North Carolina Highway 99 (NC 99) 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 ...

in the central

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 ...

region of the state. It runs from NC 92 and NC 306 east of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

to NC 32 and NC 45 south of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. The highway serves the towns of Belhaven and Pantego. NC 99 also serves as a partial link between Bath, Belhaven and Plymouth. The highway primarily runs through rural regions of Beaufort County, Hyde County, and Washington County. NC 99 was first established in 1935, running from

U.S. Route 264 U.S. Route 264 (US 264) is an east–west United States Highway located completely within the U.S. state of North Carolina, running for . Its western terminus is located at Interstate 87 (I-87), I-440, and US 64 in Raleigh. US&nbs ...

(US 264) east of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

to NC 97 northwest of Pantego. The original highway was decommissioned by 1940 but was reestablished running from US 264 in Pantego to NC 32 south of Plymouth. NC 99 was extended south from Pantego to NC 92 and NC 306 in 1985, partially replacing NC 92 south of Belhaven.

Route description

NC 99 begins at an

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their i ...

with NC 92 and NC 306 east of Bayview and

in Beaufort County. The intersection also marks the eastern terminus of NC 92 and the northern terminus of NC 306. From its southern terminus, NC 99 begins by heading to the east, running adjacent to the

Pamlico River The Pamlico
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

. The highway makes a northeastward turn of its southern terminus. It then runs through a rural area of Beaufort County, with farms, forested areas, and some sparse residential buildings located adjacent to the road. Following the crossing of a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the Pamlico River, it makes several turns and begins running east. At an intersection with Secondary Road 1722 (SR 1722), NC 99 turns to the northeast toward Belhaven. It continues to the north for until crossing Pungo Creek, which drains to the

Pungo River The Pungo River is a river in eastern North Carolina, United States. It originally began in the Great Dismal Swamp in Washington County, North Carolina; the upper part of the river has since been supplanted by the Pungo River Canal, dug in the 19 ...

. NC 99 continues to the northeast, crossing the Pungo River and entering into Belhaven. It runs to the northeast in Belhaven, crossing a railroad operated by the Carolina Coastal Railway. Immediately after crossing the railroad, NC 99 intersects US 264 and US 264 Business at Main Street. NC 99 turns to concurrently follow US 264 to the northwest. The highways travel through a residential area of northwestern Belhaven before exiting the town. Travelling north of Belhaven, US 264 and NC 99 generally parallel the Carolina Coastal Railway line. They cross an

irrigation canal An acequia () or séquia () is a community-operated watercourse used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. Particularly in Spain, the Andes, northern Mexico, and the modern-day American Southwest particularly n ...

that connects to the Pungo River, north of Belhaven and continue north for before turning west toward Pantego. US 264 and NC 99 enter Pantego from the west, picking up the name Main Street and initially traveling through a residential area. NC 99 splits from US 264 in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

of Pantego, turning to the north. For , NC 99 is routed to the northwest, largely paralleling the Pungo River. At an intersection with Swindell Road and Pungo Road, NC 99 turns to the northeast along Pungo Road. The highway enters a largely rural area between the Swindell Road intersection and its intersection NC 45. It makes several curves that give NC 99 a northerly orientation, and the highway begins to parallel a canal. An intersection with NC 45 is located southwest of

Lake Phelps Lake Phelps is North Carolina's second largest natural lake. It has a surface area of , and it is located primarily in Washington County on the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula between the Albemarle Sound and the Pamlico Sound. The easternmost part o ...

in Union Grove which marks the southern end of the NC 45 and NC 99 concurrency. NC 45 and NC 99 continue for to the northwest before exiting Beaufort County and entering Hyde County. The highways run for through a corner of Hyde County before entering into Washington County. NC 45 and NC 99 continue northwest for through rural Washington County. The northern terminus of NC 99 is located at an intersection with NC 32 and NC 45 south of

, marking the northern terminus of the NC 45 concurrency. At the intersection, NC 45 turns north to run concurrently with NC 32, providing access to Plymouth. The

North Carolina Department of Transportation The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other modes of transportation, including ferries in the U.S. state of North Carolina. History The North Carolina ...

(NCDOT) measures average daily traffic volumes along many of the roadways it maintains. In 2016, average daily traffic volumes along NC 99 varied from 1,100 vehicles per day southwest of the intersection with Sidney Road in Beaufort County to 5,400 vehicles per day southwest of the intersection with US 264 and US 264 Business in Belhaven. No section of NC 99 is included within the National Highway System, a network of highways in the United States which serve strategic transportation facilities, nor does it connect to the system at any point.

History

Previous designation

NC 99 first appeared on North Carolina state transportation maps in 1935 running from US 264 east of Bunyon to NC 97 approximately northwest of Pantego. The entire route was located in Beaufort County. The highway was approximately and followed a northeast-southwest direction between its termini. At its establishment, NC 99 followed a

graded road Grading in civil engineering and landscape architectural construction is the work of ensuring a level base, or one with a specified slope, for a construction work such as a foundation, the base course for a road or a railway, or landscape and g ...

for its entire length. By 1940, NC 99 was decommissioned and replaced by NC 32 northeast of Bunyon.

Current designation

The current designation of NC 99 first appeared on North Carolina state transportation maps in 1940, running from US 264 in Pantego to NC 32 south of Plymouth. At the time of establishment, NC 99 was considered a

dirt road A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...

for its entire length. By 1946, NC 99 was upgraded to a

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

-topsoil road between its termini. Much of the road was paved by 1948, with the exception of a segment in Hyde County, southern Washington County, and northern Beaufort County. The remaining segment was paved by 1951. NC 45 was routed to run concurrently with NC 99 from Union Grove to NC 32 on August 1, 1980. On April 1, 1985, NC 99 was extended south along US 264 to Belhaven. South of Belhaven, NC 99 was routed to replace NC 92 to NC 306. The route of NC 99 has remained the same since 1985.

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{commonscat-inline
NCRoads.com: N.C. 99
099 Transportation in Beaufort County, North Carolina Transportation in Hyde County, North Carolina Transportation in Washington County, North Carolina