Traversing the state for 77.2 miles (124.2 km), it is mostly a two-lane rural road, which is likely to only have local traffic along it due to nearby Interstate 95.

In Wake County, US 401 is center-stage again as a major north–south corridor, connecting bedroom communities to downtown Raleigh.

Once it leaves the county, it reverts to a rural road connecting the small cities of Louisburg and Warrenton.

[3] 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.

The purpose of the study is to identify deficiencies in the existing corridor and develop alternatives for accommodating future growth in traffic volumes (i.e. widen to multi-lanes).