End of US highway 501 |
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1926-1934
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1934-1938?
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1938?-1944
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1944-present
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Summa
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US 501 was among the inaugural routes of 1926. Heading north from Halifax VA, US 501 originally followed what is now VA hwy. 360 and US 360 to its north end in Burkeville:
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c. 1927, Rand McNally
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US 501 ended at its junction with US 60 (which was later replaced by US 460). In this photo, we are looking north on VA hwy. 621, which was formerly US 501:
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Roberson, Feb. 2008
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After crossing under the railroad, that junctions VA 716, or Namozine Street, which originally carried US 60 (and later US 460, before the current US 360-460 interchange was built). This perspective was looking west on Namozine, or historic westbound US 60:
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Roberson, Feb. 2008
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US 501 began by turning left onto Burkes Tavern Road. That railroad bridge is dated 1932, so originally it was probably an at-grade crossing, but US 501 traffic went underneath it for a couple years.
At the time, the south end of US 501 was in Durham: |
c. 1930, NC DoT
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There, old US 501 is now designated Business 15/501. This photo was looking south on Magnum Street, where US 501 ended at its junction with Main Street, which originally carried US 70:
Osborne, Dec. 2012
In 1934, the US 501 designation was extended south to its present terminus in Myrtle Beach:
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c. 1939, Rand McNally
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This photo was looking east at the south end of US 501. Here, southbound US 17 traffic is directed to turn right on 8th Avenue North, and then right again on historic US 17 (now Business US 17), or Kings Highway. Main Street traffic that continues straight (to the left in this photo) merges with Kings Hwy, but there was no indication that is northbound Bus. 17:
Karners, Apr. 2014
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This photo shows the signage approaching US 501 from the north on Kings Hwy:
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Karners, Apr. 2014
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Heading the opposite direction (north on Bus. 17), US 501 traffic is not directed all the way to Main; instead 3rd Avenue South is signed as "TO US 501 North". If a traveler misses that, Kings Hwy meets Main at a fairly sharp angle, so left turns are not permitted at that intersection. Instead drivers are directed to turn left at 8th Av North...
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Cozart/Nitzman, Nov. 2006
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...and then left again at Main after about a half-block. In the photo above, that sign has since been replaced with a simple "JCT US 501" sign, with no directional arrow. The light in the distance is Main, or mainline 501. Once drivers have turned onto that road, the first northbound US 501 sign is posted immediately:
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Karners, Apr. 2014
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Also in 1934 the north end of US 501 was rerouted to go north from Halifax, through Lynchburg, to its current terminus at its junction with US 60 in Buena Vista (by the way, forget anything you know about Spanish: locals pronounce this "Byoo-nuh VIS-tuh", just like the Buena Vista in Colorado):
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c. 1939, Rand McNally
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At the time, there was no railroad crossing on 29th Street, so US 60 traffic used a slightly different path through town. Heading west, US 60 turned south for a couple blocks on today's US 501 (Beech Avenue), then used Factory Street to cross the railroad. From there, north on Alleghany Avenue, which at the time crossed Chalk Mine Run and curved west onto Orchard Street, which aligned with current US 60 (29th), as shown here:
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c. 1940 and 1950, USGS
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US 501 traffic used today's Business 501 (Magnolia Avenue and Park Avenue), so the US 501 designation ended on Park at Beech, as shown in this image:
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Sweeney, Feb. 2020
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That was looking north on US 501, which currently turns right for two blocks and ends at its junction with US 60 (as we will see below). But in the mid-1930s, US 501 ended there, while straight ahead on Factory was westbound US 60, and eastbound US 60 was to the right on Beech.
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To complicate matters further, it appears there was a brief period during which the US 501 designation was extended ahead (west) with US 60 about six miles, ending at its junction with US 11 in Lexington:
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c. 1941, VDoT route log
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For the first year or two, US 60-501 came into town on Washington Street. At Main Street (which carried both directions of US 11), the US 501 designation ended, while US 60 continued straight ahead on Washington...
Sweeney, Feb. 2020
...however, in about 1940 US 60-501 traffic was moved one block south, to Nelson Street. This photo was looking west on Nelson at Main, showing another brief Lexington endpoint...
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Jon, Oct. 2020 (linked to original)
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...but that did not last for long either: US 501 was truncated back to Buena Vista in about 1944. By then US 60 had been changed to its current configuration along 29th Street, so US 501 ended at the same location it does today: on Beech at 29th:
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Karner, May 2013 (unchanged since at least 2005)
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No "End" sign was posted, only one's options at US 60, along with a notice that the I-81 interchange is to the left. This shot shows the north beginning of US 501 as seen from westbound US 60...
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Nitzman, June 2005 (unchanged as of 2013)
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...and these next ones were taken from the opposite direction, on both sides of the railroad overpass:
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Karner, May 2013
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Nitzman, June 2005 (unchanged as of 2013)
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Drivers taking that right turn will soon see the first southbound confirming marker:
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Nitzman, June 2005 (unchanged as of 2013)
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Research and/or photo credits: Justin Cozart; Martin Karner; Alex Nitzman; Steve Osborne; Adam Prince; Mike Roberson; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa; Collin Sweeney
Page originally created 2001;
last updated Feb. 2, 2021.
last updated Feb. 2, 2021.
