U.S. Route 76 in North Carolina
U.S. Highway 76 is a U.S. Highway running from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. In North Carolina the highway runs for in the southeastern region of the state. US 76 enters the state from South Carolina south of Fair Bluff in Columbus County. Travelling in an eastward direction, US 76 meets US 74 in Chadbourn. The two highways run concurrently for between Chadbourn and Wilmington. US 76 runs concurrently with US 17 along much of its Wilmington routing, until once again meeting US 74. US 76 and US 74 run concurrently for until reaching Wrightsville Beach. US 76 reaches its eastern terminus on the south side of Wrightsville Beach, at an intersection with Water Street.
As early as 1916, portions of modern-day US 76, between Wilmington and Whiteville were added to the North Carolina state highway system. By 1924, North Carolina Highway 202 was assigned to the routing between South Carolina and Chadbourn. The routing between Chadbourn and Wrightsville Beach became part of NC 20, which continued west to Asheville. While US 76 was an original U.S. highway, it initially ran between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Florence, South Carolina. The remainder of the route between Florence and Wilmington was signed as part of US 17. In 1935, US 17 was rerouted similar to its current routing, and US 76 was extended to Wrightsville Beach over the former routing of US 17. While the majority of the routing has remained roughly the same, much of the highway between Chadbourn and Wilmington has been placed on new freeways. The section of US 76 between Chadbourn and Bolton is considered to be a future section of Interstate 74.
Route description
US 76 runs for across Columbus, Brunswick, and New Hanover Counties. The majority of US 76 in North Carolina is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways in the United States which serve strategic transportation facilities. There are two exceptions, one along Oleander Drive and Military Cutoff Road between US 421 and US 74 in Wilmington, and another from the C. Heide Trask Bridge in Wrightsville Beach to the eastern terminus of US 76.Columbus County
US 76 crosses the North Carolina–South Carolina state line between Horry County, South Carolina and Columbus County, North Carolina near Fair Bluff. US 76 continues north for approximately before entering into Fair Bluff. Upon reaching the town limits, the highway is named as Main Street. As US 76 approaches the Lumber River, it begins a gradual turn to the northeast which is completed before reaching NC 904. US 76 and NC 904 share a concurrency through downtown Fair Bluff. At Conway Road, NC 904 turns to the southeast and runs toward Tabor City. Exiting Fair Bluff to the east, US 76 runs parallel to a former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, currently operated by the R.J. Corman Railroad Group. The highway forms the northern limit of the town of Cerro Gordo, providing access to several businesses located off the highway. US 76 intersects the southern terminus of NC 242 at an intersection with Powell Street and the Haynes Gordon Highway. The highway exits the town to the east, crossing over a creek named Cerro Gordo.US 76 continues east through a rural area of Columbus County toward Chadbourn. The highway briefly enters the town limits but is routed to the north of the central business area of Chadbourn. US 76 intersects US 74 Business, US 76 Business, NC 130, and NC 410 at the Joe Brown Highway. US 76 continues east for approximately before merging onto the US 74 freeway toward Wilmington. The US 74 and US 76 interchange near Chadbourn is incomplete, as there is only westbound access to US 76 and an eastbound entrance to US 74 and US 76. US 74 and US 76 begins a concurrency for.
US 74 and US 76 approaches Whiteville from the west and bypasses the city to the north. A partial cloverleaf interchange with US 701 is located north of downtown Whiteville. East of Whiteville, the highway crosses the White Marsh which drains to the Waccamaw River. US 76 meets the eastern termini of US 74 Business and US 76 Business at an interchange between Whiteville and Hallsboro. The exit also provides access to the western terminus of NC 214 which begins to parallels the highway until Bolton. The highway meets Hallsboro Road at a diamond interchange north of Hallsboro. Continuing east, US 76 passes north of Lake Waccamaw. The freeway ends at an at-grade intersection with Chaunceytown Road, northwest of the town of Lake Waccamaw. US 74 and US 76 continue east as a four-lane divided highway, bypassing Bolton to the north. The highway meets NC 211 at an interchange northwest of the downtown area of Bolton. Making a gradual turn to the southeast, the highway meets the eastern terminus of NC 214 at an at-grade intersection. US 74 and US 76 continues east along a rather straight alignment before meeting the southern terminus of NC 11 at an at-grade intersection. After crossing Livingston Creek, US 74 and US 76 enter the community of Delco from the east, running through the central business area. In the southeastern side of Delco, the highway meets NC 87, which runs concurrently with US 74 and US 76 to the east.
