North Carolina Highway 11 (NC 11) is a primary

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Traveling in a north–south alignment through Eastern North Carolina, it connects the towns and cities of

Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...

, Kenansville, Kinston, Greenville and

Murfreesboro Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

Route description

NC 11 begins at US 74/ US 76 in the unincorporated community of Freeman. It travels north to NC 87 at Sandyfield before exiting Columbus County. Soon entering Bladen County, it crosses the Cape Fear River, then travels nearly to Long View, where it joins with NC 53 before crossing the Black River and into

Pender County Pender County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,203. Its county seat is Burgaw. Pender County is part of the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The county ...

. Traveling in a northeasterly direction, NC 11/NC 53 turns east at Atkinson; at Wards Corner it changes its

concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

from NC 53, which continues to

Burgaw Burgaw is a town in, and the county seat of, Pender County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,872 at the 2010 census. Burgaw is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The town most likely derives its nam ...

, to US 421 towards

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

. After over , NC 11 splits from US 421 and continues northeast through Penderlea and Willard, where it then joins US 117 near exit 390 off Interstate 40 (I-40). Traveling northeast, it crosses over Rock Fish Creek into

Duplin County Duplin County ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

...

. NC 11 splits towards the Tin City area of

, while US 117 continues towards the downtown area. Northeast of Wallace, NC 11 connects with I-40 (exit 385) and continues through Murphey, Greenevers and Register before reaching the

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 ...

/ NC 903 Kenansville Bypass (which can be used as a bypass for through traffic along NC 11). Continuing through Kenansville, it joins briefly with NC 50; north of town, it joins with NC 903 and continues northeast to Kornegay, where it switches concurrency with NC 111 for before continuing east into

Lenoir County Lenoir County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,122. Its county seat is Kinston, located on the Neuse River, across which the county has its territory. Lenoir County comprises the K ...

. At Pink Hill, NC 11 continues northeasterly and widens to a four-lane divided highway as it travels through Deep Run and Albrittons and Jacksons Crossroads, where it is joined by NC 55. At an area known as Skinner's By-Pass, NC 11/NC 55 enter Kinston's city limits and connects with US 70/ US 258. Crossing east over the Neuse River and into downtown Kinston, NC 11/NC 55 connect with US 70 Bus./ US 258 Bus. along Queen Street. At a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

, NC 11/NC 55 returns to a northeasterly direction and through the Harverytown area of Kinston. Upon leaving Kinston's city limits, NC 55 splits and continues towards New Bern. Parallel to the

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

rail line, since Graingers, NC 11 connects with NC 118, which connects to nearby Grifton, before crossing the Contentnea Creek and into

Pitt County Pitt County is a county located in the inner banks (northeastern part) of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 170,243, making it the fourteenth-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is ...

. In Pitt County, NC 11 is directed onto both its newer bypass route which is a rural controlled access highway bypassing most of Greenville, and its suburbs Ayden, Winterville, and other small communities. It also gives drivers on NC 11 access to

I-587 Interstate 587 (I-587) can refer to two separate highways: * Interstate 587 (New York) * Interstate 587 (North Carolina) Interstate 587 (I-587) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of North Carolina. The western terminus o ...

and

US 264 U.S. Route 264 (US 264) is an east–west United States Highway located completely within the U.S. state of North Carolina, running for . Its western terminus is located at Interstate 87 (I-87), I-440, and US 64 in Raleigh. US&nbs ...

. And its mainline route, which on the other hand, is a rural partial controlled access highway bypassing the same surrounding towns, but it instead also serves as an

arterial thoroughfare An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector ro ...

going through central Greenville. With the exception of a stretch between Kinston and Greenville, most of NC 11 is largely a disused rural route. All other major sections are cosigned with more major U.S. Highways, including a stretch of US 421 near the southern terminus and US 13 north of Greenville. As a through route, US 258 or US 13 travel along the same general directions, but appear to be better maintained and closer to major population centers. The central segment is mostly four lanes and divided, although not controlled access.

