I was pleasantly surprised by the sparse traffic on the upper sections of NC 16. I've driven this road numerous times and always thought it would be a blast to descend. It was! My experience was that traffic did not become an issue until the lower section of the road, particularly around the rest stop.
16 wasn't that bad. There was far more traffic around Holly Springs arriving and departing. Boone, Smithfield and Kinston had far busier roads but around any city it's going to be that way. Wear bright colors, that's the best way to be safe.