North Carolina Highway 231 (NC 231) 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 In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. NC 231 travels through

Wake County Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

, Johnston County, and

Nash County Nash County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,970. Its county seat is Nashville. Nash County is now a part of the Rocky Mount, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, instead of the ...

between its southern terminus at US 64 Business in Wendell and its northern terminus at US 64 Alternate/ NC 98 near Spring Hope. Throughout Wake County and Johnston County, NC 231 primarily follows a southeast-northwest alignment. Entering into Nash County, NC 231 turns to follow a northerly alignment until reaching its northern terminus. NC 231 serves the towns of Wendell,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, and Spring Hope. NC 231 was first established in 1926 running between Elizabethtown and Delco in

Southeastern North Carolina Cape Fear is a coastal plain and Tidewater region of North Carolina centered about the city of Wilmington. The region takes its name from the adjacent Cape Fear headland, as does the Cape Fear River which flows through the region and empties ...

. By 1929, NC 21 was extended southwest along the route of NC 231 and the highway was decommissioned. Modern-day NC 231 was established in 1935, between NC 39 in Emit and US 64 west of Spring Hope. In 1948, NC 231 was extended west along its current routing to US 64 in Wendell. With the exception of a minor realignment in 1978, the routing of NC 231 has remained the same since.

Route description

NC 231 is a two-lane rural highway that traverses from Wendell to near Spring Hope; making a "J" shape on a map. The southern terminus of NC 231 is located at an intersection with US 64 Business (Wendell Boulevard), Old Wilson Road, and Selma Road east of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Wendell. From the intersection, NC 231 heads south along Selma Road, crossing over a railroad operated by the

Carolina Coastal Railway Carolina Coastal Railway is a shortline railroad that operates several lines in North Carolina and one line in South Carolina. History CLNA was created in 1989 under the Thoroughbred Shortline Program of Norfolk Southern and was a subsidiary of ...

. NC 231 runs through a residential area of southern Wendell before leaving the town to the southeast. The highway follows Selma Road for until crossing into Johnston County. NC 231 continues for along Selma Road in Johnston County before reaching a

T-intersection A three-way junction (or three-way intersection) is a type of road intersection with three arms. A Y junction (or Y intersection) generally has three arms of equal size coming at an acute or obtuse angle to each other; while a T junction (or T ...

. At the intersection, NC 231 turns east toward Hocutts Crossroads. NC 231 primarily runs through a rural area with sporadic residential neighborhoods, farms, and forested areas. The highway approaches Hocutts Crossroads from the northwest and passes adjacent to Corinth-Holders Elementary School. NC 231 meets NC 96 at an

all-way stop An all-way stop – also known as a four-way stop (or three-way stop etc. as appropriate) – is a traffic management system which requires vehicles on all the approaches to a road intersection to stop at the intersection before proceeding throu ...

in Hocutts Crossroads. Beyond the intersection, NC 231 turns to follow an easterly and later northeasterly direction toward Emit. The highway crosses the

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River *Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Hawk ...

, a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the

Neuse River The Neuse River ( , Tuscarora: Neyuherú·kęʔkì·nęʔ) is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in No ...

between Hocutts Crossroads and Emit. NC 231 enters the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

of Emit from the west, intersecting NC 39 at an all-way stop. NC 231 exits the community to the east but quickly turns to the southeast. The highway intersects the western terminus of NC 222 at a four-way intersection located east of Emit. NC 231 continues east for before entering into

Immediately east of the Nash County line, NC 231 crosses Moccasin Creek which drains into the

Buckhorn Reservoir Buckhorn Reservoir is a reservoir in Wilson County, North Carolina, USA, created by the Buckhorn Dam. The reservoir is the primary water supply for the city of Wilson. The original Buckhorn Dam was built in 1974, upstream from the current dam. Th ...

