North Carolina Highway 51 (NC 51) 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 ...

entirely in Mecklenburg County. It connects the towns of Pineville,

Matthews Matthews may refer to: People * Matthews (surname) Places * Matthews Island, Antarctica * Matthews Range, Kenya * Mount Matthews, New Zealand United States * Matthews, Georgia * Matthews, Indiana * Matthews, Maryland * Matthews, Missouri * Mat ...

and Mint Hill.

Route description

Though NC 51 begins at the state line, SC 51 is a short road that connects with US 21, near

Fort Mill, South Carolina Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 census, 24,521 people live inside the town's corporate limits. ...

. Crossing the state line, NC 51 quickly becomes a four-lane road as it goes through the town of Pineville. After its first intersection with I-485, it enters the

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 ...

city limits. In Charlotte, NC 51 crosses the busy intersections of Johnston Road and Providence Road, known for rush-hour traffic during the weekdays. In

, NC 51 bypasses the main downtown area, followed by a semi-controlled interchanged with US 74 (Independence Boulevard). As the NC 51 enters Mint Hill, the road narrows to two-lane. NC 51 crosses intersects I-485 again, before ending at NC 24/ NC 27 (Albemarle Road).

History

The first NC 51 was an original state highway that traveled from NC 20, in Rockingham, to NC 74, in Wadeville. In 1928, Rockingham to Ellerbe became an extension of NC 75. In 1934, NC 51 was decommissioned in favor of NC 73, between Ellerbe and Mount Gilead, and NC 109, between Mount Gilead and Wadeville. The second and current NC 51 was established in 1934 as a renumbering of NC 276, between US 21/ US 521, in Pineville, to NC 27, near

Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Unive ...

. In 1968, NC 51 was extended to the

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

state line, replacing a segment of US 21. In 1981, NC 51 was placed on new alignment in Pineville, abandoning an old routing along Lee Street and eliminating a short concurrency with US 521. In 1995, NC 51 was placed on new bypass north of downtown Matthews, marked as Matthews Township Parkway. The old alignment along Matthews-Mint Hill Road was downgraded to secondary road.

North Carolina Highway 276

North Carolina Highway 276 (NC 276) appeared in 1930 as new primary routing from NC 26, in Pineville, to NC 27, near Allen. In 1934, it was renumbered as the second NC 51.

Major intersections

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline, North Carolina Highway 51
NCRoads.com: N.C. 51
051 Transportation in Charlotte, North Carolina Transportation in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina