 U.S. Route 15 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 15 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 791.71 mi[1] (1,274.13 km) | |||
| Existed | 1926–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | ||||
| Major intersections | ||||
| North end |     I-86 /I-99 /NY 17 /NY 352 inPainted Post, NY | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| States | South Carolina,North Carolina,Virginia,Maryland,Pennsylvania,New York | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
U.S. Route 15 orU.S. Highway 15 (US 15) is a 791.71-mile-long (1,274.13 km)United States Numbered Highway, serving the states ofSouth Carolina,North Carolina,Virginia,Maryland,Pennsylvania, andNew York. The route is signed north–south, fromUS 17 Alternate (US 17 Alt.) inWalterboro, South Carolina, north toInterstate 86 (I-86)/New York State Route 17 (NY 17) inCorning, New York.
US 15 is one of the original U.S. Highways from 1926.
| mi[1] | km | |
|---|---|---|
| SC | 158.58 | 255.21 |
| NC | 158.13 | 254.49 |
| VA | 229.73 | 369.71 |
| MD | 37.92 | 61.03 |
| PA | 194.89 | 313.65 |
| NY | 12.46 | 20.05 |
| Total | 791.71 | 1,274.13 |
Starting atUS 17 Alt. inWalterboro, US 15 goes east, running parallel toI-95 and acrossI-26. Then it turns north and crosses I-95. Just before the town ofSantee, US 15 converges withUS 301. In Santee, the two highways merge with I-95 at exit 98 and all three crossLake Marion. At exit 102, US 15/US 301 split off from I-95 and go into the town ofSummerton. US 15 then separates from US 301 and heads mainly north to city ofSumter. From there, it continues north, crossesI-20, and goes through the cities ofBishopville andHartsville to the town ofSociety Hill. It is here thatUS 401 joins US 15 and both go to the North Carolina border.
US 15/US 401 continues toLaurinburg, at which US 401 splits off and US 15 runsconcurrent withUS 501.US 1 briefly merges with US 15/US 501 throughAberdeen andSanford. The route continues north of Sanford withNorth Carolina Highway 87 towardPittsboro. Past Pittsboro, US 15/US 501 goes towardChapel Hill and skirts around the southeastern edge of the city and then acrossI-40 toDurham. (Prior to the construction of the Chapel Hill bypass, US 15 ran through Chapel Hill, and, as of 2018, there is a "Jefferson Davis Highway" marker onFranklin Street, Chapel Hill's main street.[2]) Here,US 15 Business (US 15 Bus.)/US 501 Bus. split from US 15/US 501. Before the business routes rejoin on the other side of Durham,I-85 merges into US 15 Bus. Then, I-85/US 15 go north. Right after crossing Falls Lake at exit 186, US 15 splits off to the east. US 15 runs parallel to I-85, going through the city ofCreedmoor. It then crosses back over I-85, goes through the city ofOxford, on through Bullock, and then to the North Carolina–Virginia state line.
_just_north_of_Virginia_State_Route_230_(Orange_Road)_in_Madison_Mills%2c_Madison_County%2c_Virginia.jpg)
Virginia's section of US 15 starts inMecklenburg County. Not far from the state line, it crosses a narrow finger ofKerr Lake. The highway goes through the town ofClarksville and merges very briefly withUS 58/State Route 49 (SR 49) and then crosses over the main body of Kerr Lake. US 15 continues a little ways and merges withUS 360. The two highways go on to the town ofKeysville. After Keysville, US 15 branches off and goes to the town ofFarmville. After a brief merge withUS 460, US 15 goes through the towns ofDillwyn,New Canton (on theJames River),Fork Union, andPalmyra before crossingI-64 atZion Crossroads. After passing the Interstate, US 15 goes through the towns ofGordonsville (with a quick merge withUS 33) andOrange, and then on toCulpeper. After Culpeper, US 15 runs concurrent withUS 29. InWarrenton, they briefly merge withUS 17. South ofGainesville, US 15 breaks off and crossesI-66. From there, it goes on toLeesburg and then to the state line.
US 15 starts in Maryland atPoint of Rocks, crossing thePotomac River and then merges intoUS 340 just south ofFrederick. In Frederick,US 40 merges with US 15 for a very short distance. From there, US 15 goes throughThurmont and on to the Maryland–Pennsylvania border.
US 15 entersPennsylvania south ofGettysburg.US 15 Bus. (Emmitsburg Road) goes through Gettysburg, while US 15 bypasses the borough; the bypass continues toYork Springs. US 15 passes throughDillsburg before becoming a freeway nearGrantham and theMessiah University campus.
US 15 continues as a freeway until it intersectsUS 11 andPennsylvania Route 581 inCamp Hill. US 15 runs concurrent with US 11, passingHarrisburg on the west shore of theSusquehanna River. The concurrency ends atShamokin Dam, where US 11 splits and follows theNorth Branch Susquehanna River, and US 15 follows theWest Branch Susquehanna River north towardWilliamsport where it passes throughLewisburg and the campus ofBucknell University (which is partially bisected by the highway). In the future, US 15 and US 11 will diverge inSelinsgrove, from which US 15 will proceed north ona road currently under construction and connect back to its current alignment nearWinfield. US 11 will be joined to a business loop of US 15 instead of the main route.
