Delivering in Burlington, Mebane and Alamance County, NC

The short version

Alamance County sits between Greensboro and Durham. About 171,400 people lived there in 2020. Burlington is the biggest city, with about 57,300. Graham, the county seat, had about 17,200. [10][8][27]

Mebane, at the county's east end, had about 17,800 people. Most of it is in Alamance, and a small part is in Orange County. [9]

I-40 and I-85 share one road across the county. That stretch uses I-85 exit numbers. US 70 runs alongside it, and NC 49, NC 54, NC 62, NC 87 and NC 119 fan out from it. [7][12][13]

NCDOT's truck restriction table lists just two Alamance rows, and neither bans trucks from a main route. No Alamance bridge is on the state's posted primary bridge list. Everything below is as of November 2026. [1][2]

I-40/I-85 exits across Alamance

Coming east from Greensboro, the last Guilford exit is 138, NC 61 to Gibsonville. The Alamance rest area is at mile 139. The first Alamance exit is 140, University Drive, signed for Elon. [7][4]

Burlington has three more. Exit 141 is Huffman Mill Road. Exit 143 is NC 62 to downtown Burlington and Alamance. Exit 145 is NC 49 to downtown Burlington and Liberty. [7]

Graham has exit 147 (NC 87, Graham and Pittsboro) and exit 148 (NC 54, Chapel Hill and Carrboro). Exit 150 is Jimmie Kerr Road at Haw River, signed for Roxboro. [7]

Mebane has exits 152 (Trollingwood Road), 153 (NC 119) and 154 (Mebane-Oaks Road). Past the Orange line come 157 (Buckhorn Road), 160 (Efland) and the I-40/I-85 split at 163. [7]

These numbers come from a public exit list, not an NCDOT page. Our tip: get the exit number from the receiver. Exits 152, 153 and 154 sit within about 2.5 miles of each other. [7]

Heavier trucks with three or more axles must stay out of the two left lanes for the whole county, Guilford line to Orange line. Our left-lane guide covers the rule in full. [1]

US 70, NC 49, NC 54, NC 62 and NC 87

US 70 is the old main road. It parallels I-85 from Greensboro toward Durham and runs as Church Street through west Burlington. NC 49 shares it through Burlington to Haw River. [7][12][13]

NC 49 comes north from Liberty and the town of Alamance, meets I-40/I-85, and runs with US 70 to Haw River. From there it heads north, meets NC 62, and turns east toward Roxboro. [12]

NC 54 starts at US 70 and NC 62 in west Burlington. It follows Chapel Hill Road into downtown Graham, shares streets with NC 49 and NC 87, crosses the interstate at exit 148, then crosses the Haw River toward Chapel Hill. [13]

NC 62 comes from the Alamance Battleground area, crosses the interstate, and zig-zags through downtown Burlington. North of town it heads for Yanceyville. [14]

NC 87 comes up from Pittsboro as a two-lane road. It widens to four lanes in south Graham, drops to two lanes downtown near the courthouse, and is four lanes again through Burlington. Our tip: downtown Graham means tight turns, so ask for the truck entrance. [15]

None of these roads has a row in NCDOT's truck restriction table in Alamance. [1]

Mebane and NC 119

NC 119 runs from NC 54 at Swepsonville north through Mebane to the Virginia line. It meets I-40/I-85 at exit 153, now a diverging diamond, per a public route history. [11]

The long-planned relocation west of downtown Mebane opened on May 27, 2022, by that same account. It is a four- to six-lane divided road, mostly an expressway, from the interstate to Mrs. White Lane. [11]

Our tip: older directions may send you up NC 119 through downtown Mebane. Ask the receiver which route they mean. The newer road skips the downtown center. [11]

Next door, at exit 152, NCDOT is building a second diverging diamond on Trollingwood-Hawfields Road. The new bridge sits east of the old one. The road work below covers it. [19][16]

Truck limits and bridges

Apart from the left-lane rule, Alamance has one row in NCDOT's table. Trucks over 13,000 pounds gross are barred on 0.26 mile of SR 1559 between its two junctions with SR 1557 (Ossipee-Front Street). [1]

