U.S. Route 76 in North Carolina

U.S. Highway 76
U.S. Highway 76
	US 76 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by NCDOT
Length	80.4 mi (129.4 km)
Existed	1935–present
Major junctions
West end	US 76 at the South Carolina line
	US 74 in Chadbourn; US 701 in Whiteville; I-140 near Leland; US 17 in Leland; US 74 / US 421 / NC 133 in Wilmington; US 117 / NC 132 in Wilmington; US 17 / US 74 in Wilmington US 74 in Wrightsville Beach
East end	Water Street in Wrightsville Beach
Location
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Counties	Columbus, Brunswick, New Hanover
Highway system
	United States Numbered Highway System; List; Special; Divided; North Carolina Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Scenic;

U.S. Highway 76 (US 76) is a U.S. Highway running from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. In North Carolina the highway runs for 80.4 miles (129.4 km) in the southeastern region of the state. US 76 enters the state from South Carolina south of Fair Bluff in Columbus County. Travelling in an eastward direction, US 76 meets US 74 in Chadbourn. The two highways run concurrently for 50.4 miles (81.1 km) between Chadbourn and Wilmington.^[4] US 76 runs concurrently with US 17 along much of its Wilmington routing, until once again meeting US 74. US 76 and US 74 run concurrently for 1.4 miles (2.3 km) until reaching Wrightsville Beach.^[5] US 76 reaches its eastern terminus on the south side of Wrightsville Beach, at an intersection with Water Street.

As early as 1916, portions of modern-day US 76, between Wilmington and Whiteville were added to the North Carolina state highway system. By 1924, North Carolina Highway 202 (NC 202) was assigned to the routing between South Carolina and Chadbourn. The routing between Chadbourn and Wrightsville Beach became part of NC 20, which continued west to Asheville. While US 76 was an original U.S. highway, it initially ran between Chattanooga, Tennessee and Florence, South Carolina. The remainder of the route between Florence and Wilmington was signed as part of US 17. In 1935, US 17 was rerouted similar to its current routing, and US 76 was extended to Wrightsville Beach over the former routing of US 17. While the majority of the routing has remained roughly the same, much of the highway between Chadbourn and Wilmington has been placed on new freeways. The section of US 76 between Chadbourn and Bolton is considered to be a future section of Interstate 74 (I-74).

^ Cite error: The named reference US 76-Google Maps was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference 1934 map was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference 1935 map was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "U.S. Route 76 in North Carolina" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
^ "U.S. Route 76 in North Carolina" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 6, 2020.

[US_76-Google_Maps-1] Cite error: The named reference US 76-Google Maps was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1934_map-2] Cite error: The named reference 1934 map was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1935_map-3] Cite error: The named reference 1935 map was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Google_Maps-Chabourn-Wilmington_concurrency-4] "U.S. Route 76 in North Carolina" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 6, 2020.

[Google_Maps-Wilmington-WB_concurrency-5] "U.S. Route 76 in North Carolina" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 6, 2020.

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