery, Apr. 2011 (unchanged since at least 2000)
From this point, straight ahead on Main is US 601 south. Northbound US 601 and westbound US 64 are directed to the right on Lexington Road, while to the left is eastbound US 64. The photo below shows signage for traffic approaching that intersection from the west on Lexington:
Montgomery, Apr. 2011
That's eastbound US 64 and southbound US 601, but here 601 traffic splits off to the right on Main. To the left is the west beginning of US 158. Below we're looking the opposite direction (west on Lexington, or westbound US 64):
Montgomery, Apr. 2011
US 158 begins to the right on Main. This next shot was taken looking north on Main, or northbound US 601:
Montgomery, Apr. 2011
US 601 continues to the left on Lexington, but straight ahead is the west beginning of US 158. Two blocks in that direction we reach Depot:
Montgomery, Apr. 2011
Until about 1949 this was US 64/601, which continued to the left on Depot. Straight ahead was the original west beginning of US 158. At the next block (Gaither Street), the first eastbound marker is posted:
Montgomery, Apr. 2011
Sources conflict as to the historic east endpoints of US 158, and as to the exact dates when changes occurred (the chart at the top is my interpretation of the info I've found). The original east end of US 158 was in Franklin VA. The photo below is looking north on High Street:
Google
Maps Street View, 2008
The crossroad is 4th Avenue, which was once mainline US 58 (today it's Business 58). US 158 ended at this intersection until about 1940. At that point, the US 258 designation replaced US 158 between here and Murfreesboro NC, so then it was US 258 that ended here for a few years. Below we're looking west on 4th:
Google
Maps Street View, 2008
To the left on High was the original beginning of US 158, and then during the early 1940s that was the beginning of US 258. At that time, the east end of US 158 was truncated to its junction with US 258 in Murfreesboro for a couple years (you can view photos from there on my US 258 page). In 1942, US 158 was extended east through Elizabeth City to Barco; then south through Kitty Hawk to Nags Head; then back west to Manteo. From the historic maps I've seen, the junction shown below appears to be where US 158 ended:
Nitzman,
2000
That was looking west on US 64/264. US 158 may have ended here at its junction with NC 345, which at the time went both left (to Wanchese) and right (to Manteo).
(Long before the photo above was taken, US 158 had been truncated to its current terminus [see below], and it was US 64/264 that continued northward to serve Manteo. Now things have changed again: US 264 no longer makes it this far east; US 64 continues straight ahead to a new bridge over Croatan Sound; and it's Business 64 that goes north to Manteo.)
In 1951 the US 158 designation was truncated to its current terminus: a place known as Whalebone Junction - on the Outer Banks of NC, a little south of Nags Head. You can view photos from there on this page.