Route description U.S. Route 501 in North Carolina

us 15-501 turns left in durham

us 501 enters north carolina @ south carolina state line intersection of interstate 95 (i-95) while overlapping 301, nearby south of border. goes northwest through rowland overlap 301 terminates, , travels through raemon laurinburg. once @ laurinburg, overlaps briefly i-74/us 74 before connecting 15. majority of route, point, two-lane rural road.

merging 15, becomes known 15-501 ( fifteen five-o-one ), concurrency extends 106 miles (171 km) across central north carolina. after laurinburg goes north aberdeen, linking briefly 1 before continuing pinehurst. in pinehurst, 15-501 goes through roundabout continues north through carthage, us 1. after traveling through sanford on brief concurrency us 1, exits off freeway , goes due north pittsboro. after pittsboro, 15-501 becomes expressway connecting cities of chapel hill , durham; section of route famous because of 2 universities connects: university of north carolina @ chapel hill , duke university. though road symbol of separation of carolina–duke rivalry, ncdot has been trying remedy making route superstreet better traffic flow. in durham, 15-501 upgrades urban freeway, allowing quick access south durham north; freeway ends merging i-85. @ exit 176b on i-85, 501 splits off towards roxboro, while us 15 continues i-85 towards oxford.

after durham, 501 goes north roxboro, onto south boston, virginia after crossing state line, majority of four-lane expressway.