Site Navigation Alabama Florida Georgia Louisiana Mississippi North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee     Interstate 95 North - Johnston County 06/25/05 photos taken by Carter Buchanan. 06/01/05 & 05/30/07 photos taken by Andy Field. 12/16/07 photos taken by Andy Field. Interstate 95 North Nearing the city of Benson on Interstate 95 north. North Carolina 50 & 242 intersect the freeway at the Exit 79 partial-cloverleaf interchange. The two highways merge for a short distance from Exit 79 to U.S. 301 (Wall Street) in downtown Benson. North Carolina 50 travels 14 miles east to junction North Carolina 55 on the outskirts of Newton Grove. Photo taken 05/30/07. One half mile south of North Carolina 50 & 242 (East Main Street) at the town of Benson. North Carolina 242 enters the area from a 13-mile drive north from Spivey's Corner and U.S. 421. The state highway ends two miles north of Benson at Exit 325 of Interstate 40. Exit 79 was recently (2005) upgraded from a diamond to a partial-cloverleaf interchange. Photo taken 05/30/07. The Exit 79 loop ramp leaves Interstate 95 north and ends at the North Carolina 50 and 242 intersection split. West of U.S. 301 & North Carolina 242 (Wall Street), North Carolina 50 follows West Main Street 0.6 miles to the split with North Carolina 27's westbound beginning. North Carolina 27 proceeds eight miles west to Coats from there. North Carolina 50 meanwhile turns northward along the Interstate 40 corridor to Garner and Raleigh. Interstate 95 interchanges with Interstate 40 next. Photo taken 05/30/07. Long distance interests to North Carolina's coastal areas should use Interstate 40 and its connections with North Carolina 24 and other roads for Wrightsville Beach, Beaufort, Morehead City, Carolina Beach, Topsail Beach, etc. The USS North Carolina Battleship and North Carolina Aquariums are among the attractions near the eastern terminus in Wilmington. Photo taken 05/30/07. A 2000-redesign of the full-cloverleaf interchange between Interstates 95 and 40 results in a new flyover for northbound interests to westbound for Raleigh and Durham. A northbound auxiliary lane carries drivers headed onto Interstate 40 west at Exit 81. Photo taken 05/30/07. Traffic interests to Interstate 40 depart Interstate 95 in unison via Exit 81. Interstate 40 travels north 27 miles to junction Interstate 440 at Raleigh and 49 miles to junction North Carolina 147 (Durham Freeway). Eastbound travelers head 13 miles to Newton Grove and 93 miles to Interstate 40's end at Wilmington. Photo taken 05/30/07. Exit 81 partitions into separate ramps to Interstate 40. Interstate 40 opened to traffic between Interstate 95 and U.S. 70 at Garner in 1989. Completion of the route southeast from Interstate 95 occurred by June 29, 1990.1 Photo taken 05/30/07. Interstate 95 maintains four lanes through the directional-cloverleaf interchange with Interstate 40 (Exit 81). Photo taken 05/30/07. Glancing at the Interstate 40 eastbound sign bridge for the loop ramp onto Interstate 95 northbound (Exit 328B). Interstate 95 receives the smallest control points south of Bangor, Maine in the form of Dunn, Benson, and Smithfield in North Carolina. Photo taken 05/30/07. Richmond appears for the first time on this mileage sign south 15 miles south of Smithfield. Photo taken 12/16/07. Traveling northeast toward the community of Four Oaks and Exit 87. What was a split-diamond interchange with Hockaday Road / Main Street and Keen Road was modified into a conventional diamond interchange in 2006. Photo taken 12/16/07. Keen Road cuts a north-south swath from U.S. 301 (Wellons Street) at Four Oaks to North Carolina 96 and U.S. 701. Allendale Road provides access to parallel Main Street west of Exit 87. Photo taken 12/16/07. Interstate 95 north at Keen Road and Four Oaks. High mast lighting and street lights accompany the Exit 87 ramps to Keen Road. Photo taken 12/16/07. The Exit 90 partial-diamond interchange includes a substandard low overpass for U.S. 701 over Interstate 95. An over height detector in place