U.S. Route 311
U.S. Route 311 is a United States Numbered Highway that runs for from Winston-Salem, North Carolina to Danville, Virginia. It connects the cities of Winston-Salem, Madison, and Eden. The route runs northeast from Winston-Salem to Danville. By the numbering convention, it is an auxiliary route of US 11, however except for a brief period shortly after the route was established, it has not connected to its parent route.
US 311 begins in Winston-Salem, at US 52/NC 8 in the downtown area and proceeds northeast of the city. Starting in the vicinity of Madison, US 311 follows a number of different North Carolina state highways in short succession along with another major US Highway, US 220 before crossing the Virginia line. In Virginia, the route terminates shortly after crossing the border at the interchange with US 58 in Danville.
In May 2018, North Carolina applied for, and received, permission from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials to remove US 311 from the southernmost of the route, being mostly redundant to Interstate 74, bringing it to its current routing from Winston-Salem to Danville. However, some US 311 signage remains on its former southernmost segment near Randleman.
Route description
US 311 begins at exit 110B from the US 52/NC 8 freeway in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and leads into the downtown area. It follows North Martin Luther King Jr Drive for a short time before continuing northeast along New Walkertown Road. It travels northeast and intersects NC 66 at the edge of Walkertown, which motorists can use to connect to nearby shopping centers situated along US 158. Shortly after, US 311 then turns to follow Harley Drive and turns again to follow Main Street through town. North of Walkertown, the road takes the local name of Walnut Cove Road. At the southern edge of the town of Walnut Cove, NC 65 joins for a short concurrency. At the northern boundary of Walnut Cove, NC 89 has its terminus at US 311, and the highway turns northeast. NC 775 terminates at US 311 near Pine Hall and entering the town of Madison, US 311 takes an easterly route as Academy Street, meeting up with NC 704 along the way. East of Madison, it leaves NC 704 and joins with the Future I-73/US 220 by-pass, both routes traveling due north in a short concurrency to Mayodan. In Mayodan, US 311 then leaves the US 220 freeway, and proceeds easterly again, along NC 135 towards Eden. Three other NC highways join with US 311 in Eden in short succession: NC 770, NC 87 and NC 14, then the four joined routes cross the Dan River along Van Buren Street in Eden. NC 14/NC 87 continues north on Van Buren, while US 311 exits Van Buren Street on a grade-separated interchange onto Meadow Road near the Eden Mall, heading northeast into a rural area before crossing into Virginia.After the passing through the small communities of Berry Hill and Buford, it meets its northern terminus at an interchange with US 58 in Danville.
The J.J. Webster Highway is the official North Carolina name of US 311/NC 135 from Mayodan to Eden.
History
Established as an original U.S. Highway in 1927, it originally traversed from West End, through Asheboro, High Point, Winston-Salem, Madison, and Stoneville, before entering Virginia and continuing to Roanoke, where it reached its parent route, US 11. The alignment followed part of what was NC 70 and all of NC 77, both of which were decommissioned in 1934.In 1933, US 311 was extended south through Pinehurst, Aberdeen, and Laurinburg, to Rowland, overlapping NC 241. A year later, US 220 was established and replaced US 311 south of Asheboro and north of Madison, severing the connection with its parent route. Sections further south were replaced by NC 2 and US 501. Later in 1966, US 311 was truncated in Randleman; by 1973, US 311 southern terminus was moved to US 220 Bypass, in Randleman.
By 1952, US 311 was rerouted west of downtown Winston-Salem, following Waughtown Road, Stadium Drive, Claremont Avenue and 7th Street, to New Walkertown Road. In the mid-1980s, US 311 was moved onto new freeway through southeast Forsyth County. Part of the freeway shortly became a stretch of I-40, eventually running concurrently with the Interstate. In 1996, the route through Winston-Salem changed again, this time also going north along US 52/NC 8 to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive then east onto New Walkertown Road.
In 1997, the first section of the East Belt was opened in High Point, rerouting US 311 onto the new freeway to Eastchester Drive then back into downtown High Point with concurrency with NC 68. The old alignment along North Main Street became US 311 Business. On November 20, 2004, the second section of the "East Belt" was opened, rerouting US 311 to I-85 Bus./US 29/US 70. On November 22, 2010, the third and final section of the East Belt was completed, linking I-85; Also I-74 was established as a concurrency of US 311 from Cedar Square Road to North Main Street.
In September 2003, US 311 was extended north from Madison to NC 14/NC 87/NC 770 in Eden, via US 220 and NC 135. The extension was finally signed in August 2011. The route was approved by American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in November 2012, after an initial request by officials in Eden, to be extended to US 58 in Virginia; which in January 2013, the North Carolina Department of Transportation signed off on extending the route and replacing parts of NC 700 and NC 770. US 311 was signed in the field in Virginia, from Danville south to the state line in September 2013.
Since 2003, a project called the US 311 Connector has been planned by NCDOT and the city of Winston-Salem. Estimated at $23.5 million, the, four-lane, partial controlled-access highway would connect between I-40 and I-40 Business , linking US 311 with US 158 ; it also included a landscaped medium with walking/bicycle trails parallel to it. By 2016, the project has ceased appearing in the State Transportation Improvement Program, though still part of the Winston-Salem 2035 Transportation Plan.
In May 2018, AASHTO approved a request by NCDOT to eliminate between Randleman and Winston-Salem, moving the southern terminus from I-73/US 220 in Randleman to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Winston-Salem, as all but of this section is freeway which already has other primary designations; those non-redundant sections would be reassigned secondary North Carolina routes. In January 2019, NCDOT officially eliminated the section. Despite this, signage for US 311 from along I-74 southeast of High Point to its former southern terminus at I-73/US 220 in Randleman remains as of June 2023.
In November 2024, US 311 was relocated onto the newly constructed Harville–Saunders Parkway, moving its northern terminus to an interchange with US 58 and the western terminus of State Route 1260 in Danville. The former route following Berry Hill Road north of Harville-Saunders Parkway to US 311's previous northern terminus at U.S. Route 58 Business and SR 872 was redesignated as U.S. Route 311 Alternate. Although US 311 Alt. was designated as an alternate route, it does not reconnect to US 311 near Danville; instead its northern end is at US 58 Bus.