U.S. Route 19W

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 19W. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 19.

U.S. Route 19W
US 19W highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 19
Length	62.9 mi (101.2 km)
Existed	1930–present
Major junctions
South end	US 19 / US 19E in Cane River, NC
Major intersections	I-26 / US 23 near Erwin, TN
North end	US 11E / US 19 / US 19E near Bluff City, TN
Location
Country	United States
States	North Carolina, Tennessee
Counties	NC: Yancey TN: Unicoi, Carter, Washington, Sullivan
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided
North Carolina Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
Tennessee State Routes Interstate US State
← US 19E NC → NC 20 ← US 19E TN → SR 20

U.S. Route 19W (US 19W) traverses approximately 63 miles (101 km) from Cane River, North Carolina, to Bluff City, Tennessee.

Route description

A misspelled sign stating that trucks are "not recommended" on US 19W.

US 19W begins in North Carolina in western Yancey County in the community of Cane River, at the intersection of US 19/US 19E. Several signs at the beginning of the route strongly recommend truckers against using this route. The road then proceeds north through Pisgah National Forest, connecting the communities of Elk Shoal, Ramseytown, and Sioux, to the Tennessee state line (near Spivey Gap), a 22-mile (35 km) drive of frequent curves and elevation changes.

Once past the state line in Tennessee, the road enters the Cherokee National Forest and is much the same for another 6.3 miles (10.1 km) to State Route 352 (SR 352)/Flag Pond Road. From Flag Pond Road, it is just one mile (1.6 km) to Interstate 26 (I-26), where US 19W merges with the Interstate to Johnson City. US 19W overlaps with I-26/US 23 from exit 43 (Hill Road) to exit 20 (Roan Street). There it leaves I-26 and continues north on the Bristol Highway, overlapped with US 11E, for 9.4 miles (15.1 km), after which it reconnects with US 19E to reform US 19 near Bluff City.

History

US 19W in Ramseytown

Established in 1930, US 19 was split at Cane River into US 19E and US 19W. US 19E follows the original routing via Spruce Pine and Elizabethton to Bluff City. US 19W was rerouted with US 23 and North Carolina Highway 692 (NC 692) into Tennessee, then through the cities of Erwin and Johnson City, before rejoining US 19E in Bluff City. In late 1934, NC 692 was dropped along the route; then, in 1952, US 23 abandoned US 19W in North Carolina by rerouting west through Faust and Wolf Laurel, meeting back at Ernestville. In 1984, US 19 was realigned on a straighter path in Yancey County; US 19W was thus extended 0.4 miles (0.64 km).

In late September 2024, several large sections of US 19W was washed out by the effects of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. In November, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) stated that it expects to spend $1 billion to rebuild the two-lane highway, which could take six to 10 years. A new, permanent US 19W would be to modern standards, which likely mean wider shoulders and possibly wider travel lanes; concrete walls will also be used instead of earthen embankments in some places. Until then, temporary gravel roads are being used to connect isolated communities.

North Carolina Highway 692

North Carolina Highway 692
Location	Cane River, North Carolina–Tennessee state line
Length	21.6 mi (34.8 km)
Existed	1923–1930

North Carolina Highway 692 (NC 692) was established in 1923 as new primary routing to Tennessee; NC 692 was the original highway number from Cane River to Spivey Gap. In 1929, NC 692 was truncated at Sioux, replaced by an extension of NC 19 from Bakersville. In 1930, US 19W and US 23 were overlapped on the remaining section of NC 692. In late 1934, NC 692 was decommissioned.

Junction list

State	County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
North Carolina	Yancey	Cane River	0.0	0.0	US 19 south / US 19E north – Asheville, Burnsville	US 19 splits into US 19E and US 19W; southern terminus
		​	15.1	24.3	Huntdale Road – Huntdale
			21.9 0.0	35.2 0.0	North Carolina–Tennessee state line
Tennessee	Unicoi	Ernestville	6.3	10.1	SR 352 west (Flag Pond Road) – Flag Pond	Eastern terminus of SR 352
		Temple Hill	7.5	12.1	I-26 east / US 23 south – Asheville	East end of I-26 and south end of US 23 overlap
	See Interstate 26 (exits 43 to 20)
	Washington	Johnson City	31.0	49.9	I-26 west / US 23 north / US 11E south (Roan Street / SR 34) – Kingsport	West end of I-26, south end of US 11E/SR 34, north end of US 23 overlap
			31.5	50.7	SR 36 north (North Roan Street) – Boones Creek, Kingsport	North end of SR 36 overlap
			32.0	51.5	SR 381 south (State of Franklin Road) – Kingsport	Northern terminus of SR 381
	Sullivan	Bluff City	41.0	66.0	US 11E north / US 19 north (SR 34) / US 19E south (SR 37) – Bristol, Bluff City, Elizabethton	Northern terminus of US 19E and 19W; 19E and 19W come together to form US 19
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

External links

Template:Attached KML/U.S. Route 19W

KML is from Wikidata

• Media related to U.S. Route 19W at Wikimedia Commons
• NCRoads.com: U.S. 19W