Flickr 888 Trip - Old NC 75

The photo hosting site Flickr coined Friday, August 8 as another 24 hours of flickr day. And using it as an excuse to take some photos, I headed out after work yesterday to take some pictures. I had a few ideas in mind, but I decided to check out Old NC 75 aka Old Oxford Highway which were predecessors to US 15 in the area.

I'm glad I decided on this trip, and you'll see why soon.

For the entire photo set (71 in total) , head over to flickr.

I picked up the Old Oxford Highway from Business US 501 north of Durham. Old Oxford Highway is well marked, and there's reference to Historic Stagville as well. Once you turn onto Old Oxford Highway just follow it all the way to Oxford, it changes names to Old NC 75 once entering Granville County.

Not long into the journey, I had my first photo opportunity. An old Country Store just outside of the Durham City Limits.

I have a feeling fellow Surewhynoter, C.C. Slater, will enjoy that picture. This was the photo I used for the Flickr 888 Pool. (You were only allowed to enter one photo into the pool.)

Now the big surprised happened a number of miles later, the highway crossed a small creek and I looked to my left to see an old Pony Truss Bridge. The bridge is excellent shape, it's blocked off but easily accessible, and I spent a good 15-20 minutes there taking photos.

Next was a small stop in Stem. It is possible that Old NC 75 diverted briefly into Stem along Tally Ho Road and then Church St.

That folks is Downtown Stem on Tally Ho Road. Old NC 75 is about a 1/4 mile to the left over the railroad tracks.

I've never seen North/South signs for secondary roads and street blades done like this in North Carolina until this trip.

Later in the small community of Providence were a few examples of why I roadgeek and why I like the small backroad trips the most.

You don't find backdrops like those on the Interstate.

Finally, on my way home on US 15 from Oxford to NC 50 in Creedmoor. I grabbed a quick shot of this US 15/Jefferson Davis Highway shield. It appears that the Jefferson Davis Highway signs only appear on US 15 north of its split with US 501 in Durham. Or can they be spotted elsewhere?

Overall this trip took slightly more than two hours for all of 75 miles. However, what I saw and found over the two hours is almost always more than you can find on your run of the mill Interstate during the same time period.

Bleriot Ferry - Alberta

Alberta operates six ferries scattered throughout the province. Roughly twenty to twenty-five kilometers up the Red Deer River from the town of Drumheller is one of the most scenic ferry crossings in all of Wild Rose Country, the Bleriot Ferry. Using the North Dinosaur Trail (Alberta Highway 838, or AB 838), the Bleriot Ferry provides a scenic river cruise of sorts in the Canadian Badlands. The Bleriot Ferry started operating in 1913 as the Munson Ferry when a few bridges crossed the Red Deer River. The ferry was started by Andre Bleriot, the brother of famed early aviator Louis Bleriot, who became famous for being the first person to fly over the English Channel. At the time, the Alberta provincial government commissioned local residents to run the ferries. There were several ferries along the Red Deer River, and not only did they serve as vital transportation links, but they also served as local social hubs, since everyone had to take the ferries to go places. Over time, as the...

The Pollasky Bridge

The Pollasky Bridge near modern day Friant is a ruined highway bridge which was completed during early 1906 as part of the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road. The structure is one of the oldest known arch concrete spans to have been constructed in California. The bridge briefly carried California State Route 41 following the destruction of the Lanes Bridge in 1940. The Pollasky Bridge itself was destroyed by flooding during 1951, but the ruins can still be found on the Madera County side of the San Joaquin River. Pictured as the blog cover is the Pollasky Bridge as it was featured in the 1913 book "The Concrete Bridge." The structure can be seen crossing the San Joaquin River near Friant below on the 1922 United States Geological Survey Map. Part 1; the history of the Pollasky Bridge The Pollasky Bridge site is near modern day Friant of Fresno County. The community of Friant was established as Converse Ferry during 1852 on the San Joaquin Rive...

I-73/I-74 and NC Future Interstates Year in Review 2024

Welcome to another annual review of progress in constructing North Carolina's New and Future Interstate routes. While 2024 was not too exciting, with no new segments of major routes opening, there was 1 new interstate signing, another proposed new interstate route, and the near opening of a new segment for 2 routes. As tradition, I will start off with a review of what happened with I-73 and I-74 and then move on to the major news of the year about the other new and future routes. Work continued on the I-73/I-74 Rockingham Bypass through the year. The last few months have been hoping for news of its opening before 2025, without luck. Signs of its near completion included the placement of new signs, many with interstate shields uncovered, along the Bypass and intersecting roadways. For example, these went up along US 74 East: Overhead signage at Business 74 exit which contains the future ramp to I-73 North/I-74 West. Signage was also updated heading west on US 74 approaching the unop...

Bob Malme said…

There were several 'Jefferson Davis Highway' signs at one time along the 15-501 bypass after the Morreene Road, NC 751 and Cornwallis Road interchanges when I first drove the road in the early 1990s. When new signs were put up along the entire route and exit numbers added in the mid-90's the highway name plates disappeared in favor of the 'To I-40' or 'To I-85' signs. The one remaining sign was northbound following the NC 751 exit where the old 15-501 assembly was not removed. While the assembly is still there, the JDH sign disappeared from underneath it about 1-2 years ago.

5:37 PM

Anonymous said…

They're probably not there anymore, but there were definitely some Jefferson Davis Highway signs on Columbia Street in Chapel Hill (which was US 15/501 Business at the time) when I was in college.

6:33 PM

Gribblenation

Search This Blog