N.C. 694
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Photo: NC 694 at its northern terminus from Beaverdam Rd. The Blue Ridge Parkway is in the background. (Adam Prince)
| N.C. 694 6 miles | |||
| The Road: | Begins at US 70-74A Asheville and ends at the Blue Ridge Pakway at Craven Gap, all within Buncombe County. | Towns and Attractions: | Buncombe Co: Asheville, Blue Ridge Pkwy |
History: |
NC 694 was created about 1932 as new primary routing. Initially, it began at US 70-74 Poplar St (now College Ave) and went north on Oak St to Woodfin St, then east to Charlotte St, then north to Edwin Pl, then northwest to Kimberly Ave which it followed north. NC 694 then somehow got to Patton Mtn Rd to go east to Town Mountain Rd. This early routing is not easily discerned and may be off. However, the 1937 Asheville inset confirms out to Kimberly avenue and the main side shows a clear loop as described further -- NC 694 followed Town Mountain Rd until it reached where the Blue Ridge Pkwy now passes by. NC 694 followed the Parkway alignment north to the Elk Mountain Scenic Hwy, which NC 694 then followed west back down the mountain to Beaverdam Rd then ending at US 19-23-25-70/NC 20 (now just US 25) Merrimon Avenue in northern Asheville. Official Maps 1933-39 place the loop at 23 miles long.
The 1941-42 Official shows the loop distance as only 16 miles. I think this is when NC 694 was rerouted on its southern loop to be Town Mtn Road down to Asheville more like it runs today. NC 694's mostly unpaved northern half of the loop may have been decommission between 1959-63, but officials up to the '79-'80 issue imply it might still have been a state highway. In 1960, NC 694 Town Mtn Road was truncated slightly to the new US 70 Expressway that is now part of I-240. In fact there is a picture of an interchange between NC 694 and the freeway on page 66 of the book Paving Tobacco Road by Walter Turner. It appears the interchange was removed when I-240 was built through between 1980-82, returning NC 694's end to College Ave.
The first NC 694 was born in 1922, running from NC 69 (US 19E-NC 194 jct) Cranberry west through Elk Park to the Tennessee Line.
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Comment: |
Leaving Asheville, NC 694 is continually uphill to its end at the Parkway. There is virtually no straight segment to the route, which is narrow, shoulderless, and often has a few wood posts as its "railing." NC 694 reaches an elevation approaching 3600 feet as it ascends Town Mountain. There are very few actual NC 694 signs. It is posted okay at US 70/74A, but there is no advance warning at the Parkway for NC 694. There is a reassurance marker (sans direction) once on NC 694. |
Last Update: 24 November 2007
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