North Carolina Highway 39 (NC 39) 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 ...
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 north–south, it connects the cities of
Selma
Selma may refer to:
Places
*Selma, Algeria
*Selma, Nova Scotia, Canada
*Selma, Switzerland, village in the Grisons
United States:
*Selma, Alabama, city in Dallas County, best known for the Selma to Montgomery marches
*Selma, Arkansas
*Selma, Cali ...
,
Louisburg and
Henderson Henderson may refer to:
People
*Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname
*Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan
Places Argentina
*Henderson, Buenos Aires
Australia
*Henderson, Western Australia
Canada
*He ...
, in the
Research Triangle
The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to ...
area.
Route description
NC 39 is a predominantly two-lane rural highway that travels from
US 70, in Selma, to the
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
state line, north of
Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
.
NC 39 begins as a concurrency along
US 301/
NC 96, north of US 70. First signs of NC 39 appear alongside US 301/NC 96 through downtown Selma. Within the next , NC 39 splits from both highways as it continues north, through the communities of Hares Crossroads and
Emit, before crossing the
Johnston–
Wake
Wake or The Wake may refer to:
Culture
*Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies
*Wakes week, an English holiday tradition
* Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...
county line.
In Wake County, NC 39 travels through its easterly tip; overlapping briefly with
US 264 Alternate and connecting with mainline
US 264, in
Zebulon
Zebulun (; also ''Zebulon'', ''Zabulon'', or ''Zaboules'') was, according to the Books of Book of Genesis, Genesis and Book of Numbers, Numbers,Genesis 46:14 the last of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's tenth son), and the founder of the ...
. This entire section is mostly forest, crossing
NC 97 halfway through and enters
Franklin County at Bunn Lake. Northeast of Bunn Lake, NC 39 crosses over
US 64. Continuing north, it goes through the communities of
Pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
and
Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location
* S ...
, before reaching
NC 98, in
Bunn. Traveling northwesterly for , it enters Louisburg
city limits
City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...
and soon connects with
US 401/
NC 56 at Bickett Boulevard. Through Louisburg, NC 56/
NC 581 splits at Nash Street towards
Rocky Mount and
NC 561 splits at Justice Street towards
Centerville. North of Louisburg, in the
Ingleside community, US 401 splits towards
Warrenton.
NC 39 enters
Vance County at
Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
. Going northwesterly, through Gillburg, it enters Henderson city limits near the
US 1 interchange. Traveling along Andrews Avenue, it crosses
US 1 Business/
US 158 Business at Garnett Street, in the downtown area. After crossing over
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 158, it leaves Henderson city limits traveling north. At
Harris Crossroads, it meets up with the southwestern edge of
Kerr Lake
Kerr Lake /kɑr/ (officially John H. Kerr Reservoir, also known as Bugg's Island Lake) is a reservoir along the border of the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. It is impounded by the John H. Kerr Dam, constructed between 1947 and 1952 t ...
. Continuing north, to the west of Kerr Lake, it travels through the
Williamsboro and Townsville communities before ending at the Virginia state line. Before 1952, when John H. Kerr Dam was completed, the road in Virginia would have continued towards
Boydton, Virginia
Boydton is a town in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States. The population was 431 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, and it is near Kerr Lake.
Geography
Boydton is located at (36.667997, −78.389001).
...
; however since then, the road makes a turn southwest, at Richardson, Virginia, and re-enters North Carolina as Townsville Road, eventually ending at
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 ...
.
History
NC 39 was established in 1934 as a partial replacement of
NC 23, between Selma and Louisburg, and a complete replacement of NC 501, from Louisburg to the Virginia state line towards Boydton.
In 1941, NC 39 was placed on direct routing between Zebulon and
Pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
, ending a western overlap along US 264 then northeastern overlap along US 64 to Pilot. Between 1947-1949, NC 39/
NC 59 was placed on new bypass east of Louisburg; the old alignment along Main Street was downgraded to secondary road. In 1971, NC 39 was rerouted through downtown Henderson, via Andrews Avenue between Chestnut Street and Witherspoon Avenue; the old alignment, downgraded to secondary roads, was a zig-zag alignment via Cooper Avenue, Chestnut Street, Young Street and Beck Avenue. Around 1992, NC 39 was extended south, along
US 301 and then east along a hidden concurrency with US 70 to its new southern terminus at
US 70A; it was originally to replace what remained of US 70A, which was approved for elimination by
AASHTO, but was scuttled by local opposition.
[
]
North Carolina Highway 501
North Carolina Highway 501 (NC 501) was established in 1929 as primary routing from Henderson to the Virginia Border. Virginia did not have any primary routing that continues into their state from the terminus of NC 501. In 1930 NC 501 was extended further south to Louisburg. In late 1934, NC 501 was renumbered into NC 39, so it would not conflict with US 501.[
]
Major intersections
References
External links
*{{commons category-inline, North Carolina Highway 39
NCRoads.com: N.C. 39
Transportation in Johnston County, North Carolina
Transportation in Wake County, North Carolina
Transportation in Franklin County, North Carolina
Transportation in Vance County, North Carolina
039
39 may refer to:
* 39 (number), the natural number following 38 and preceding 40
* one of the years:
** 39 BC
** AD 39
** 1939
** 2039
* ''39'' (album), a 2000 studio album by Mikuni Shimokawa
* "'39", a 1975 song by Queen
* "Thirty Nine", a song ...