North Carolina Highway 127 (NC 127) 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 serves similar to a farm-to-market highway, connecting rural

Catawba Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas *Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family *Catawban languages Botany * Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other ...

and

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

counties to

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...

Route description

NC 127 is a rural two-lane highway, except in Hickory. It begins at an intersection with

NC 10 NC may refer to: People * Naga Chaitanya, an Indian Telugu film actor; sometimes nicknamed by the initials of his first and middle name, NC * Nathan Connolly, lead guitarist for Snow Patrol *Nostalgia Critic, the alter ego of Internet comedian Do ...

in the unincorporated Catawba County community of

Propst Crossroads Propst may refer to: *Propst (title), German ecclesiastical title *Propst Airport, private airport in Linn County, Oregon, USA People *Clyde Propst (died 1959), American college football coach *Jake Propst (1895–1967), American baseball player * ...

and travels north over Jacobs Fork into the

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 ...

(CDP) of Mountain View. In Mountain View, NC 127 has an interchange with

US 321 U.S. Route 321 (US 321) is a spur of U.S. Route 21. It runs for from Hardeeville, South Carolina to Lenoir City, Tennessee; with both serving as southern termini. It reaches its northernmost point at Elizabethton, Tennessee. Because o ...

which provides access to

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

. Following this interchange, the highway enters the town of

Brookford, North Carolina Brookford is a town in Catawba County, North Carolina, Catawba County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 442 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hickory, North Carolina, Hickory–Lenoir, North Carolina, Lenoir–Morganton ...

and is named Brookford Boulevard. Upon entering Hickory, NC 127 passes over I-40 and

US 70 U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern, Southern and Southwestern United States. ...

/ US 321 Business without interchanges. As NC 127 winds into Hickory as a four-lane undivided road, it remains unnamed until it reaches its intersection with 1st Avenue NE where it becomes known as 2nd Street NE. Heading north through Hickory, NC 127 passes near the Frye Regional Medical Center,

Lenoir–Rhyne University Lenoir–Rhyne University is a private Lutheran university in Hickory, North Carolina. Founded in 1891, the university is affiliated with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Academics The university i ...

, and Hickory High School. The highway is four lanes with a

center turn lane A reversible lane (British English: tidal flow) is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours, by having overhead traffic lights and li ...

throughout the northern sections of Hickory. The highway shrinks to two-lanes wide before crossing the

Catawba River The Catawba River originates in Western North Carolina and flows into South Carolina, where it later becomes known as the Wateree River. The river is approximately 220 miles (350 km) long. It rises in the Appalachian Mountains and drains into ...

into Alexander County and the CDP of

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

. After passing through Bethlehem, the road becomes more winding as it heads into hillier terrain. NC 127 ends at an unsignalized intersection with

US 64 U.S. Route 64 (US 64) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles (3,743 km) from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 1 ...

NC 90 North Carolina Highway 90 (NC 90) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is one of the few highways in the state with an unpaved portion. Route description The western terminus is in Edgemont (in Caldwell County) at ...

in the community of Ellendale.

History

Established as a renumbering of NC 96 in 1940; the overall routing has not changed, but has changed roads through

several times.

Junction list

References

{{reflist 127 Transportation in Catawba County, North Carolina Transportation in Alexander County, North Carolina