U.S. Route 19E (US 19E) is a divided highway of US 19 in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. The U.S. Highway, which is complemented by US 19W to the west, travels from US 19 and US 19W at Cane River, North Carolina, north to US 11E, US 19, and US 19W in Bluff City, Tennessee. US 19E connects Asheville, North Carolina, and Bristol, Tennessee, with Burnsville, Spruce Pine, and Elk Park in North Carolina and Roan Mountain and Elizabethton in Tennessee. US 19E also has an unsigned concurrency with Tennessee State Route 37 (SR 37) for its entire course in Tennessee. Route description US 19E begins at its split with US 19 and US 19W at Cane River. US 19 heads west and then south toward Interstate 26 (I-26) and Asheville. The transition from US 19 to US 19E is a seamless transition that treats US 19W as a side route. US 19E heads east towards the towns of Burnsville and Spruce Pine. The highway is an easy drive, as it nears Spruce Pine, it expands to a four-lane that then bypasses the mountain city. US 19E reverts to two-lane once out of city limits, briefly widening to four-lane again after entering Avery county. Once reaching the community of Ingalls, the highway becomes curvy as it follows along the banks of the North Toe River. Most travelers will take turn onto NC 194 (or Mullen Hill Road, a shortcut bypassing Ingalls) as an alternate route towards Elk Park. Passing through several small communities, it eventually reaches the town of Elk Park, where it then proceeds into Tennessee. US 19E travels a total of from Cane River to the Tennessee state line. From the North Carolina state line, US 19E lazily curves down to Roan Mountain, from which SR 143 heads south toward Roan Mountain State Park and the actual Roan Mountain at the Tennessee-North Carolina border. Near Hampton, US 19E widens to an expressway and begins to run concurrently with US 321. At Elizabethton, US 321 splits west toward Johnson City. At Bluff City, US 19E and US 19W merge back into US 19, heading north to Bristol. History Established in 1927, US 19 traversed from the Georgia state line (at Bellview) to the Tennessee state line (at Elk Park), roughly similar to the route seen today. In 1930, US 19 was truncated at Cane River, where