Delivering and hauling in Rocky Mount, NC: routes, rail terminal and rules

The short version

Rocky Mount sits on I-95 in Nash and Edgecombe counties, where US 64 crosses it. US 64 is Exit 138, and the US 264 link toward Wilson and Greenville is Exit 119. [8][3]

The biggest freight draw for dray drivers is CSX's Carolina Connector intermodal terminal in Battleboro, just north of town. NC Ports runs a daily rail service between it and the Port of Wilmington. [4][17]

Expect overnight lane closures on I-95 between Sunset Avenue and Red Oak Battleboro Road. NCDOT's repair contract there runs until August 2028. [1][20]

Inside the city, trucks with three or more axles must follow signed truck routes. Long or tall vehicles can't park more than two hours on a street within 300 feet of a home. [6]

Everything here is as of October 2026. Roadwork, terminal hours and city rules change, so call ahead and check the current code before you plan a run. [1][4][6]

Getting in: the main roads

I-95 runs through Nash County at Rocky Mount. NCDOT's corridor page lists the Gold Rock interchange at NC 4 and Halifax Road and the NC 33 interchange as finished Nash County work. [3]

US 64 is the east-west freeway through Rocky Mount, running west toward Raleigh and east toward Williamston. Congress named it a future interstate corridor in 2015, and the number I-87 was approved in 2016. [8]

Signed I-87 still ends in Wake County at Rolesville Road. From Wendell to Williamston, US 64 carries a Future I-87 label because it doesn't yet meet interstate standards, according to Wikipedia's summary. [8]

US 264 runs from I-95 near Wilson toward Greenville and is the future I-587. The Rocky Mount Telegram reported in April 2026 that NCDOT is widening its shoulders to interstate width to earn that number. [7]

Our tip: if you are heading to Greenville or the coast from Rocky Mount, compare US 64 and US 264 against the work zones below before you pick one. [1][7]

Work zones as of October 2026

NCDOT awarded a $7.5 million contract on Aug. 4, 2026 to repair about 5.5 miles of I-95 in Nash County between Sunset Avenue and Red Oak Battleboro Road. It is a repair job, not a widening. [1]

The crew will replace about 16 broken concrete slabs, repave the outside shoulders in asphalt, and repair joints on six bridges. NCDOT says to expect some overnight lane closures during the two-year job. [1]

The Board of Transportation's letting list shows the job as project I-5934, open to start Aug. 31, 2026, with final completion set for Aug. 1, 2028. That list gives the length as 5.75 miles. [20]

On US 264, a $5.8 million job covers about 4.5 miles from I-95 west of Wilson to the Nash-Wilson line. The Telegram reported one lane closed around the clock for about two months in each direction during shoulder work, with a summer 2027 deadline. [7]

Some work is done. NCDOT says three widening projects on Eastern Avenue, North Old Carriage Road and Sunset Avenue between Nashville and Rocky Mount are complete, and the Sunset Avenue bridge over I-95 is now a full interchange. [2][3]

NCDOT's I-95 page lists no widening project for the Nash or Edgecombe stretch. The widening work it lists is in counties to the south. [3]

City truck routes and street rules

Rocky Mount's code defines a truck as any vehicle longer than 21 feet. The truck route section uses a different test: three or more axles. Pickups, cars and school or charter buses are not trucks for that section. [6]

A through truck, one just passing through without picking up or dropping off, must stay on streets signed as numbered state or federal routes until it leaves the city. [6]

A local truck, one picking up or delivering in the city, may use any street in the downtown area bounded by Grace Street, Grand Avenue, Atlantic Avenue and Raleigh Road, plus other streets signed as local truck routes. [6]

Outside that area, a local truck takes the shortest way to the nearest truck route, stays on truck routes until it is closest to the stop, then takes the shortest way in. The code allows a direct trip when that is shorter. [6]

Loading zones work from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and are only for loading or unloading merchandise right then. A vehicle over 25 feet long or 10 feet high can't park more than two hours on a street within 300 feet of a home. [6]

