North Carolina Highway 55

North Carolina Highway 55
Route of NC 55 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	193 mi (311 km)
Existed:	1957 – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 501 Bus. in Durham
	I‑85 / US 15 / US 70 in Durham I‑40 in Durham NC 147 in Durham NC 540 in Morrisville I‑95 in Dunn I‑40 near Newton Grove US 70 in New Bern
East end:	Oriental Road in Oriental
Location
Counties:	Durham, Wake, Harnett, Sampson, Johnston, Wayne, Lenoir, Craven, Pamilico
Highway system
North Carolina Highway System Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← NC 54 NC 56 →

North Carolina Highway 55 Bypass
Location:	Holly Springs, North Carolina
Length:	4.4 mi (7.1 km)
Existed:	2002–present

North Carolina Highway 55 (NC 55) is a 192-mile-long (309 km) North Carolina state highway that serves as a traffic artery connecting Durham with Cary and numerous small cities and towns in The Triangle on its way toward the Pamlico Sound. A portion of NC 55 extends through Research Triangle Park. NC 55 is a major artery in the central part of The Triangle region, and is a four lane, divided highway between Durham and Cary and Apex. NC 55 is also a divided highway between Apex and Fuquay-Varina.

Although NC 55 is signed east–west, the route itself is more "L" shaped. Between Durham and Erwin, the eastbound direction physically heads south and westbound is physically north. After Erwin to its eastern terminus, the route follows a more directly eastward routing.

The western terminus is at US 501 Business (North Roxboro Street) just north of I-85. Here the road is locally known as Avondale Dr. Eastbound NC 55 heads south through Durham, leaving Avondale Dr. on a short connector road to join North Alston Ave. NC 55 stays on Alston Avenue, crossing NC 147 (Durham Freeway) and passing North Carolina Central University. After NC Central, the NC 55 leaves Alston Avenue. Locally it is signed south of this point as just "NC 55" but it carries a secondary designation as Apex Highway. As it passes through the western side of Research Triangle Park, it crosses first I-40, then NC 54, and the toll NC 540 as it leaves Durham County and enters Wake County.