North Carolina Highway 172 (NC 172) 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 North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

; it is entirely in

Onslow County Onslow County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 204,576. Its county seat is Jacksonville. The county was created in 1734 as Onslow Precinct and gained county status in 1739. Ons ...

. It is also unique in that over half of this highway travels through

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States Armed Forces, United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for Amphibious warfare, amphibious assault training, and its ...

on federal grounds.

Route description

The entire routing of NC 172 is in Onslow County split in the middle by Camp Lejeune. The route's southern terminus is at US 17 in the unincorporated community of

Folkstone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

, located between Holly Ridge and Wilmington. The road heads east-northeast through a mix of forest land and small houses towards the community of

Sneads Ferry Sneads Ferry is a census-designated place (CDP) in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second largest municipality in Onslow County, behind Jacksonville and is part of the Jacksonville, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

. About from its terminus, it intersects NC 210. It then starts to bend towards the north forming the border of the Sneads Ferry

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

. The Lakeside Drive/Old Ferry Road intersection is the last intersection that is accessible by the public along the southern segment of NC 172. North of there, the road crosses the New River before reaching the gate to Camp Lejeune. Through Camp Lejeune, the closed road heads east then north through mostly forested lands of the base. The road reopens at its intersection with Bear Creek Road, just north of a gate. On this segment of the road, NC 172 heads north passing forestland on the west side of the road and some houses on the east. The signed highway ends at a signalized intersection with NC 24 in Starling near Hubert.

History

April 2007: Travel through the Camp Lejeune section of the highway is restricted to vehicles with U.S. Department of Defense decals as a security measure.
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Junction list

References

State highways in North Carolina, 172 Transportation in Onslow County, North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-road-stub