The segment from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to the northern terminus atI-86 andNY 17 inPainted Post, New York, has been completely upgraded toInterstate standards, except for one access road at milemarker 150.1, in preparation for the eventual transition to designation asI-99, as has the US 15/I-86 interchange. The 12.59-mile (20.26 km) segment of US 15 inNew York runs parallel to theTioga River from thestate line to its current northern terminus at I-86 and NY 17 exit 44 at the junction of the Tioga andCohocton rivers in Painted Post, west of downtownCorning. The entire length of US 15 in New York is signed concurrently with I-99.
Until 1974, US 15 continued north of NY 17 and entered Painted Post on North Hamilton Street. At what is now the junction ofCounty Route 41 andNY 415 in downtown Painted Post, US 15 turned north onto NY 415. At the northern terminus of NY 415, located atNY 15 andNY 21 south ofWayland, US 15 followed the current routing of NY 15 into downtown Rochester, where it terminated atNY 31.
US 15 has shed considerable length in near-continuous realignment andregrading over the years. Prior to the completion of theTioga Creek flood-control project, hastened by the flooding caused afterHurricane Agnes along the Pennsylvania and New York segments of US 15 in June 1972, US 15 passed through many small towns in Pennsylvania as it passed from Lawrenceville, at the New York border, to West Milton, where the road begins to follow the west bank of theSusquehanna River. Originally a winding two-lane road over numerous mountains, US 15 now bypasses many small towns such as Sebring, Blossburg, Covington, Canoe Camp, and Hepburnville. In the 1970s, the challenging two-lane alignment was expanded in some areas to four lanes by building a second set of lanes. Now, for some stretches, the "old" road is the northbound side and in other sections, the southbound side.
NearMansfield, Pennsylvania, the old US 15 alignment is now a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) access road leading to a boat ramp, built where the old road now disappears into the Tioga Reservoir. Near Tioga, Pennsylvania, drivers crossing the tall concrete bridge can see where a two-lane road (formerly US 15), still marked with double yellow lines, disappears into the water.
In October 2009, a 180-mile (290 km) portion of US 15 from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was designated aNational Scenic Byway by theU.S. secretary of transportation. The byway will be known as theJourney Through Hallowed Ground. With this designation, the route and historic sites along the route are now eligible for preservation grants.[3]
US 17 Alt. inWalterboro
US 78 inSt. George
US 178 inRosinville
I-26 north-northeast of Rosinville
US 176 inWells
I-95 south-southeast ofDantzler
US 301 southwest ofSantee. The highways travel concurrently toSummerton.I-95 southeast of Santee. The highways travel concurrently toAdams Landing.
US 521 inSouth Sumter.
US 401 inSumter
US 76 /US 378 on the Sumter–Mulberry city line
I-20 southwest ofBishopville
US 52 /US 401 southwest ofSociety Hill. US 15/US 52 travel concurrently to Society Hill. US 15/US 401 travel concurrently toLaurinburg, North Carolina.
Future I-74 /US 74 /US 501 inLaurinburg. US 15/US 501 travel concurrently toDurham.
US 1 inAberdeen. The highways travel concurrently through the city.US 1 south ofSanford. The highways travel concurrently to Sanford.
US 421 in Sanford
US 64 inPittsboro
I-40 inDurham
I-85 /US 70 in Durham. I-85/US 15 travel concurrently toDutchville Township. US 15/US 70 travel concurrently through the city.I-85 south-southwest ofOxford
US 158 in Oxford
US 58 inClarksvilleUS 58 in Clarksville
US 360 north-northeast ofWylliesburg. The highways travel concurrently to north ofKeysville.
US 460 south ofFarmville. The highways travel concurrently to west of Farmville.
US 60 inSprouses Corner
US 250 inZion Crossroads
I-64 north-northeast of Zion Crossroads
US 33 south ofGordonsville. The highways travel concurrently to Gordonsville.
US 29 south ofCulpeper. The highways travel concurrently toGainesville.
US 522 southeast of CulpeperUS 17 inOpal. The highways travel concurrently toWarrenton.
I-66 inHaymarket
US 50 inGilberts Corner
US 340 east ofJefferson. The highways travel concurrently to .
I-70 inBallenger Creek
US 40 /US 340 inFrederick. US 15/US 40 travel concurrently through the city.
US 30 inStraban Township
I-76 inUpper Allen Township
US 11 inCamp Hill. The highways travel concurrently toShamokin Dam.
I-81 inSummerdale
US 22 /US 322 inPenn TownshipUS 522 inMonroe Township
I-80 inWhite Deer Township
I-180 /US 220 inWilliamsport. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
Future I-99 /I-180 /US 220 in Williamsport. I-99/US 15 will travel concurrently toErwin, New York.
US 6 inMansfieldI-99 at theNew York–Pennsylvania border. The highways travel concurrently to Erwin.I-86 inErwin
| Browse numbered routes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
← SC 14 | SC | → SC 16 | ||
← MD 14 | MD | → MD 16 | ||
← PA 14 | PA | → PA 16 | ||
Routes initalics are no longer a part of the system. Highlighted routes are considered main routes of the system. |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
