North Carolina Highway 751 (NC 751) is a north–south state road in

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 ...

that runs from

U.S. Route 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 ...

(US 64) near

Jordan Lake State Recreation Area Jordan Lake State Recreation Area is a North Carolina state park spanning Chatham County, and Wake County North Carolina in the United States. It comprises of woodlands along the shores of Jordan Lake. History The New Hope River Valley, now ...

, to US 70 Business near

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. The road also continues south approximately to US 1 as New Hill-Olive Chapel Road (SR 1141). It runs largely parallel to NC 55, extending farther west towards Hillsborough which can be reached by continuing on US 70.

Route description

NC 751 has its southern terminus in Chatham County, a short distance west of the

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 ...

line, at an 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 ...

, about half way between the town of

Apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe * Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe *Apex, ...

and the unincorporated community of Wilsonville. The route heads north, roughly paralleling the shores of

Jordan Lake B. Everett Jordan Lake is a reservoir in New Hope Valley, west of Cary and south of Durham in Chatham County, North Carolina, in the United States; the northernmost end of the lake extends into southwestern Durham County. Part of the Jordan ...

. The area is fairly rural, as most of the southernmost of the route goes through protected wilderness areas. Entering Durham County in the unincorporated community of Blands, it passes just to the west of the large shopping center called

The Streets at Southpoint The Streets at Southpoint is a shopping mall in Durham, North Carolina. Located near I-40, on Fayetteville Road, the mall was developed by Urban Retail Properties and is currently owned and managed by Brookfield Properties, a subsidiary of Brook ...

, and enters the city of

. After an interchange 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 ...

(exit 274 on I-40), it crosses

NC 54 North Carolina Highway 54 (NC 54) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The highway serves the Research Triangle area, between Burlington and Raleigh, connecting the cities and towns of Chapel Hill, Durham, ...

and turns sharply northeast along Hope Valley Road. The road gradually bends back to the north, traversing a heavily residential area of South Durham. Reaching a small traffic circle at an intersection with University Drive, the route turns west on University Drive briefly, and then north along Academy Road. Next is an interchange with Business US 15-

501 __NOTOC__ Year 501 ( DI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Pompeius (or, less frequently, year 1254 '' Ab u ...

(Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard), turning west onto Cameron Boulevard to pass south of the Duke University campus and north of the Duke Golf Club. Turning to the northwest, the route passes through

Duke Forest Duke Forest is a forest managed by Duke University for research, teaching, and recreation. It is located in the edge of the Piedmont (United States) in Durham County, Orange County, and Alamance County in North Carolina. Four of its six divis ...

, before coming to its northern terminus at Business US 70 (Hillsborough Road).

History

NC 751 is a route formed early during the creation of the North Carolina route system. The original system established primary routes with two digit numbers and spurs with an extra digit at the end. NC 751 then was the first spur off of NC 75 which ran along the basic route of today's

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 ...

and was supplanted by it, and then also by US 501 in the late 1920s. NC 751's first routing took it from NC 75 (Old Chapel Hill Road in Durham) to NC 10, which is now US 70. In the 1950s with US 15-501 put onto a new route to the north, NC 751 was extended along Chapel Hill Street (now University Drive) and south along Hope Valley Road to NC 54. Later it was extended further south to US 64. On May 4, 2023, the North Carolina State Board of Transportation voted to name three miles between Duke University Road and Kerley Road "Coach K Highway" for Duke basketball coach

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five nati ...

Junction list

Special routes

Durham truck route

North Carolina Highway 751 Truck (NC 751 Truck) is a bypass route for truck drivers that are traveling through the city of Durham. It travels along US 15 Bus./ US 501 Bus. (Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard) and US 15/US 501. Signage along the route only appears at key intersections.

References

External links

*
NCRoads.com: N.C. 751
751 Transportation in Durham, North Carolina Transportation in Chatham County, North Carolina Transportation in Durham County, North Carolina Transportation in Orange County, North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-road-stub