US 501 (NC)

U.S. Route 501
Route of US 501 in North Carolina highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	170 mi (274 km)
Existed:	1927 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 301 / US 501 at the South Carolina line near Dillon, SC
	I‑74 / US 74 in Laurinburg US 421 in Sanford I‑40 in Durham NC 147 in Durham I‑85 / US 70 in Durham
North end:	US 501 at the Virginia line near South Boston, VA
Location
Counties:	Robeson, Scotland, Hoke, Moore, Lee, Chatham, Orange, Durham, Person
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Replaced North Carolina Highway System Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← I‑485 US 521 →

U.S. Route 501 (US 501) is a north–south United States highway that traverses the majority of North Carolina in concurrency with US 15, known as "15-501" ("Fifteen Five-o-one").

US 501 enters North Carolina at the South Carolina state line with an intersection of Interstate 95 (I-95) while overlapping US 301, nearby South of the Border. It goes northwest through Rowland where the overlap with US 301 terminates, and then travels through Raemon to Laurinburg. Once at Laurinburg, it overlaps briefly with I-74/US 74 before connecting with US 15. The majority of the route, to this point, is a two-lane rural road.

Merging with US 15, it becomes what is known as "15-501" ("Fifteen Five-o-one"), a concurrency that extends for 106 miles (171 km) across central North Carolina. After Laurinburg it goes north to Aberdeen, linking briefly with US 1 before continuing to Pinehurst. In Pinehurst, 15-501 goes through a roundabout then continues north through Carthage, then back to US 1. After traveling through Sanford on another brief concurrency with US 1, it exits off the freeway and goes due north to Pittsboro. After Pittsboro, 15-501 becomes an expressway connecting the cities of Chapel Hill and Durham; this section of the route is famous because of the two universities it connects: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. Though the road is a symbol of the separation of the Carolina–Duke rivalry, NCDOT has been trying to remedy that by making the route a superstreet for better traffic flow. In Durham, 15-501 upgrades to an urban freeway, allowing for quick access from south Durham to north; the freeway ends merging into I-85. At exit 176B on I-85, US 501 splits off towards Roxboro, while US 15 continues with I-85 towards Oxford.