Trucks delivering to or picking up from homes are exempt from that two-hour limit. Tankers and other hazmat loads can't be parked or left alone on a street or within 500 feet of homes, schools or hospitals, except while loading. [6]

The code sets parking fines in a separate city policy, which we couldn't find. It does say an unpaid ticket adds $5 every 10 days, then $5 a month, up to $50 total. The online code was last updated in 2024. [6]

Hauling to the CSX Carolina Connector

The Carolina Connector, or CCX, is at 5770 Old Battleboro Road in Battleboro, ZIP 27809. NC Ports lists its phone as (252) 316-3090. [4]

CSX celebrated the terminal's opening in November 2021. FreightWaves reported 330 acres, three electric cranes and room for 110,000 lifts a year at the start. [17]

NC Ports' Wilmington-Rocky Mount Express runs daily trips by rail between the Port of Wilmington and the CCX. NC Ports says CSX operates it. [4]

Hours differ by source. NC Ports lists Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CSX's terminal table, last read in September, showed the gate open 24 hours on its automated X-Gate, with lifts 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. [4][5]

Our read: one may be office hours and the other gate hours. Call the terminal before you dispatch an after-hours pickup, and set up X-Gate access with the trucking company first. [4][5]

Port customer service is (800) 334-0682 for questions about a box moving on the Wilmington train. [4]

Who ships here

Cummins runs the Rocky Mount Engine Plant in Whitakers. In January 2024 it announced a $580 million upgrade with 80 jobs, adding a line for gasoline and propane engines, expected to finish by 2027. [10]

Pfizer's Rocky Mount plant makes sterile injectable drugs. An EF-3 tornado on July 19, 2023 mostly destroyed its warehouse. WITN reported the plant had 3,200 workers and makes about 8 percent of the injectable anesthetics US hospitals use. [16]

Pfizer reopened the site on Aug. 7, 2023 and set up a temporary warehouse. We could not read anything newer from Pfizer, so check with the shipper about current dock and warehouse setup. [15]

The Kingsboro megasite in Edgecombe County, off US 64 between Rocky Mount and Tarboro, has no plant yet. A planned $1.4 billion battery plant fell through in 2025 when Natron Energy shut down, after Triangle Tyre had also pulled out. [11][12]

The state is still investing in the site. EDPNC granted Edgecombe County about $2.6 million in April 2026 for water upgrades serving Kingsboro. No tenant had been announced as of October 9, 2026. [13]

Parking, rest areas and scales

The Nash County rest areas sit at I-95 mile marker 142, about three miles north of Dortches. Each side has 17 truck spaces. As of Oct. 9, 2026, DriveNC listed the southbound side open and the northbound side closed since Aug. 7. [18]

We found no reason or reopening date for the northbound closure. NCDOT's 2023 truck parking plan cited a survey showing the Nash rest areas over capacity in summer and December. [18][23]

The nearest permanent weigh station is at Halifax on I-95, about 18 miles south of Roanoke Rapids, with four fixed scales. The Highway Patrol lists its number as 252-445-2122. [19]

Don't plan to stage on a city street near homes. The two-hour limit above applies to any vehicle over 25 feet long or 10 feet tall, and hazmat loads face stricter limits. [6]

Seasonal freight and a call-ahead checklist

Fall adds farm freight. The NC Sweetpotato Commission says Sampson, Johnston, Wilson and Nash counties grow about half of the state's sweet potatoes. USDA puts the busiest harvest at about Sept. 25 to Nov. 5. [21][22]

Before a Rocky Mount run, check DriveNC for I-95 and US 264 closures, especially overnight. Our tip: map the receiver from a signed truck route before you leave. [1][7][6][18]

For a CCX pickup, call (252) 316-3090 to confirm hours and have your X-Gate setup and container number ready. For the Wilmington train, ask NC Ports when the box is due. [4][5]

If you have to wait, plan your stop before you arrive. Our tip: with the Nash northbound rest area closed, have a backup for a northbound run. [18]