North Carolina Highway 24 (NC 24) is the longest 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 ...

. Traveling east–west between the

Charlotte metropolitan area The Charlotte metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as Metrolina, is a metropolitan area of the U.S. states of North and South Carolina, within and surrounding the city of Charlotte. The metropolitan area also includes the cities of Gastonia, ...

and the

Crystal Coast In North Carolina, the Crystal Coast is an 85-mile stretch of coastline that extends from the Cape Lookout National Seashore, which includes 56 miles of protected beaches, southwestward to the New River. The Crystal Coast is a popular area with ...

, connecting the cities of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, Fayetteville,

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

and

Morehead City Morehead City is a port town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast. His ...

Route description

Prior to the western terminus of NC 24 at

Interstate 485 Interstate 485 (I-485) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway encircling Charlotte, North Carolina. As a complete Ring road, loop, it is primarily signed with "inner" and "outer" designations, though at some major interchanges, supplemental si ...

(I-485), the road begins as an unmarked street named W.T. Harris Boulevard at Mount Holly-Huntersville Road. The road was named for W.T. Harris, better known as one of the founders of

Harris Teeter Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc., also known as Harris Teeter Neighborhood Food & Pharmacy, is an American supermarket chain based in Matthews, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. , the chain operates 261 stores in seven South Atlantic states ...

. Along the way NC 24 provides access to

I-77 Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...

, U.S. Route 21 (US 21), NC 115,

I-85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 65, I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with Interstate 95, I ...

US 29 U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida to the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland in the Southern United States, connecting the Florida Panhandle to the Baltimore-Washington ...

, and NC 49. At NC 27 (Albemarle Road) NC 24 makes a sharp left turn and joins that route in a concurrency, while W.T. Harris Boulevard continues further south unmarked towards US 74. NC 24 is both one of the longest and most concurrent routes in the state. Besides the approximately concurrency with NC 27 between Johnsonville and Charlotte, this route also shares long stretches of pavement with: * US 258 between Richlands and Jacksonville (16.5 miles) * NC 50 between Kenansville and

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

(7.5 miles) * NC 87 between Fayetteville and Spout Springs (18 miles) *Shorter concurrencies with

I-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 ...

, NC 903, US 421, US 701, US 17, NC 210 (twice), NC 22, NC 109, and NC 73. It also runs briefly concurrent with

US 15 U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Car ...

/ US 501 in Carthage. All told, about half of the total length of NC 24 runs concurrent with other routes. As a route, it is designated as a "High Priority Corridor" for North Carolina, and much of it is highly traveled, providing the most direct access between Charlotte, Fayetteville and Jacksonville. It passes near or through three major Military installations (

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

Pope Army Airfield Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective 15 November 2012 ...

, and

Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( Wilmingt ...

), as well as

Morrow Mountain State Park Morrow Mountain State Park is a state park in Stanly County, North Carolina, U.S. Located near Albemarle, the park includes within the Uwharrie Mountains. Geography Morrow Mountain is one of the highest peaks in the Uwharrie Mountains of ce ...

Lake Tillery Lake Tillery is a reservoir between Falls Reservoir and Blewett Falls Lake in the Uwharrie Lakes Region of North Carolina. It is entirely within Stanly County and Montgomery County, NC. The lake was created by impounding the Pee Dee River, which ...

and the

Uwharrie National Forest Uwharrie National Forest ( ) Talk Like A Tarheel
from the North Car ...

. Most of the route east of I-40 is at least four lanes, with sections at or near freeway grade. Along its eastern portions, NC 24 is known as Lejeune Boulevard thru Jacksonville, Freedom Way from the Camp Lejeune Main Gate to Swansboro, Corbett Avenue through Swansboro, Cedar Point Boulevard through Cedar Point, the W. B. McLean Highway through much of central Carteret County from JCT NC 58 to its terminus in Mansfield at US 70.

History

*1922: NC 24 runs from Warsaw to

Laurinburg Laurinburg is a city in and the county seat of Scotland County, North Carolina, United States. Located in southern North Carolina near the South Carolina border, Laurinburg is southwest of Fayetteville and is home to St. Andrews University. ...

, through Fayetteville. Most of this routing west of Fayetteville is now US 401. *1925: NC 24's western terminus is extended to the

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

line and its eastern terminus is extended to Kenansville. *1930: The route is extended east to

Swansboro Swansboro is a town in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States, located along the Atlantic Ocean. In 2010, the population was 2,663. History Swansboro started as a settlement around the plantation of Theophilus Weeks. In 1783, Swansboro was i ...

, using part of US 17. Also, NC 24 is rerouted through Kenansville, Beaulaville, Richlands, and Jacksonville; NC 24 still uses most of this route today. Furthermore, NC 24 is given a more direct route from Laurinburg to

Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the states of Austria, state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Morava (river), Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city ...