. NC 231 also makes an immediate turn northward, an orientation it largely maintains for the remainder of the route. Approaching Middlesex from the south, the road name changes to Nash Street. NC 231 runs through a largely residential area of southern

until approaching the central business area of the town. North of the central business district, NC 231 crosses a railroad owned by the Carolina Coastal Railway at an

at-grade crossing An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections a ...

and intersects US 264 Alternate at Finch Avenue. NC 231 continues north until approaching Rockside Road where it makes a turn to the northeast and exits Middlesex. The highway meets US 264 at a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

northeast of Middlesex. Beginning at the interchange, NC 231 makes a slow turn to the north, largely paralleling Turkey Creek, located to the east. NC 231 makes a

reverse curve In civil engineering, a reverse curve (or "S" curve) is a section of the horizontal alignment of a highway or railroad route in which a curve to the left or right is followed immediately by a curve in the opposite direction. On highways in the ...

beginning at Nade Road, giving the highway a brief easterly alignment. Continuing north for , NC 231 enters the unincorporated community of

Samaria Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first- ...

from the south. NC 231 intersects NC 97 in Samaria, before continuing north of the community. North of Samaria, NC 231 crosses Turkey Creek and continues northward. Near Burgess Road, NC 231 makes a turn slightly to the northeast, a direction it follows until reaching US 64. NC 231 meets US 64 at a diamond interchange southwest of Spring Hope. US 64 Alternate begins at the interchange and the two highways run concurrently for to the north. The northern terminus of NC 231 is located at a T-intersection with NC 98 and US 64 Alternate west of Spring Hope. The

North Carolina Department of Transportation The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other modes of transportation, including ferries in the U.S. state of North Carolina. History The North Carolina ...

(NCDOT) measures average daily traffic volumes along many of the roadways it maintains. In 2016, average daily traffic volumes along NC 231 varied from 780 vehicles per day north of the Johnston County-Nash County line to 3,500 vehicles per day east of the Wendell Road intersection in Johnston County. No section of NC 231 is included with the National Highway System, a network of highways in the United States which serve strategic transportation facilities. However, the highway does connect to the National Highway System at US 264 in Middlesex and US 64 near Spring Hope.

History

Previous designation

NC 231 first appeared on North Carolina state transportation maps in 1926, running from NC 21/ NC 23 in Elizabethtown to NC 20 in Delco. NC 231 followed an unimproved road which ran in a southwest-northeast orientation between Elizabethtown and

Acme Acme is Ancient Greek (ακμή; English transliteration: ''akmē'') for "the peak", "zenith" or "prime". It may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Acme'' (album), an album by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion * Acme and Septimius, a fictional ...

. In Acme, the highway turned to the south, crossed a railroad owned by the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

before intersecting NC 20 in Delco. NC 231 paralleled the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...

for nearly its entire routing. By 1929, NC 21 was extended southeast from Elizabethtown to Delco, and NC 231 was decommissioned. Today, much of the highway is a part of NC 87.

Current designation

By 1930, secondary roads were established along much of the future routing of NC 231 between Wendell and NC 90 (modern-day US 64 Alternate) west of Spring Hope. The segments of NC 231 in Wake County and Nash County were

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic matt ...

roads, while the segment in Johnson County was a graded road. NC 231 first appeared on North Carolina state transportation maps in 1935, replacing secondary roads between NC 39 in Emit to US 64, west of Spring Hope. NC 231 remained a gravel or topsoil road until 1948, when the entire route was paved. In 1949, NC 231 was extended to the west from NC 39 in Emit to US 64 in Wendell. Prior to 1978, NC 231 made a northeasterly turn near its northern terminus, meeting US 64 east of its current northern terminus. Following the completion of the US 64 freeway in 1978, NC 231 was shifted west along its current alignment to meet US 64 at an interchange and end at an intersection at NC 98/US 64 Alternate. The former alignment of NC 231 became Jernigan Road and Cox Road.

Junction list

References

External links

* {{commons category-inline, North Carolina Highway 231
NCRoads.com: N.C. 231
Transportation in Wake County, North Carolina Transportation in Johnston County, North Carolina Transportation in Nash County, North Carolina

231 Year 231 ( CCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Claudius and Sallustus (or, less frequently, year 984 '' Ab urbe ...