# U.S. Route 19W

U.S. Route 19W (US 19W) traverses approximately 63 miles (101 km) from Cane River, North Carolina, to Bluff City, Tennessee.

## Route description

US 19W begins in North Carolina in western Yancey County in the community of Cane River, at the intersection of US 19/US 19E. Several signs at the beginning of the route strongly recommend truckers against using this route. The road then proceeds north through Pisgah National Forest, connecting the communities of Elk Shoal, Ramseytown, and Sioux, to the Tennessee state line (near Spivey Gap), a 22-mile (35 km) drive of frequent curves and elevation changes.
Once past the state line in Tennessee, the road enters the Cherokee National Forest and is much the same for another 6.3 miles (10.1 km) to State Route 352 (SR 352)/Flag Pond Road. From Flag Pond Road, it is just one mile (1.6 km) to Interstate 26 (I-26), where US 19W merges with the Interstate to Johnson City. US 19W overlaps with I-26/US 23 from exit 43 (Hill Road) to exit 20 (Roan Street). There it leaves I-26 and continues north on the Bristol Highway, overlapped with US 11E, for 9.4 miles (15.1 km), after which it reconnects with US 19E to reform US 19 near Bluff City.

## History

Established in 1930, US 19 was split at Cane River into US 19E and US 19W. US 19E follows the original routing via Spruce Pine and Elizabethton to Bluff City. US 19W was rerouted with US 23 and North Carolina Highway 692 (NC 692) into Tennessee, then through the cities of Erwin and Johnson City, before rejoining US 19E in Bluff City. In late 1934, NC 692 was dropped along the route; then, in 1952, US 23 abandoned US 19W in North Carolina by rerouting west through Faust and Wolf Laurel, meeting back at Ernestville. In 1984, US 19 was realigned on a straighter path in Yancey County; US 19W was thus extended 0.4 miles (0.64 km).
In late September 2024, several large sections of US 19W was washed out by the effects of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. In November, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) stated that it expects to spend $1 billion to rebuild the two-lane highway, which could take six to 10 years. A new, permanent US 19W would be to modern standards, which likely mean wider shoulders and possibly wider travel lanes; concrete walls will also be used instead of earthen embankments in some places. Until then, temporary gravel roads are being used to connect isolated communities.

### North Carolina Highway 692

North Carolina Highway 692 (NC 692) was established in 1923 as new primary routing to Tennessee; NC 692 was the original highway number from Cane River to Spivey Gap. In 1929, NC 692 was truncated at Sioux, replaced by an extension of NC 19 from Bakersville. In 1930, US 19W and US 23 were overlapped on the remaining section of NC 692. In late 1934, NC 692 was decommissioned.

## Junction list

| State | County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| North Carolina | Yancey | Cane River | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 19 south / US 19E north – Asheville, Burnsville | US 19 splits into US 19E and US 19W; southern terminus |
| North Carolina | Yancey | ​ | 15.1 | 24.3 | Huntdale Road – Huntdale | |
| | | | 21.90.0 | 35.20.0 | North Carolina–Tennessee state line | North Carolina–Tennessee state line |
| Tennessee | Unicoi | Ernestville | 6.3 | 10.1 | SR 352 west (Flag Pond Road) – Flag Pond | Eastern terminus of SR 352 |
| Tennessee | Unicoi | Temple Hill | 7.5 | 12.1 | I-26 east / US 23 south – Asheville | East end of I-26 and south end of US 23 overlap |
| See Interstate 26 (exits 43 to 20) |||||||
| Tennessee | Washington | Johnson City | 31.0 | 49.9 | I-26 west / US 23 north / US 11E south (Roan Street / SR 34) – Kingsport | West end of I-26, south end of US 11E/SR 34, north end of US 23 overlap |
| Tennessee | Washington | Johnson City | 31.5 | 50.7 | SR 36 north (North Roan Street) – Boones Creek, Kingsport | North end of SR 36 overlap |
| Tennessee | Washington | Johnson City | 32.0 | 51.5 | SR 381 south (State of Franklin Road) – Kingsport | Northern terminus of SR 381 |
| Tennessee | Sullivan | Bluff City | 41.0 | 66.0 | US 11E north / US 19 north (SR 34) / US 19E south (SR 37) – Bristol, Bluff City, Elizabethton | Northern terminus of US 19E and 19W; 19E and 19W come together to form US 19 |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus |||||||