U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a 791.71 mi (1,274.13 km)-long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Carolina to NY 17 in Corning, New York. It is one of the original United States Highways from 1926.
Route Description[]
South Carolina[]
Starting at ALT US 17 in Walterboro US 15 goes east. It runs parallel to I-95 and across I-26. Then it turns north and crosses I-95. Just before the town of Santee US 15 converges with US 301. In Santee the two highways merge with I-95 at exit 98 and all three cross Lake Marion. At exit 102, US 15/301 split off from I-95 and go into the town of Summerton. US 15 then separates from US 301 and heads mainly north to city of Sumter. From there it continues north, crosses I-20, goes through the cities of Bishopville and Hartsville to the town of Society Hill. It is here that US 401 joins US 15 and both go to the North Carolina border.
North Carolina[]
US 15-401 continues to Laurinburg, at which US 401 splits off and US 15 runs concurrent with US 501. US 1 briefly merges with US 15-501 through Aberdeen and Sanford. The route continues north of Sanford with NC 87 towards Pittsboro. Past Pittsboro, US 15-501 goes toward Chapel Hill and skirts around the southeastern edge of the city and then across I-40 to Durham. (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 on Franklin Street, Chapel Hill's main street.[2]) Here US 15-501 splits into Business and Bypass routes. Before US 15 Business and Bypass highways rejoin on the other side of Durham, I-85 merges into US 15 Business. 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 of Creedmoor. It then crosses back over I-85, goes through the city of Oxford, on through Bullock, and then to the N.C.-Virginia state line.
Virginia[]
Virginia's section of US 15 starts in Mecklenburg County. Not far from the state line, it crosses a narrow finger of the John H. Kerr Reservoir. The highway goes through the town of Clarksville and merges very briefly with US 58/VA 49 and then crosses over the main body of Lake Kerr. US 15 continues a little ways and merges with US 360. The two highways go on to the town of Keysville. After Keysville, US 15 branches off and goes to the town of Farmville. After a brief merge with US 460, US 15 goes through the towns of Dillwyn, New Canton (on the James River), Fork Union, and Palmyra before crossing I-64 at Zion Crossroads. After passing the interstate, US 15 goes through the towns of Gordonsville (with a quick merge with US 33) and Orange, and then on to Culpeper. After Culpeper US 15 runs concurrent with US 29. In Warrenton they briefly merge with US 17. South of Gainesville US 15 breaks off and crosses I-66. From there it goes on to Leesburg and then to the state line.
Maryland[]
US 15 starts in Maryland at Point of Rocks, crossing the Potomac River and then merges into US 340 just south of Frederick. In Frederick, US 40 merges with US 15 for a very short distance. From there US 15 goes through Thurmont and on to the Maryland/Pennsylvania border.
Pennsylvania[]
For the section about the route in northern Pennsylvania and New York, see below.
US 15 enters Pennsylvania south of Gettysburg. Business Route 15 (Emmitsburg Road) goes through Gettysburg, while US 15 bypasses the borough; the bypass continues to York Springs. US 15 passes through Dillsburg before becoming a freeway near Grantham and the Messiah College campus.
US 15 continues as a freeway until it intersects U.S. Route 11 and Pennsylvania Route 581 in Camp Hill. US 15 runs concurrent with US 11, passing Harrisburg on the west shore of the Susquehanna River. The concurrency ends at Shamokin Dam, where US 11 splits and follows the North Branch Susquehanna River, and US 15 follows the West Branch Susquehanna River north towards Williamsport where it passes through Lewisburg and the campus of Bucknell University (which is partially bisected by the highway). In the future, US 15 and US 11 will diverge in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, from which US 15 will proceed north on a road yet to be built, and connect back to its current alignment near Winfield, PA. 11 will be joined to a business loop of 15 instead of the main route.
Future Interstate 99[]
The segment from Williamsport, Pennsylvania to the northern terminus at I-86 and NY 17 in Painted Post, New York has been completely upgraded to Interstate standards in preparation for the eventual transition to designation as I-99, as has the US 15/I-86 interchange. The 12.59-mile (20.26 km) segment of US 15 in New York runs parallel to the Tioga River from the state line to its current northern terminus at I-86 and NY 17 exit 44 at the junction of the Tioga and Cohocton rivers in Painted Post, west of downtown Corning. The entire length of US 15 in New York is signed concurrently with I-99.
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| Primary routes • Auxiliary routes • Divided routes • Special routes • Intrastate routes • Former routes • Intrastate • Hypothetical (Auxiliary • Special) |
| Major U.S Routes are written in bold. Former U.S. Routes that are no longer part of the system are written in italic. |
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