Pharisburg Rd (Chatham County Route 1)

Pharisburg Road, or formally Chatham County Route 1, is a road that begins at an exit to it from Old River Rd, is carried across the Greenville River by the Pharisburg Bridge, and then, after crossing and having an exit at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, descends to ground level and enters Pharisburg.

History
In 1849, after the Towpath Road had been built, travelers found it necessary to cross the river at some point. Ferries were too expensive and not worth it. So, under the commission of Spencer L. Pharis VI, Spencer L. Pharis III's great-grandson, the first Pharisburg Bridge was built. This was a wooden covered bridge and didn't last very long, although since tolls were collected there, the town of Pharisburg could be laid out. This quickly grew into one of the largest towns in Chatham County. But by the end of the 19th century, the town was falling downhill. Most of its former 85,000 residents had left and now lived in Greenville. In 1911, the old Pharisburg Bridge collapsed, killing 12 travelers. To replace this, in 1914, the current bridge, a large steel truss bridge, was constructed. This bridge's collapse put Pharisburg into further decline. The bridge received less and less travelers every year, due to the demise of Pharisburg. In 1926, it was decided that US 80 would be routed onto Pharisburg Road. This was quickly cancelled, and as such, the road became useless due to the bridge built downriver for US 80. But it also gave it a new purpose: A backup or scenic way to go, primarily in case US-80 was backed up. As such, Pharisburg Road was extended back to US-580. In 1936, it was numbered as County Route 1. This gave it even more traffic. But sadly, in 1988, Interstate 16 was completed through the area. The road was truncated from US 580 back to Old River Rd. Also, with the new cars having lower clearance, it became clear that a new exit needed to be built. In 1996, a new exit was built for the Pharisburg Bridge there. When, in 2006, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd was constructed, a new exit was built that can also reach Old Rte 21 due to the original having sharp turns made for old Model Ts. Currently, a project to extend it towards Elizabeth River is underway.