History

NC 11 was established in 1921 as an original state highway, traveling northeasterly from NC 40, in Kenansville, to NC 10, in Kinston; then continuing north, through Greenville, to NC 90, in Bethel. Around 1930, NC 11 was extended north on new primary routing to NC 125, in Oak City, via Hassell. In 1940, NC 11 was extended south from Kenansville to Tin City, replacing part of US 117; then with a short concurrency with US 117, it travels to the North Carolina Coastal Experimental Station (agriculture testing facility), replacing NC 401. In 1942, NC 11 was rerouted to a more direct route between Bethel and Oak City; its old alignment through Hassell was downgraded to secondary roads (today NC 42 and Hassell Road). By 1942, the first rerouting of NC 11 through Kinston took place; the original alignment was crossing over the Neuse River via Caswell Street, north on Queen Street, east on Vernon Avenue and northeast on Minerva Street. The realignment begins in Jacksons Store with concurrency with NC 55 going east along Tyree Road to US 258, from there continuing north into Kinston along Queen Street; the old alignment along Caswell Street is downgraded to secondary road. By 1948, NC 11/NC 55 was rerouted east onto King Street, north on East Street, east on Washington Avenue and then northeast on Minerva Street; the old alignment through central Kinston became NC 11A. In 1952, NC 11/NC 55 was rerouted onto its current routing from Jacksons Store north into Kinston, crossing the Neuse River on King Street; Tyree Road (SR 1341) was downgraded to secondary road while US 258 remained. By 1958, NC 11 was rerouted to its current alignment in Greenville along Memorial Drive; its old alignment along Dickinson Avenue to Greene Street was downgraded to secondary roads. By 1963, the spur to the North Carolina Coastal Experimental Station was downgraded to secondary road and NC 11 was truncated at US 117 near Wallace. In 1966, NC 11 was extended north on new primary routing, across the Roanoke River, to NC 308, in Lewiston. In 1967, its northern terminus was extended again to NC 305, in Connaritsa. In 1969, NC 11/NC 55 was rerouted to its current alignment along Tiffany Street (today Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard), with its old alignment along East Street and Washington Avenue downgraded to secondary roads. Near Grifton, NC 11 was placed on new western bypass, leaving behind Highland Boulevard/Avenue.

North Carolina Highway 401

North Carolina Highway 401 (NC 401) was established as a new primary spur of NC 40 to the North Carolina Coastal Plains Experiment Station (agriculture testing facility), south of Wallace. In 1940, NC 401 was replaced by an extension of NC 11, which was eventually downgraded to secondary road by 1963 (today Jonestown Road).

Major intersections

Special routes

Kenansville alternate spur

North Carolina Highway 11 Alternate (NC 11A) was a renumbering of part of US 117. It existed as a cutoff between NC 11 and

. It was decommissioned by 1960, downgraded to Tyndall Street (SR 1383).

Kinston alternate route

North Carolina Highway 11 Alternate (NC 11A) was a renumbering of NC 11 through downtown Kinston, via Queen Street and Vernon Avenue. In 1960, it was renumbered to NC 11 Business.

Kinston business loop

North Carolina Highway 11 Business (NC 11 Bus) was a renumbering of NC 11A through downtown Kinston, via Queen Street and Vernon Avenue. In 1969, the route was downgraded to secondary roads.

Greenville bypass

North Carolina Highway 11 Bypass (NC 11 Byp.), was established in 2019 as a bypass route of NC 11. The bypass is a , four-lane freeway. Unlike the previous bypass projects where NC 11 would be rerouted onto a newly constructed bypass with the section going through the towns being designated as a

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...

, NC 11 actually bypasses Ayden and Winterville, but goes through Greenville. While the bypass route also bypasses Greenville. The bypass connects its parent route south of Ayden to the routes US 264, US 13, U.S. 264 Alt, and

Interstate 587 Interstate 587 (I-587) can refer to two separate highways: * Interstate 587 (New York) * Interstate 587 (North Carolina) Interstate 587 (I-587) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of North Carolina. The western terminus ...

in Greenville. The northern 5.3 section of the bypass overlaps with US 264 and was originally constructed for said route to also bypass Greenville. The southern section of the route is known as the Greenville Southwest Bypass which was completed the same year the route was established.

Bethel business loop

North Carolina Highway 11 Business (NC 11 Bus) was established in 2003 as a renumbering of mainline NC 11 through downtown Bethel, via Main Street. It shares a complete concurrency with US 13 Bus.

Aulander business loop

North Carolina Highway 11 Business (NC 11 Bus) was established in 1978 as a renumbering of mainline NC 11 through downtown Aulander, via Main Street.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline
NCRoads.com: N.C. 11

011 The following is a list of different international call prefixes that need to be dialled when placing an international telephone call from different countries. Countries by international prefix Countries using optional carrier selection cod ...