North Carolina Highway 27 (NC 27) 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 ...
. The route traverses through southern and central North Carolina, about of it as a concurrency with
NC 24.
Route description
![Silo-27527](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Silo-27527.jpg)
NC 27 begins in
Cleveland County
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
near the unincorporated community of
Toluca
Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...
at a T-intersection with
NC 10. From there it runs southeast to the city of
Lincolnton. In Lincolnton, it serves as Main Street, and runs past the
Lincoln County courthouse. From Lincolnton, it runs southeast again to
Stanley
Stanley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film and television
* ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film
* ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy
* ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short
* ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
where it follows Main Street. It enters
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 ...
along Mount Holly Road, and follows several major thoroughfares through Charlotte, including Freedom Drive, Morehead Street, and Independence Boulevard.
On the east side of Charlotte, it begins its long concurrency with NC 24, approximately 1/2 of its total length. The two highways leave the city along Albemarle Road and remain joined until the unincorporated community of
Johnsonville. Along this segment, they pass through the cities of
Midland,
Locust
Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstanc ...
,
Albemarle,
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 ...
,
Biscoe, and
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
. They share further concurrencies with
NC 109,
NC 22, and
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 ...
.
From the split with NC 24, the road runs northeast to
Lillington Lillington may refer to:
Places England
* Lillington, Dorset, a hamlet in Dorset
* Lillington, Warwickshire, a suburb of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
* Lillington Gardens, a housing estate in Pimlico, London
Elsewhere
* Lillington, North Carolina ...
where it follows Main Street, and leaves town as a concurrency with
US 421. It passes
Campbell University
Campbell University is a private Baptist university in Buies Creek, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). Southern Baptist ConventionColleges and Universities sbc.net ...
in
Buies Creek
Buies Creek is a long 3rd order tributary to the Cape Fear River in Harnett County, North Carolina, United States.
Course
Buies Creek rises about 1.5 miles southeast of Angier and then flows south to join the Cape Fear River about 1 mile south ...
before entering
Johnston County and ending in
Benson Benson may refer to:
Animals
*Benson (fish), largest common carp caught in Britain
Places Geography
Canada
*Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35, Saskatchewan; rural municipality
*Benson, Saskatchewan; hamlet
United Kingdom
* Benson, Oxfordshire ...
just short of
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 ...
.
NC 50 continues east of NC 27's terminus at
US 301.
History
NC 27 is one of North Carolina's original state highways. Its original routing connected Charlotte to Lincolnton. It used several streets through Charlotte, but followed roughly the same route. The road was extended several times:
*1923: east to Albemarle
*1928: west to Toluca (current terminus)
*1934: east to Carthage (using the concurrency with NC 24)
*1948-50: east to Cameron
*1958: east to Benson (current terminus)
NC 27 has had a tumultuous history through Charlotte. It has always served as a major east–west route through the city, but it has been rerouted numerous times on different city streets as traffic patterns changed. All of the following roads have carried NC 27 at one time or another:
*Rozelles Ferry Rd. (1923–1936)
*Mount Holly Road (1923–present)
*Trade St.(1923-?)
*Hawthorne Lane(1924–1936)
*Central Ave.(1924–1955)
*Albemarle Rd.(1924–present)
*Mint St.(1936–1946)
*Morehead St. (1936–present)
*Thrift Rd.(1936–1946)
*McDowell St. (1946–1955)
*Independence Blvd. (1955–present)
*Freedom Dr. (1958–Present)
Major intersections
Special routes
Lincolnton truck route
North Carolina Highway 27 Truck (NC 27 Truck) is a route that takes truck traffic south around downtown Lincolnton, via West Highway 150 and
NC 150. Signage along the route only appears at key intersections.
Thrift–Charlotte alternate route
North Carolina Highway 27A (NC 27A) was established as a renumbering of
NC 271. Starting at the former community of Thrift (located in present-day Paw Creek neighborhood), it went south from Mount Holly Road, entering Charlotte along Tuckaseegee/Thrift Roads. It then overlapped with
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 ...
/
US 74/
NC 20 on Morehead Street and US 74 on McDowell Street, before reconnecting with mainline NC 27 at 7th Street. In 1936, NC 27A was replaced by mainline NC 27.
Pee Dee–Wadeville alternate route
North Carolina Highway 27A (NC 27A) was established when mainline NC 27 was rerouted on a more direct route between
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
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 ...
, in
Montgomery County. NC 27A follows
NC 73 east, through Pee Dee, then continues straight along Pee Dee Road, connecting with
NC 109, in
Wadeville. Going back north, it reconnected with NC 27 west from Troy. In 1967, NC 27A was decommissioned, with Pee Dee Road only section to drop to a secondary road. From Lake Tillery to Wadeville, NC 27A formed the southern edge of the
.
See also
*
North Carolina Bicycle Route 5
The following is a List of bicycle routes in North Carolina. These routes are designated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Division.
State U.S. Bicycle Route 1
The North Carolina po ...
- concurrent with NC 27 near Buies Creek
*
North Carolina Bicycle Route 6
The following is a List of bicycle routes in North Carolina. These routes are designated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Division.
State U.S. Bicycle Route 1
The North Carolina po ...
- concurrent with NC 27 from Lincolnton to NC 73
References
External links
*{{commons category-inline
NCRoads.com: N.C. 27
027
Transportation in Charlotte, North Carolina
Transportation in Cleveland County, North Carolina
Transportation in Lincoln County, North Carolina
Transportation in Gaston County, North Carolina
Transportation in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Transportation in Cabarrus County, North Carolina
Transportation in Stanly County, North Carolina
Transportation in Montgomery County, North Carolina
Transportation in Moore County, North Carolina
Transportation in Harnett County, North Carolina
Transportation in Johnston County, North Carolina