End of US highway 311

Note: since I don't have access to a comprehensive collection of historical road atlases, much of the info on this page is based on the research of Mike Roberson and Robert Droz. Photo credits: Chris Curley; George Davis; Bob Ellis; Alex Nitzman; Adam Prince; Michael Summa; Mac Watkins

At first glance, it's puzzling how this quirky little highway was assigned the number "311" - or really how it even ended up with a US designation at all: at its closest point, US 11 is still a good 100 miles distant. But originally the route was much longer - and on the north it did connect with its implied "parent" (US 11) in Roanoke VA. A 1929 map shows this junction was at Campbell Avenue and Jefferson Street. The photo below shows that intersection as it appeared back then:

George Davis, c. 1927 (Library of Virginia)

Looks like it was a major junction for the trolley system as well - hopefully it wasn't too long before they finshed getting those railroad ties buried under pavestones.

US 311's southern extent was longer too: at first it served Aberdeen NC, coming into town on what is now NC hwy. 5. At the time, US 1 was on Pinehurst Street. The shot below is looking north on Pinehurst:

Google Maps Street View, 2008

That was US 1, which continued to the right on NC 5, where it joined its current routing on Sandhills Boulevard. I'm not sure whether US 311 came in on Keith Street (ending where the car is at far left) or on NC 5 (which is the intersection in the background).

Later US 311 was even extended all the way down to Rowland NC - albeit very briefly. Below is a view from its former south end:

Watkins, Jan. 2008

That's looking south on US 301 (Bond Street), which formerly carried US 217. For a time, US 311 began to the right on Main Street...

...but within a year or two, the south end of US 311 was truncated to Asheboro NC. The photo below is looking east on Salisbury Street:

Google Maps Street View, 2008

I believe this was US 64, and the south beginning of US 311 was to the left on Fayetteville Street. That was the case until 1966, when the US 311 designation was again truncated, this time to Randleman NC. The photo below is looking north on Main Street; downtown Randleman is about a mile in that direction:

Nitzman, 2000

This road used to serve as US 220 - and so this is where US 311 used to end. Now that US 220 is routed onto the freeway just west of here, Main is designated Business 220. So US 311 now ends about a half-mile west (left) of this point, at its interchange with modern US 220 (which is also I-73/I-74). That interchange is shown in the photo below:

Nitzman, 2000

The perspective on this shot really confused me at first, but I finally figured it out when I saw a map of this interchange: We're looking northwest at the south beginning of US 311. The off-ramp for northbound I-73/74/US 220 traffic is to the left, just behind the camera. The bridge in the middleground passes over the freeway. North is to the right - but if one wanted to go north again on US 220, the entrance ramp is to the left here; it loops back around to the right to go under the overpass. The on-ramp for southbound 220 is across the bridge and then left.

Heading back the opposite direction, one sees the "End" sign shown below:

Curley, 2000

Below is a close-up:

Ellis, May 2005

When US 220 was extended southward into North Carolina in 1934, the north end of US 311 was truncated to Madison. The photo below is looking east on Academy Street:

Curley, 2000

I was surprised to hear Chris' report that the US 311 designation ended not at its interchange with the modern US 220 freeway, but at Market Street (or historic US 220, which is now Business US 220) in the middle of town - about a mile shy of the freeway. Incidentally, this junction also marked the north end of the short-lived US 411[II]. Here are more photos - this next one was looking south on Market:

Summa, 1996

Until 1934, this was southbound US 311, but at the time of this photo the designation began to the right. This next shot shows what used to be the first US 311 reassurance marker heading west on Academy:

Summa, 1996

In 2003, AASHTO approved NCDoT's request to extend the US 311 designation north a few miles to Eden. Actually, the route bypasses town to the south, and ends at its junction with NC 14:

Prince, Oct. 2007

That's where maps from NCDoT show US 311 ending, but as of late 2007, they still had not signed US 311 anywhere north of its Madison endpoint. Below is a close-up of the junction signage:

Prince, Oct. 2007

When they finally get around to signing US 311 at this junction, please let me know... and get photos if you can!