directs restricted vehicles to use the Exit 90 on and off-ramps to avoid collision with the span. This is similar to the configuration at Exit 22. Photos taken 12/16/07. Brewer Road travels alongside Interstate 95 northbound from Exit 87 to junction North Carolina 96. North Carolina 96 becomes the northbound side frontage road through to its merge with U.S. 701 and U.S. 301 north. North Carolina 96 travels ten miles north from Interstate 40 (Exit 334). Photo taken 12/16/07. Vehicles exceeding 14'1" in height are alerted by a set of flashers on this sign to depart Interstate 95 north for Exit 90. Photo taken 12/16/07. U.S. 701 enters the scene along a 15-mile drive north from Newton Grove and Bentonville Civil War Battlefield. The highway travels south to Clinton, Elizabethtown, Whiteville, and Tabor City in North Carolina. Its overall routing takes U.S. 701 172 miles to Georgetown, South Carolina. Photo taken 06/25/05. Northbound at the Exit 90 off-ramp to U.S. 301, U.S. 701 south, and North Carolina 96. U.S. 701's northern terminus occurs on the north side of this interchange where it meets U.S. 301. North Carolina 96 meanwhile joins U.S. 301 north for a six-mile drive into downtown Smithfield. The state highway shares pavement all the way to Selma before turning north to Zebullon. Photo taken 06/01/05. 1.50 miles south of the Exit 93 half-cloverleaf interchange with Brogden Road on Interstate 95 north. Whitley Farm Road and Wal-Pat Drive compose the frontage road system tying into the forthcoming exit. Photo taken 06/01/05. Exit 93 represents the first of two interchanges serving the town of Smithfield. Photo taken 12/16/07. Brogden Road ends a short distance north of Interstate 95 at U.S. 301 & North Carolina 96's split from 3rd Street onto Brightleaf Boulevard. Brogden Road southeast provides a back route to the city of Goldsboro. Photo taken 06/25/05. U.S. 70 Business (Market Street) meets U.S. 301 & North Carolina 96 (Brightleaf Boulevard) in downtown Smithfield 1.2 miles west of the Exit 95 partial-cloverleaf interchange. U.S. 70 Business represents the original U.S. 70 alignment, since bypassed by a freeway near Selma. Photo taken 12/16/07. U.S. 70 Business loops through Smithfield and West Smithfield along Market Street. The business loop merges with U.S. 70 four miles east of Interstate 95, 21 miles west of Goldsboro. Photo taken 12/16/07. Traveling the Exit 95 off-ramp from Mallard Road to U.S. 70 Business. Mallard Road stems south from Exit 95 to Brogden Road while U.S. 70 Business transitions into a rural highway from Smithfield and Interstate 95 eastward. Photo taken 12/16/07. Interstate 95 nears the next two versions of U.S. 70, the mainline and U.S. 70 Bypass. U.S. 70 follows an expressway bypass of Selma and Pine Level to the south. The construction of this version of U.S. 70 never featured an interchange with Interstate 95. Therefore, a second version of U.S. 70 was built to feature an interchange with Interstate 95 at Exit 97. The new alignment shifted the U.S. 70 mainline to directly tie into Interstate 95, leaving the other section as new U.S. 70 Bypass. U.S. 70 mainline travelers merge with U.S. 70 Bypass in either direction leading away from Exit 97. Photo taken 06/25/05. Nearing the U.S. 70 Bypass over crossing on Interstate 95 north; U.S. 70 lies just one third of a mile to the east. U.S. 70 provides a major corridor between Raleigh, Garner, and Clinton with Selma, Goldsboro, Kinston, New Bern, and Morehead City. A fourth version of U.S. 70, U.S. 70 Alternate, ties into Exit 97 from the east to provide access to Pine Level. Only one version of U.S. 70 heads northwest toward nearby Selma otherwise. Photo taken 06/01/05. A five-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange joins Interstate 95 and U.S. 70 at the west end of U.S. 70 Alternate. U.S. 70 merges with U.S. 70 Bypass via partial "Y" interchanges in either direction. Selma lies two miles to the north; Pine Level resides three miles east on U.S. 70 Alternate. Long distance interests to Tryon Palace at New Bern