North Carolina Highway 211 (NC 211) 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 ...

. It traverses mostly through the Sandhills and

Coastal Plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Coa ...

regions of the state; connecting the cities of

Candor Candor or candour may refer to: * Candor or parrhesia, the quality of speaking candidly in rhetoric * ''Candour'' (magazine), a British far-right magazine * "Candour", a song by Neck Deep from their 2014 album ''Wishful Thinking'' * Duty of cand ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Raeford Raeford is a city in Hoke County, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 4,611 at the 2010 census, and in 2018, the estimated population was 4,962. It is the county seat of Hoke County. History John McRae and A.A. Williford operated ...

, Lumberton, Bladenboro, and

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

Route description

NC 211 is predominantly a two-lane rural highway that traverses for in a diagonal northwesterly route. Its southern terminus is at US 421, via the Fort Fisher Ferry Terminal, in

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear River' ...

. Crossing 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 ...

on the Fisher-Southport Ferry, travelers enter the town of

; where the highway first goes through the downtown area before begins its northwesterly direction to

Supply Supply may refer to: *The amount of a resource that is available **Supply (economics), the amount of a product which is available to customers **Materiel, the goods and equipment for a military unit to fulfill its mission *Supply, as in confidenc ...

, where it connects with US 17. Now going on an almost due north direction, it passes through the Green Swamp Preserve, reaching the town of

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

, where it connects with US 74 and US 76. This section of highway may one day be paralleled by a future segment of

I-74 } Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange ...

. Returning to a north-westerly direction, it goes through Clarkton (connecting with US 701) and makes a bypass north of Bladenboro before reaching the biggest city along its route, Lumberton. In Lumberton, it follows Roberts Avenue, as it bypasses the downtown area; at the north-end of Lumberton, it connects with

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 ...

/ US 301. North of Red Springs, the highway designations change from north–south to east–west direction; though it continues to go on an almost northerly route through

(connecting with US 401), passing along the western edge of

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 ...

, and

(connecting with US 1/

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), until it reaches the Pinehurst traffic circle in Pinehurst. After the traffic circle, NC 211 goes on a more westerly direction, it traverses through West End and Eagle Springs, before ending at its western terminus in

(connecting with

I-73 Interstate 73 (I-73) is a north–south Interstate Highway, located within the US state of North Carolina. Currently, there is one continuous section of I-73, totaling , first traversing the U.S. Route 220 (US 220) freeway from ...

/ US 220).

History

Established in 1921 as an original state highway, traversing from NC 23 (today US 701 Bus), in Clarkton, to NC 20 (today NC 72), in Lumberton. In 1930, it was extended south as a new primary routing to US 17/ NC 20 (today NC 214), in

. In 1932, it extended north as a new primary routing to NC 70 (today NC 72), in Red Springs. By 1935, its northern terminus was extended again to

, replacing NC 70. In 1940, its third northern extension was made, overlapping with

/ US 501 through Aberdeen, then replacing NC 2 to its current terminus in

. In the late 1940s, NC 211's route was realigned from Main Street to South Street, in Aberdeen; some of the former routing became part of NC 5. During the early 1950s, NC 211 made a fourth extension north in

, replacing US 220 on Pack House Road; this lasted until June, 1963 where it was moved back to its former and current northern terminus. In the mid-1950s, NC 211 made the following adjustments: at Eagle Springs, it was placed on new construction bypassing north of the community, its old alignment becoming Eagle Springs Road (SR 1138). In Bolton, it was removed from Old 211 (SR 1805) and extended south on new primary routing to US 17/ NC 130, in

. And in Lumberton, it was moved onto its current alignment on Roberts Avenue, its old alignment becoming NC 211A (later becoming NC 211 Business). In 1957, NC 211 was extended south, overlapping with NC 130, into

(at Moore Street). Between 1958-1962, various alignment changes were made along the route at

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

and Seven Lakes. Also around 1961, NC 211 was rerouted with US 15/US 501 between Aberdeen and Pinehurst to the

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

, then onto new primary routing that avoided central Pinehurst; the old alignment became part of NC 5. In 1969, NC 211 was placed on new routing west of the McCain community, leaving Old NC 211 (SR 1318). In 1972, NC 211 was placed on new alignment north between Butters and Bladenboro, the old alignment became secondary road (SR 1134). In 1975, more of NC 211 was placed on new alignment north and east of Bladenboro, its old alignment through town becoming NC 211 Business (which also incorporated the former section displaced in 1972). Around 1990, NC 211 was extended to its current southern terminus at the Southport Ferry Terminal, after upgrades were made on Moore Street and Ferry Road. On June 6, 2013, NC 211 was extended east over the

, via the Fort Fisher-Southport Ferry, to

and US 421. Justification for the change was to have the highway end at another primary route and to incorporate the ferry route into a marine highway, which will expedite dredging operations in emergency situations.

Future

NC DOT will undertake a major project in 2019 to widen NC 211 into a divided, four-lane highway from Midway Road ( NC 906) to

NC 87 North Carolina Highway 87 (NC 87) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. NC 87 begins in the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coastal town of Southport, North Carolina, Southport and crosses into Virginia at the Vir ...

. Involving roughly 7 miles of roadway, the project entails constructing overpasses at Long Beach Road Extension and Midway Road/Middleton Boulevard and replacing bridges at Dutchman’s Creek and the

Duke Energy Progress Carolina Power & Light (CP&L), later doing business as Progress Energy Inc., was an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution utility based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company was founded on July 13, 1908 as the result of the merge ...

discharge canal. The road will remain open during construction which is expected to cost $85-million and take some four years. Further inland, widening of NC 211 between Holly Grove School Rd. and NC 73 in Moore County will begin in 2020 so as to be completed in time for the 2024 USGA Open scheduled to be held that year in Pinehurst.

Junction list

Special routes

Lumberton alternate spur

North Carolina Highway 211 Alternate (NC 211A) was established by 1949 as a

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...

route that connected with

US 301 U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic States. It runs from Biddles Corner, Delaware at Delaware Route 1 to Sarasota, Florida at U.S. Route 41. It passes through the states of Delaware, Mar ...

(Pine Street) with mainline NC 211 (Elm Street) along 24th Street. In 1957, the alternate route was decommissioned when NC 211 was bypassed north of Lumberton.

Lumberton alternate route

North Carolina Highway 211 Alternate (NC 211A) was established by 1957 as a renumbering of mainline NC 211 through downtown Lumberton; via Fifth Street, Second Street, Chestnut Street, and Elm Street. In 1960, it was redesignated as NC 211 Business.

Lumberton business loop

North Carolina Highway 211 Business (NC 211 Bus) was established in 1960 as a renumbering of NC 211A, which traversed along the old NC 211 route through downtown Lumberton; via Fifth Street, Second Street, Chestnut Street, and Elm Street. On April 1, 1971, the route was decommissioned, reverting all to secondary routes; in 1983, NC 72 was reassigned onto Fifth and Second streets.

Bladenboro business loop

North Carolina Highway 211 Business (NC 211 Bus) was established in 1975 as a renumbering of mainline NC 211 through downtown Bladenboro, via Martin Luther King Jr Drive and Seaboard Street.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline
NCRoads.com: N.C. 211
211 Transportation in New Hanover County, North Carolina Transportation in Brunswick County, North Carolina Transportation in Columbus County, North Carolina Transportation in Bladen County, North Carolina Transportation in Robeson County, North Carolina Transportation in Hoke County, North Carolina Transportation in Moore County, North Carolina Transportation in Montgomery County, North Carolina