That row points to a local ordinance we didn't read. Follow the posted truck route signs there. [1]

NCDOT's November 2026 table of posted primary-route bridges has no Alamance entries. That list covers only primary routes, not every secondary road. [2]

Our tip: on a rural back road, ask the receiver about low or posted bridges before you send a heavy load. Watch for weight signs, since a secondary-road bridge can be posted even when the main routes are clear. [2][3]

Road work as of November 2026

The big job is exit 152. NCDOT calls it the interchange improvement project at Trollingwood-Hawfields Road, near mile marker 152. In May 2025, a lane closure there left three of four lanes open for two weeks. [18]

From March 2 to 6, 2026, crews closed the interstate overnight to set bridge beams. At midnight, all traffic left at exit 152, crossed the road and got back on. All lanes reopened by 6 a.m. [16]

In September 2026, NCDOT closed the westbound ramps at Trollingwood-Hawfields Road for a weekend to lay storm drain pipe. Expect more short closures like these, usually at night. [17]

In June 2026, Spectrum News reported that NCDOT expects this work done by summer 2027. Buc-ee's is building on Trollingwood-Hawfields Road and is paying part of the road cost, ABC11 reported. [19][20]

Down south, contract crews are replacing the NC 87 bridge over Cane Creek near Eli Whitney, between Lewis and Greenhill roads. Traffic uses a temporary detour bridge on site. DriveNC lists the job through November 2028. [3]

Just east, in Orange County, the I-85 South ramp to I-40 East at exit 163 closed on Sept. 14 for I-40 widening. NCDOT set a reopening by late November, with a detour through exit 161. [21]

Early on Nov. 12, the NC 87 bridge job was DriveNC's only Alamance event. It showed nothing on I-40 or I-85 in Alamance, Guilford or Orange. Check again before you roll. [3]

Who ships here

Lotus Bakeries makes Biscoff cookies at its only U.S. plant, in Mebane, which opened in 2019. In 2022 the state announced a 171,000-square-foot expansion with two production lines and warehouse space. [23]

In August 2026, the state approved a grant to renovate an 800,000-square-foot building in Graham for Alamance Foods. It makes whipped cream, freeze pops, flavored drinks and bottled water, and plans 94 jobs and a new product line. [22]

Ahold Delhaize USA, Food Lion's parent, plans a distribution center in the part of Burlington that lies in Guilford County. Construction is set to start in 2026 and operations in 2029. [24]

The Hawfields-area industrial park between Graham and Mebane holds big warehouses too. In 2021, Alamance News listed Walmart and Lidl DCs there, with Amazon and UPS on the way. Our distribution center guide has more. [28]

We found no public dock rules for these sites. Get the gate, dock and appointment details from the broker or shipper. Our tip: food plants often mean reefer loads, so confirm temperature and time. [22][23]

Rest, scales and weather

DriveNC lists the Alamance rest areas on I-85 at mile 139, 3 miles west of Burlington, with 22 truck spaces each way. On Nov. 12 both showed no status. No Orange County rest area is listed. [4]

The Highway Patrol lists no weigh station in Alamance. The Hillsborough station, in Orange County near Efland, sits on I-40/I-85 about 15 miles west of Durham. It has four fixed scales and weigh-in-motion on the ramp and highway. [6]

Our tip: heading east out of Mebane, the Hillsborough scale is the next one you'll meet, in Orange County near Efland. Its listed phone is 919-563-6108. [6][7]

The National Weather Service office in Raleigh covers Alamance as one forecast zone, so a winter warning for the county covers Burlington and Mebane alike. [5][26]

North Carolina law allows tire chains of reasonable size when snow or ice makes them needed for safety. It doesn't require them. [25]

A call-ahead checklist

Check DriveNC for I-40/I-85, NC 87 and NC 119 before you leave. [3]

Our tip: tell the receiver you're in a tractor-trailer. Confirm the exit, the street in and the dock hours. If they're near exit 152, ask about night ramp closures that week. [7][16][17]

Our tip: stay out of the two left lanes across the county. If you're coming from Durham on I-85 South and need I-40 East, check whether the exit 163 ramp has reopened. [1][21]