. *1930s: NC 24 is rerouted numerous times after the introduction of new

U.S. Highways The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

to North Carolina. *1941: NC 24 west of Fayetteville is truncated; NC 87 and NC 78 take control of the truncated route. *1963: The western terminus of NC 24 is moved and extended to Charlotte; this produced the concurrency with NC 27. *Mid 1960s: NC 24 is routed around

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 ...

and its routing through Fayetteville changed. *Early 1970s: The construction of the Cape Fear River bridge at Fayetteville removed many zigzags of NC 24 in Fayetteville. *1982: NC 24 is routed along a four-lane bypass around

Vander Vander may refer to: Names ''van der'', a variant of ''van'' in Dutch names People * Christian Vander (born 1948), French musician *Musetta Vander (born 1969), South African actress and model *Roberto Vander, Dutch-Mexican actor and singer *Vand ...

to access the newly built

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

. *2000: NC 24 is routed onto

for a segment between exits 364 and 373 and onto NC 11 around Kenansville and Warsaw. The old route was signed as Business NC 24. *2003: NC 24 splits from NC 27 in eastern Charlotte to follow Harris Boulevard to a new western terminus at

. *2006: NC 24 is rerouted onto the Jacksonville Bypass US 17 for . The old route is signed as Business Route 24. *2008: NC 24 western terminus is extended from

to I-485 on December 8, 2008. The extension added to the route. *2015: NC 24 was removed with NC 87 from Bragg Blvd from the city of Spring Lake, south to the

I-295 Interstate 295 is the designation for several Interstate Highways in the United States: *Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania), a bypass of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania *Interstate 295 (Florida), a beltway around central Jacksonville *Interstate 29 ...

, instead it was placed onto I-295 over to NC 210 then follows NC 210 north to Spring Lake. *2017: NC 24 was placed on a bypass of Stedman leaving behind Clinton Rd through town. *2018: NC 24 was placed on bypasses of Autryville and Roseboro, leaving behind NC 24 business routes. *2019: NC 24 was placed on a bypass around

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

, leaving behind NC 24-27 business routes.

Termini

In March 2003, The state DOT rerouted the west end of NC 24 from US 74 to

(Exit 18). This was facilitated by following Harris Boulevard in east Charlotte instead of following NC 27. This added nearly onto the highway's length. On December 8, 2008,

opened in Northwest Mecklenburg County; at that same time NC 24 was extended again by to the new freeway (Exit 21) along West WT Harris Boulevard. Before this rerouting, NC 24 was extraneous west of Johnsonville. It was concurrent with NC 27 over its entire length to its terminus at US 74, at which point NC 27 continued while NC 24 did not. NC 24's eastern terminus is at US 70 in Morehead City. This eastern segment leading to the terminus provides access to communities on the mainland side of the

Bogue Sound Bogue Sound is a lagoon in the state of North Carolina separating the Bogue Banks, a barrier island, from the mainland. The sound is part of North Carolina's "Crystal Coast", a tourism marketing term that is also used interchangeably with the ter ...

North Carolina Highway 243

North Carolina Highway 243 (NC 243) appeared in 1931 as a renumbering of NC 24 from Hubert to Swansboro; which NC 24 went northeast to

Stella Stella or STELLA may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Comedy *Stella (comedy group), a comedy troupe consisting of Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black and David Wain Characters *Stella (given name), including a list of characters with th ...

then east towards Morehead City. In 1934, NC 243 was reverted to NC 24 when the White Oak River bridge was completed in Swansboro.

North Carolina Highway 605

North Carolina Highway 605 (NC 605) was established in 1932 as a new primary route between US 1/

/ NC 50/ NC 75, in Tramway, and US 421/ NC 60, in Jonesboro. In 1936, NC 24 was extended northwest from Fayetteville to Tramway, replacing NC 605.

Major intersections

Special routes

Troy business loop

North Carolina Highway 24 Business (NC 24 Bus) was established in 2019 when mainline NC 24, along with NC 27, was rerouted onto new routing bypassing south of Troy.

Autryville business loop

North Carolina Highway 24 Business (NC 24 Bus) was established in 2018 when mainline NC 24 was rerouted onto new routing bypassing north of Autryville. The business route follows the original alignment of NC 24 along Clinton Road, Williams Street, and Autry Highway.

Warsaw–Kenansville business loop

North Carolina Highway 24 Business (NC 24 Bus) was established in March, 1999 when mainline NC 24 was rerouted overlapping

and NC 903 (Kenansville Bypass); the old alignment through downtown Warsaw and Kenansville was redesignated as a business loop.

Jacksonville business loop

North Carolina Highway 24 Business (NC 24 Bus) was established in January 2008 when mainline NC 24 was placed on new bypass south of Jacksonville. The business loop follows the old alignment through downtown Jacksonville, via Richlands Highway (in concurrency with

US 258 U.S. Route 258 (US 258) is a spur of U.S. Route 58, US 58 in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. The United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway runs from U.S. Route 17 Business (Jacksonville, North Carolina), US 17 Business and N ...

), Marine Boulevard (in concurrency with US 17 Business), Johnson Boulevard and Lejeune Boulevard.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline, North Carolina Highway 24
NCRoads.com: N.C. 24

024 4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky in many East Asian c ...