North Carolina Highway 242 (NC 242) 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 from Cerro Gordo to

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 ...

, connecting the towns of Bladenboro, Elizabethtown, and Roseboro.

Route description

NC 242 is a long rural highway that goes from US 76 in Cerro Gordo, to

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 ...

, near

. It passes through

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, Bladen,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

Sampson Sampson may refer to: Military * , several Royal Navy ships * , several US Navy ships * Sampson-class destroyer, a World War I US Navy class * Sampson Air Force Base, near Seneca Lake, New York, closed in 1956 * SAMPSON, a multi-function radar ...

and Johnston Counties. Some major cities, and towns it goes through are Cerro Gordo, Bladenboro, Elizabethtown, Roseboro, Spiveys Corner and Benson. Although it passes through the southeastern tip of Cumberland County, it never goes near Fayetteville.

History

NC 242 was established in 1930 as a new primary route between NC 24, in Roseboro, and NC 60, in Beamans Crossroads. In 1937, NC 242 was extended south as new primary routing to US 701/ NC 41/ NC 53, near Elizabethtown. In 1940, NC 242 was rerouted at Salemburg north to US 421, its old alignment became Odom Road (SR 1323). Around 1946, NC 242 was extended southwest as new primary routing to NC 410, in Bladenboro. In 1948, NC 242 was extended to its current southern terminus at US 76, in Cerro Gordo. In 1952, NC 242 was extended north to NC 50, in

. In 1988, NC 242 was extended north, through Benson, to its current northern terminus at

Major intersections

Special routes

Roseboro truck route

North Carolina Highway 242 Truck (NC 242 Truck) is a short

truck route A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

through Roseboro, via Pinewood Street and East Street.

Roseboro alternate spur

North Carolina Highway 242 Alternate (NC 242A) was established in 1939 as a new alternate spur, creating a cutoff between NC 242 and NC 24, in Roseboro. It is unclear when NC 242A was decommissioned, from its still appearing on

Sampson County Sampson County is the largest county, by land area, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 59,036. Its county seat is Clinton. History Sampson County was established in April 1784 following the American ...

maps as late as 1968, to links of missing documents located on NCDOT's website, indicated it may have been as late as 1977. Today it is East Roseboro Street.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline
NCRoads.com: N.C. 242
Transportation in Columbus County, North Carolina Transportation in Bladen County, North Carolina Transportation in Cumberland County, North Carolina Transportation in Sampson County, North Carolina 242