| History: |
US 264 hasn't changed much since its introduction in the early '30s, when it replaced much of original NC 91. The first significant change came in 1975, when 264 was moved onto a freeway alignment east of Zebulon. The old alignment was renamed US 264A east of NC 39, but was downgraded to a secondary road between 39 and NC 97.
The only other change came in 1995, when 264 was extended west along US 64 to end at the Beltline. Prior to this point, 264 had ended at the current 64/264 split in Zebulon. |
| Comments: |
Even though 264 doesn't do much on its own in Wake County, it serves to connect the county with Wilson and Greenville, two of the more important cities in eastern North Carolina. This is the reason that 264 was extended west to the Beltline; folks driving from, say, Raleigh to Greenville can simply follow 264 rather than having to change route numbers after 20 miles.
For a time in the late '90s and early 2000s, 264 was multiplexed with US 64 at both ends, in Raleigh and Nags Head. In 2002 the highway was truncated at its eastern end, so the overlap in Wake County became the only one.
|
