Early in the morning -- about 6:20 a.m. -- it's hard to get photos that aren't affected by motion blur. I had to cull a bunch of the ones I took, but I have duplicates taken from previous trips to the area. I kept a few, though, such as this one showing the signage at the ramp from south US 23 at Norton to Alt. US 58 east. This interchange could really benefit from better signage; perhaps overhead guide signage. A control city of Abingdon or Bristol wouldn't hurt, either, along with "To US 19" and "To I-81" signage.
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It's blurry, but this is the first mileage sign on Alt. 58 after leaving Norton heading east.
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VA 63 at St. Paul.
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Advance signage for the intersection of VA 270 in St. Paul.
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This used to be a US 270 error sign before it was replaced.
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Increasing daylight resulted in a decrease in the motion blur on this mileage sign.
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Oops -- when it's not even 7 a.m. yet and youre in shadows, and driving 55 mph, blur is unavoidable.
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I finally remembered that I could program my camera to a blur-proof shutter speed, resulting in dark but clear photos.
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Alt. US 58 joins US 19 for the ride to Abingdon.
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Most of the signs in the Abingdon area have been replaced, including this one that used to be an older type. There are still a few around the US 11-US 19 intersection, however.
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This set of signs used to be cutouts up until a few years ago.
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Ditto for this set.
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And ditto for these. Even though VA 75 goes straight through this intersection, left turns are now prohibited. The old signage with cutouts had VA 75 going in both directions.
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Oops. That should be a US 58 sign instead of a VA 75 sign.
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The "JCT" sign above the I-81 sign has been replaced but the other signage here has been around for awhile.
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State name I-81 sign. This intersection marks the end of Alt. 58.
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Small numbers on this US 58 sign.
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Old-style US shields and small numbers on this exit sign.
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Both directions of US 11 are part of "The Crooked Road."
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Split of US 11 and US 58. The two routes used to run concurrently from here south to Bristol, but US 58 is routed on I-81 now.
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Truck warning for US 58. And with good reason, too; US 58 is very crooked in the Mt. Rogers area from Damascus to Mouth of Wilson.
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Destinations at VA 91 and US 58 in Damascus.
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Heading south on VA 91 away from US 58 and toward the Tennessee line. Mountain City's in Tennessee; Boone is in North Carolina.
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The first TN 91 sign.
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TN 418 signage in downtown Mountain City.
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TN 91 turns and TN 418 continues straight.
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These signs, from the perspective of northbound TN 91, are mounted right to the brick wall.
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Approaching US 421 on TN 418.
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Tennessee's arrow marker with directions indicated; very handy, I like this arrangement.
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Over on the other side of the four-lane, there's another sign with Trade as the destination, signed on a brown background.
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Destinations for the split of TN 67 from US 421 near the NC state line.
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TN 67 leaves US 421. The two routes have an unsigned duplex.
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Typo!!!! "Vilas," which is where US 421 and US 321 intersect, only has one "l."
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Entering North Carolina on US 421.
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The speed limit sign indicates that 55 is a statewide standard.
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Mileage to Boone and Wilkesboro.
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Destinations at the intersection of US 421 and US 321 just a few miles inside North Carolina.
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US 321 joins US 421. In this area of North Carolina, the square US shield signs are still very commonly used (which, to me, is a good thing; I dislike the wide US shields used by many states -- including most places in North Carolina -- for three-digit US routes).
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Truck warning for south NC 194.
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Intersection of NC 194 and US 321-421.
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Wrong-way triplex of US 321 and US 421 south, and NC 194 north. This road runs basically east-west at this point.
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Advance signage for the truck bypass of Boone.
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Here you can see the wide shields in the foreground and the square ones in the background.
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Destinations for where the truck route joins NC 105. NC 105 is also the truck route for US 221 around Grandfather Mountain.
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NC 105 approaches US 221 and US 321.
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More wrong-way goodness, although the photo has some blur to it.
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END!!!! of NC 105 and also the end of the US 421 truck bypass.
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Destinations where US 221 splits from US 421 east of Boone.
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This is descending from the Blue Ridge Parkway on US 421 heading toward Wilkesboro.
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Very old overhead signage.
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This portion of US 421 is named for "BP," the longtime NASCAR driver and announcer who died last year.
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The first of two truck escape ramps on southbound 421.
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Trucks have a speed limit of 30 on this mountain crossing.
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The second of two truck ramps.
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US 421 is also marked as an alternate for oversized US 321 traffic.
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Approaching NC 16 in the Wilkesboro area.
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These next several signs are found along US 421 southbound between Wilkesboro and Winston-Salem.
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Ronda is the hometown of Junior Johnson, NASCAR legend driver and owner.
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The covered sign is for an I-77 detour.
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