U.S. Route 129 (US 129) is a north–south United States highway that travels 63.5 miles (102.2 km) through the westernmost part of North Carolina. Traveling from the Georgia state line near Bellview, to the Tennessee state line at Deals Gap, it is known for its scenic mountain valley vistas and curvy mountain bends popular with motorcycle and sports car enthusiasts.
 U.S. Highway 129 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 129 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route of US 29 | ||||
| Maintained by NCDOT | ||||
| Length | 63.5 mi[1] (102.2 km) | |||
| Existed | 1934–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |    US 19 / US 129 / SR 11 at the Georgia state line | |||
| North end |  US 129 / SR 115 at the Tennessee state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | North Carolina | |||
| Counties | Cherokee, Graham, Swain | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
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US 129, in concurrency with US 19, begins at the Georgia state line near the community of Bellview. At 3.8 miles (6.1 km) in, it reaches the community of Ranger, where US 129/US 19 links up with four-lane US 64/US 74, heading northeast. In Murphy, US 64 splits away, after crossing the Hiwassee River, and heads east towards Hayesville. Bypassing east of Murphy along Will Scott Mountain, the highway traverses along the banks of the Valley River to Andrews, where it bypasses the town to its north. East of Andrews, the highway narrows to two lanes as it makes its way along the Snowbird Mountains. At Red Marble Gap is the community of Topton, which straddles closely to Cherokee, Macon and Graham counties; here US 129 splits from US 19/US 74 as it continues into the Nantahala Gorge towards Bryson City.[1]
Now ascending along the Snowbird Mountains, the highway curves west and begins to descend as it follows the Tulula Creek into Robbinsville. NC 143 shares a short concurrency with US 129 while in Robbinsville, here is where motorcycle and sports car enthusiasts begin to appear as they connect here from the Cherohala Skyway and heads towards the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap.[citation needed] North of Robbinsville, US 129 curves along the banks of the Cheoah River until it reaches the Little Tennessee River at Tapoco. Crossing the Little Tennessee River and passing past the Cheoah Dam, US 129 connects with NC 28 before ascending again and crossing into Tennessee at Deals Gap.[1]
US 129 also makes up part of Corridor K in the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS). Corridor K connects Interstate 75 (I-75) in Cleveland, Tennessee with US 23 in Dillsboro, North Carolina, overlapping 29.5 miles (47.5 km) of US 129. ADHS provides additional funds, as authorized by the U.S. Congress, which have enabled US 129 to benefit from the successive improvements along its routing through the corridor. The white-on-blue banner "Appalachian Highway" is used to mark the ADHS corridor.[2]
US 129 overlaps with two state scenic byways: the Nantahala Byway between Marble and Topton, and the Indian Lake Scenic Byway, between Topton and Deals Gap.[3]
History
editThe highway was established in 1934 as an extension from Georgia following US 19 to Topton, where it replaced NC 108 through Robbinsville and on into Tennessee.[citation needed] In 1979, US 19/US 129 were placed on new bypass routings east of Murphy and north of Andrews; its old alignment becoming US 19 business loops.[4][5]
On December 2, 2020, six miles of U.S. 129 in Graham County, from Yellow Creek near Robbinsville to the Swain County line, was designated Ronnie Milsap Highway.[6]
Junction list
edit| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherokee | | 0.0 | 0.0 |  US 19 south / US 129 south / SR 11 south – Blairsville | Continuation into Georgia |
| Ranger | 3.8 | 6.1 |    US 64 west / US 74 west – Cleveland | West end of US 64/US 74 overlap | |
| Murphy | 9.0 | 14.5 |   US 19 Bus. north (Hiwassee Street) | ||
| 9.4 | 15.1 |  US 64 east – Hayesville, Franklin | East end of US 64 overlap | ||
| | 12.2 | 19.6 | US 19 Bus. south (Andrews Road) | ||
| Marble | 18.3 | 29.5 |  NC 141 south | ||
| Andrews | 23.6 | 38.0 | US 19 Bus. north (Main Street) / Airport Road – Western Carolina Regional Airport | ||
| 26.5 | 42.6 | US 19 Bus. south (Main Street) | |||
| Topton | 33.5 | 53.9 | US 19 north / US 74 east (Appalachian Highway) – Bryson City | North end of US 19 and east end of US 74 overlap | |
| Graham | Robbinsville | 44.8 | 72.1 |  NC 143 Bus. west (Main Street) | West end of NC 143 Business overlap |
| 45.0 | 72.4 | NC 143 east (Sweetwater Road) – Fontana, Bryson City | East end of NC 143 and NC 143 Business overlap | ||
| 45.4 | 73.1 | NC 143 Bus. east (Main Street) | |||
| | 46.4 | 74.7 | NC 143 west (Massey Branch Road) – Tellico Plains | West end of NC 143 overlap, to Cherohala Skyway | |
| Swain | Deals Gap | 62.8 | 101.1 |  NC 28 south – Fontana, Bryson City | |
| 63.5 | 102.2 | US 129 north / SR 115 north – Maryville | Crosses through Deals Gap into Tennessee | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
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References
edit- ^ a b c d "U.S. Route 129 in North Carolina" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- ^ "Status of Corridors in North Carolina" (PDF). Appalachian Regional Commission. September 30, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- ^ "NCDOT: Scenic Byways". Retrieved June 28, 2011.
- ^ "Route Change (1979-01-01)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. January 1, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (June 25, 1979). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda Showing Action Taken by the Executive Committee" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 3. Retrieved October 25, 2014 – via Wikimedia Commons.
- ^ Stradling, Richard (December 5, 2020). "North Carolina puts name of country music star Milsap on stretch of US Highway 129". News and Observer.
External links
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Media related to U.S. Route 129 in North Carolina at Wikimedia Commons- NCRoads.com: US 129