Brunswick County
US 76 enters Brunswick County east of Delco along with US 74 and NC 87. The highway runs slightly to the southeast, passing through the northern area of Sandy Creek. At the community of Maco, US 74 and US 76 intersects NC 87 and Northwest Road at an at-grade intersection which marks the eastern end of the NC 87 concurrency. US 74 and US 76 continue to the east and near Malmo, the highway begins to parallel a railroad owned and operated by CSX Transportation. East of Malmo, US 74 and US 76 meets I-140 at a partial cloverleaf interchange.US 74 and US 76 have several at-grade intersections east of I-140, providing access to several businesses located alongside the highway. After Mercantile Drive, US 74 and US 76 become a freeway again. A diamond interchange is located to the east, providing access to Lanvale Road and Mount Misery Road. The freeway makes a turn to the southeast, crossing over Village Road and the railroad operated by CSX Transportation. Entering into Leland, the highway runs through a residential area, crossing over Sturgeon Creek and under Old Fayetteville Road. As the freeway approaches US 17, it begins a gradual turn to the northeast. US 74 and US 76 reaches a modified trumpet interchange with US 17 within the gradual curve. US 17 begins to run concurrently with US 74 and US 76 to the east toward Wilmington. The highway then meets NC 133 roughly to the east at a diverging diamond interchange, providing access to the central business area of Leland and Belville. Here, NC 133 begins to run concurrently with US 17, US 74, and US 76 to the east. East of the exit, the freeway widens from four to six lanes, with three lanes in each direction. The freeway crosses the Brunswick River and Alligator Creek before meeting US 421 at a trumpet interchange. US 74 and NC 133 exit the freeway and run concurrently with US 421 to the north while US 421 merges onto the freeway and crosses the Cape Fear River along the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.
New Hanover County
After crossing the Cape Fear River, US 17, US 76, and US 421 enters into New Hanover County. An exit for Front Street and US 421 Truck is located on the bridge's eastern approach. Immediately following the exit, the highway median widens to match with Wooster Street and Dawson Street in downtown Wilmington. The freeway ends at an at-grade intersection with Third Street where the US 421 concurrency ends and US 17 and US 76 are split onto Dawson Street and Wooster Street. The dual streets serve a mixture of residential and commercial businesses that are located off the highway. The two streets join back together east of 16th Street and form Oleander Drive. Turning to the southeast, Oleander Drive crosses another railroad owned and operated by CSX Transportation at an at-grade crossing. US 17 and US 76 enters a residential area located between Mimosa Place and Independence Boulevard, and passes north of the Cape Fear Country Club. East of Independence Boulevard, US 76 provides access to multiple commercial businesses including Independence Mall. The road makes a slight curve between 41st Street and 42nd Street, giving US 76 a slightly more eastern orientation.US 17 and US 76 meets US 117 and NC 132 at South College Road. The intersection is considered to be one of the busiest in Wilmington with an average of 70,500 cars crossing daily in 2019. US 17 and US 76 continue east along Oleander Drive, paralleling Wrightsville Avenue to the south. At Greenville Loop Road, the highway turns to the north and crosses the sound on the Trooper Clarence L. Swartz Bridge. At an intersection with Wrightsville Avenue and Airlie Road, the road name changes from Oleander Drive to Military Cuttoff Road. The highway continues north for until reaching US 74 at Eastwood Road. US 76 turns east to follow US 74, while US 17 continues north along Military Cutoff Road. US 74 and US 76 run concurrently for toward Wrightsville Beach. The road name switches from Eastwood Road to Wrightsville Avenue at an intersection with Wrightsville Avenue. US 74 and US 76 cross the Intracoastal Waterway on the C. Heide Trask Memorial Bridge, crossing into Wrightsville Beach. The two highways briefly run concurrently along Causeway Drive, before splitting at Salisbury Street. US 76 bears to the right to continue on Causeway Drive, running through a residential area of Wrightsville Beach. The highway crosses over Banks Channel before meeting Waynick Boulevard. US 76 turns south to follow Waynick Boulevard, paralleling Banks Channel on its eastern shore. Waynick Boulevard makes a sharp turn to the east and becomes Sunset Avenue, before ending at Lumina Avenue. US 76 turns to the south to follow Lumina Avenue toward the southern side of Wrightsville Beach. At the end of Lumina Avenue, the highway makes a sharp right turn and briefly heads west along Jack Parker Boulevard. The eastern terminus of US 76 coincides with the end of Jack Parker Boulevard, located at an intersection with Water Street.