U.S. Route 17 (US 17) in the U.S. state of North Carolina is a north–south highway that is known as the Coastal Highway in the southeastern half of the state and the Ocean Highway in other areas. The route enters the state from South Carolina near Calabash, and leaves in the vicinity of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. Between the US 64 freeway and the Virginia state line, US 17 is a four-lane divided highway with speed limits varying between and .

Route description

US 17 enters Brunswick County in Carolina Shores amid a variety of golf course communities. Carolina Shores was part of Calabash until 1998. In Wilmington, US 17 (here concurrent with US 76 and US 421) crosses the Cape Fear River between

New Hanover County New Hanover County is one of 100 counties located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 225,702. Though the second-smallest NC county in land area, it is one of the most populous, as its county seat, Wilm ...

and Brunswick County over the

Cape Fear Memorial Bridge The Cape Fear Memorial Bridge is a steel vertical-lift bridge in North Carolina, USA. It carries US 17/ US 76/ US 421 across the Cape Fear River between Brunswick County and New Hanover County. It also carried U.S. Route 74 unti ...

. US 17 then travels east through the city of Wilmington with US 76 on Wooster/Dawson Streets and Oleander Drive, intersecting US 117, NC 132 and US 74. At the end of the US 76 concurrency near

Wrightsville Beach Wrightsville Beach is a town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. Wrightsville Beach is just east of Wilmington and is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,477 at the 2010 census. The town co ...

, US 17 travels north as Military Cutoff Road before meeting up with Market Street and US 17 Business and exiting the city northeast. North of Holly Ridge US 17 begins to move further away from the Atlantic Coast. Then, it bypasses Jacksonville along with

NC 24 North Carolina Highway 24 (NC 24) is the longest primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Traveling east–west between the Charlotte metropolitan area and the Crystal Coast, connecting the cities of Charlotte, Fay ...

. Between New Bern and James City, US 17 (concurrent with US 70 and NC 55) crosses the Trent River by way of the Freedom Memorial Bridge. Farther east, between James City and Bridgeton, US 17, still concurrent with NC 55, crosses the Neuse River over the Neuse River Bridge. Traffic going north on US 17 when using US 70's concurrency can bypass New Bern altogether via NC 43, ironically both the west end of US 17's concurrency on US 70 and NC 43's southern terminus both, respectively have a north and south protrusion of unused highway since full cloverleaf junctions were scrapped in the area. US 17 bypasses Washington, and it crosses the

Pamlico River The Pamlico
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

over the Pamlico-Tar River Bridge shortly before the route intersects with US 264. Farther along in

Bear Grass ''Xerophyllum tenax'' is a North American species of plants in the corn lily family. It is known by several common names, including bear grass, soap grass, quip-quip, and Indian basket grass. Ecology ''Xerophyllum tenax'' has flowers with si ...

, US 17 joins a concurrency with a limited-access portion of US 13/ US 64, although US 64 moves east before US 13/US 17 reaches Williamston, where the limited-access segment ends. US 13/US 17 uses the Roanoke River Bridge to cross the Roanoke River, then before US 13 moves onto the interchange with North King Street it crosses the Cashie River Bridge over the Cashie River at Windsor. At the Bertie County- Chowan County line, US 17 traverses the Chowan River from Edenhouse to

Edenton Edenton is a town in, and the county seat of, Chowan County, North Carolina, United States, on Albemarle Sound. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. In recent years Edenton has b ...

. East of Edenton, US 17 shares a concurrency with NC 37 until they reach

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, ne ...

where it branches off to the northwest onto US 17 Business. US 17 crosses the

Perquimans River The Perquimans River is a coastal waterway in Northeastern North Carolina in the United States. Located entirely within Perquimans County, the river drains directly to the Albemarle Sound between Durant's Neck on the north and Harvey Neck o ...

via the Perquimans River Bridge. Between Perquimans County and

Pasquotank County Pasquotank County
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Little River over the Little River Bridge. A bypass route splits off to the northwest as US 17 (Mainline) continues into Elizabeth City as Hughes Boulevard, picking up concurrency with US 158 until US 158 splits off to the west at Morgan's Corner. US 17 crosses the Pasquotank River between Morgan's Corner in

Pasquotank County Pasquotank County
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Camden County, before entering Virginia adjacent to the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

History

US 17 was established in 1927, traversing from South Carolina, near

Fair Bluff Fair Bluff is a town in Columbus County, North Carolina, United States that was devastated by coastal flooding from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and inundated again by high water by Hurricane Florence in 2018. Before the two events, the popula ...

, to Virginia, near South Mills. Its routing was placed along the following state highways: NC 202, from the South Carolina state line to

Chadbourn Chadbourn is a town in Columbus County, North Carolina, Columbus County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,856 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History A post office called Chadbourn has been in operation since 1882 ...

; NC 20, from Chadbourn to Wilmington; NC 30, from Wilmington to Windsor; NC 342, from Windsor to Elizabeth City; NC 34, from Elizabeth City to Morgans Corner; and NC 341, from Morgans Corner to the Virginia state line. In May 2015, AASHTO approved a request to reroute US 17 back through Wilmington, following US 76 along Oleander Drive and Military Cutoff Road. The justification for the route change was to better serve industry and commerce. In May 2017, US 17 was officially rerouted through Wilmington, ending its northern bypass route.

Interstate proposals

As a major north-south corridor through the coastal area, US 17 has been the target of various Interstate Highway proposals over the years. The earliest known proposal was in 1964, with a proposal supported by then-governor Terry Sanford, was to build a new Interstate from Fayetteville to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, via US 13 and US 17. Designated Interstate 13 (I-13), it received support from various local officials; but was not supported by the North Carolina Highway Commission, which ended discussions. During the mid-1990s through mid-2000s, I-99 was proposed between

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

and Wilmington, Delaware, completely overlapping all of US 17 in North Carolina. In 2006, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) completed a study on the feasibility of the interstate and concluded with the high cost and disinterest of other states, notably South Carolina, that it was not feasible and recommend to not pursue further. In 2012, NCDOT backed and presented a letter to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requesting the establishment of a new high priority corridor between Raleigh and Norfolk, designated I-44 (or I-50, with

I-56 Japanese submarine ''I-56'' may refer to one of the following submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was ...

and I-89 as other possible numbers). This corridor follows US 64 and US 17, north of Williamston. The following year, I-495 was established east of Raleigh and was routed on part of this proposed route. In 2014, various supporters, including

Governor Pat McCrory Patrick Lloyd McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American businessman, politician and radio host who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 53rd Mayor o ...

, Congressman G. K. Butterfield, NCDOT and the Regional Transportation Alliance (RTA), have made cases and written letters to federal officials in support of the new interstate corridor. In 2016, AASHTO approved designation of I-87 along US 17 between Williamston and the Virginia state line.

North Carolina Highway 341

North Carolina Highway 341 (NC 341) was an original state highway that traversed from NC 34, in Morgans Corner, to South Mills. In 1923, it was extended north to the Virginia state line, meeting up with SR 40. In 1927, it was completely overlapped with US 17, which subsequently replaced it outright in 1934.

Future

In Chowan County, the existing freeway section of US 17, which bypasses

, will be fully upgraded to modern interstate standards. At a cost of $13 million, it will mainly focus on widening travel lanes and building shoulders; construction is planned to start in 2025.

Junction list

Special routes

There are numerous existing and former special routes of US 17 within the state of North Carolina.

References

External links