US 401 was established in 1957 as a renumbering of
US 15A, from
Sumter to
Raleigh, and
NC 59, from Raleigh to
Norlina; it is the third and current route to bear the name. In 1967, northbound US 401 was rerouted along South Street west onto McDowell Street, formally using Lenoir Street, in Raleigh. That same year, US 401 was rerouted onto a bypass route northwest of downtown
Fayetteville, replacing part of
NC 59; its old alignment became
US 401 Business. In 1971,
US 52/US 401 was placed on a new bypass northwest of
Darlington; its old alignment became
US 52 Business. In 1984, US 401 was rerouted along the eastern half of the Raleigh Beltline (Tom Bradshaw Freeway and Cliff Benson Beltline); its former alignment through downtown Raleigh was downgraded to secondary roads. In 1991, US 401 was rerouted back through downtown Raleigh after
I-440 was established along the entire Raleigh Beltline. In 2001, US 401 was extended north, in concurrency with
US 1, to its current northern terminus to
I-85, north of Norlina. On July 16, 2015, US 401 was placed onto new four-lane
superstreet alignment bypassing east of
Rolesville; its former alignment through downtown Rolesville became
US 401 Business. The first US 401 existed between 1926 and 1931, solely in
Virginia, it was replaced by
US 52. The second US 401 existed between 1932 and 1934, in
North Carolina and
South Carolina, it was replaced by
US 15 and
US 15A. ==Junction list==