and Cape Lookout National Seashore on the south Outer Banks should use U.S. 70 east. Photo taken 06/01/05. A direct route into Selma is provided by Anderson Street north from the Exit 98 folded-diamond interchange. Anderson Street intersects U.S. 301 & North Carolina 96 (Pollock Street) in downtown, four blocks south of their split at Richardson Street. Photo taken 06/01/05. One quarter mile out from Exit 98 and Anderson Street. Connections with U.S. 301 in town direct motorists to North Carolina 96 and 39 north to Zebulon and Emit respectively. Photo taken 06/01/05. Northbound at the Exit 98 loop ramp to Anderson Street west to Selma. Anderson Street becomes Main Street east of Interstate 95 en route to Pine Level. Interstate 95 sees a rest area just north of this interchange. Photo taken 06/25/05. Nearing the community of Micro and Pittman Road (Exit 101) on Interstate 95 north. Photo taken 06/01/05. Pittman Road intersects Interstate 95 at the Exit 101 diamond interchange near the rural area of Crumplers Crossroads. The local road travels north-south between Lizzie Mill and Davis Homestead Roads. Photo taken 06/25/05. Interstate 95 northbound at the Exit 101 ramp departure to Pittman Road. Pittman Road meets U.S. 301 just north of the CSX Railroad crossing. Two pairs of N.C. State Roads act as frontage roads for Interstate 95 through this vicinity. Photo taken 06/25/05. Next in line for northbound travelers is the Exit 102 diamond interchange at the village of Micro. Meeting the freeway is East Main Street / Micro Road. Photo taken 06/25/05. East Main Street intersects U.S. 301 (Smithfield Street) in the heart of Micro before becoming Micro Road West north into rural areas. South of Exit 102, Micro Road quickly ends at Lowell Mill Road; Lowell Mill Road parallels Interstate 95 to the south through farm fields. Photo taken 06/25/05. Interstate 95 continues a short distance to Exit 105 with Bagley Road. Bagley Road serves the rural communities of Bagley and Lowell Mill. Photo taken 06/25/05. One quarter mile west of the Exit 105 off-ramp to Bagley Road. Bagley Road meets Lowell Mill Road nearby to the east and U.S. 301 and Weaver Road to the west. Photo taken 06/25/05. Northbound at the rural diamond interchange with Bagley Road (Exit 105). Weaver Road continues north from Bagley Road at U.S. 301 to Beulahtown. Photo taken 06/25/05. Situated within the Exit 105 interchange is the one-mile guide sign for Truck Stop Road (Exit 106). Truck Stop Road represents another in a series of local roads that ties into Interstate 95 from U.S. 301. Photo taken 06/25/05. Truck Stop Road joins Interstate 95 with Princeton Kenly Road to the south and J. Howell Road at U.S. 301 to the north, both local roads that serve the rural areas outside of Kenly. Photo taken 06/25/05. Exit 106 departs Interstate 95 northbound for Truck Stop Road. Princeton Kenly Road ventures east from Truck Stop Road to Alford Avenue in Kenly. Photo taken 06/25/05. U.S. 301 crosses paths with Interstate 95 again at the Exit 107 partial-cloverleaf interchange at west Kenly. U.S. 301 follows Church Street through downtown, intersecting North Carolina 222 (2nd Street) in the process. North Carolina 222 travels through rural areas between North Carolina 231 near Emit and U.S. 117 near Fremont. Photo taken 06/25/05. U.S. 301 continues east from Kenly seven miles to Lucama and 12 miles to Wilson along a four-lane highway. The federal highway breaks away from the immediate vicinity of Interstate 95 from Kenly north to Roanoke Rapids. Historically, U.S. 301 between Exit 107 and North Carolina 4 north of Rocky Mount represents a decommisioned routing of Business Loop Interstate 95. Photo taken 06/25/05. Drivers bound for U.S. 301 north to Kenly and Lucama depart Interstate 95 northbound at Exit 107. Interests to Wilson may use either U.S. 301 north or the U.S. 264 freeway east from Interstate 95 north at Exit 119. Use Exit 107 for Kenly's Southern National Speedway and the Tobacco Farm Life Museum. Photo taken 06/25/05. Page Updated March 11, 2009.