Existed: 1937 – present Constructed 1937 | South end: NC 211 in Southport Length 381.1 km | |
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North end: SR 87 at VA line near Eden Counties Brunswick County, North Carolina Major cities Fayetteville, Sanford, Burlington, Graham, Reidsville, Elon, Eden, Bolivia | ||
North Carolina Highway 87 (NC 87) is a mostly rural highway traversing the eastern half of the U.S. state of North Carolina. NC 87 begins in the Atlantic coastal town of Southport and crosses into Virginia at the Virginia state line five miles (8 km) north of Eden in Rockingham County. At 240 miles (390 km) in length, NC 87 is the second longest state highway in North Carolina.
Contents
- Map of NC 87 North Carolina USA
- Route description
- Elizabethtown business loop
- Fayetteville alternate route 1
- Fayetteville alternate route 2
- Sanford bypass
- References
Map of NC-87, North Carolina, USA
Route description
NC 87 is a four-lane, divided highway with at-grade crossings between Elizabethtown and Sanford with the exception of Fayetteville, where NC 87 is a freeway. Other sections that are four-lane, divided highways include concurrencies with US 17 and US 74/US 76 in Brunswick County.
North of Sanford, NC 87 runs concurrent with US 15/US 501 to Pittsboro. It then continues towards Graham as a two-lane highway. It returns to four-lanes in southern Graham, returning to two-lane in downtown Graham. The route makes a left turn one block north of the Alamance County Courthouse, where it follows a two-lane road before making a right turn onto a four-lane street. The highway remains four-lane through downtown Burlington, returning to two-lane for the remainder of its route in North Carolina, save for a small section near its intersection with US 29.
Elizabethtown business loop
North Carolina Highway 87 Business (NC 87 Bus.), was established in 1997, when mainline NC 87 was moved south to bypass downtown Elizabethtown. NC 87 Bus. follows the original alignment along Broad Street.
The entire route is in Elizabethtown, Bladen County.
Fayetteville alternate route 1
North Carolina Highway 87 Alternate (NC 87A), was established between 1940-44 as a new primary routing. It ran from US 15A/NC 87 (Hay Street) north along Robeson Street and then west along Fort Bragg Boulevard, recombining with mainline NC 87 on Fort Bragg Road. Sometime between 1945–49, it switched with mainline NC 87.
Fayetteville alternate route 2
North Carolina Highway 87 Alternate (NC 87A), was established between 1945–49, the second NC 87A in Fayetteville followed the original NC 87 alignment along Hay Street, Morganton Road, and Fort Bragg Road. The route was decommissioned between 1955-57.
Sanford bypass
North Carolina Highway 87 Bypass (NC 87 By-pass) was established in 2013 as a new primary route along existing sections of the Sanford Bypass (formally SR 9000), from NC 87 to US 1/US 15/US 501. The request to establish a bypass was pushed by the Sanford City Council and Lee County. Typically, the old alignment would become a business loop, but instead the NC 87 mainline remained unchanged. The bypass is built as a freeway; which shares designation with US 421.