| U.S. Route 276 | |||||||
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| Route information | |||||||
| Auxiliary route of US 76 | |||||||
| Length: | 106.4 mi[1][2] (171.2 km) | ||||||
| Existed: | 1932[1] – present | ||||||
| Major junctions | |||||||
| East end: | I-185 / I-385 near Mauldin, SC | ||||||
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I-85 in Greenville, SC |
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| North end: | I-40 in Cove Creek, NC | ||||||
| Highway system | |||||||
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United States Numbered Highways
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U.S. Route 276 is an United States highway that runs for 106.4 miles (171.2 km) from Mauldin, South Carolina to Cove Creek, North Carolina. It is known both as a busy urban highway in Greenville, South Carolina and a scenic back-road in Western North Carolina.
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In South Carolina, US 276 only runs in Greenville County, for a total of 43.3 miles (69.7 km). Beginning at the I-385/I-185 junction in Mauldin. The US Highway then runs north to the City of Greenville, then to Travelers Rest, and then Slater-Marietta before climbing into North Carolina. A two mile portion of US 276 between Greenville and Travelers Rest is an expressway complete with shoulders, exits, a grass median, and a speed limit of 55 miles per hour.
In Travelers Rest a Downtown Revitalization Plan has reduced US 276 from four lanes down to two, add trees, on-street parking, a new park, and other improvements.
In North Carolina, US 276 traverses through Transylvania and Haywood counties, for a total of 63 miles (101 km). Between the towns of Brevard and Waynesville in North Carolina, US 276 travels through the Pisgah National Forest and is a route heavily traveled by recreationalists. The road follows the Davidson River and a tributary upstream before climbing the Pisgah Ridge and crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway at its top, then descending by the Pigeon River and the Shining Rock Wilderness. Many trailheads used for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding lie along US 276 in this area and roads connecting to it. Drivers will also find roadside campgrounds, picnic areas, waterfalls, and two museums — the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and the Cradle of Forestry in America — along the road or within a short distance of it. North of Waynesville, US 276 continues through Lake Junaluska, where it joins US 19 to Maggie Valley, then runs north to I-40 at Cove Creek.
US 276 is signed east–west in South Carolina and north–south in North Carolina; which is why it is listed as having a eastern and northern terminus.
Forest Heritage Scenic Byway is an 65-mile (105 km) byway through the forests of Western North Carolina. US 276 makes up the first half of the byway, from Pisgah Forest to Woodrow; this section features Looking Glass Falls, Sliding Rock Falls, Cradle of Forestry, Pink Beds (an upland bog known for its pink rhododendrons and laurels), Shining Rock, and the Blue Ridge Parkway. NC 215 south continues the byway, passing by Cold Mountain and the French Broad River, to Rosman.[3]
US 276 was established in 1932, traversing from Laurens, South Carolina to Brevard, North Carolina; it replaced US 76 between Laurens to Greenville, overlapped with US 25 to Travelers Rest, replaced SC 284/NC 284 to Brevard.[4][5]
Around 1939, US 276 was extended north from Brevard, via Pisgah Forest along the old Pisgah Motor Road, to Waynesville, ending at main street. In the 1940s, US 276 was rerouted to its current routing around the downtown area of Greenville, which established US 276 Business by 1948; the business route would be later replaced by I-85 Business by 1968-70.[4][5]
In 1957 or 1958, US 276 was moved onto new freeway south of Mauldin to just south of Fountain Inn; its old route was replaced by SC 417 between Mauldin-Simpsonville and SC 14 to Fountain Inn. Between 1959-61, US 276's realignment onto new freeway was complete with a connection with I-26 in Clinton, the remainder of its former route to Laurens was replaced by SC 14.[5]
Also around 1959, US 276 was extended north again to Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, replacing another section of NC 284. By 1968, a widen 4-lane road was completed between Dellwood and Cove Creek, completing a temporary connection between to completed sections if I-40. This section became the final extension north of US 276, replacing the last remaining section NC 284; temporary I-40 lasted till 1974 (when the section between exits 20-27 was completed).[4]
Around 1985, the Mauldin-Clinton freeway was renumbered to I-385; truncating US 276 to its current eastern terminus in Mauldin.[5]
South Carolina |
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| County | Location | Mile[2] | Destinations | Notes |
| Greenville | 0 | I-185 / I-385 – Simpsonville, Columbia, Atlanta | US 276 begins | |
| Mauldin | 1.4 | SC 417 (Main Street) – Simpsonville | ||
| Greenville | 5 | I-85 – Spartanburg, Atlanta | ||
| 6.3 | SC 146 (Woodruff Road) – Woodruff | |||
| 7.6 | SC 291 (Pleasantburg Drive) | |||
| 9 | I-385 south / I-385 Bus. north – Spartanburg, Columbia | Northern terminus of I-385, southern terminus of I-385 Business | ||
| 9.5 | To US 29 / Wade Hampton Boulevard – Greer |
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| 10.5 | SC 183 south (Rutherford Road) | |||
| 12.4 | SC 253 / SC 291 south (Blue Ridge Drive/Pleasantburg Drive) | Northern terminus of SC 291 | ||
| 14.6 | Old Buncombe Road | To Timmons Arena | ||
| 15.3 | Furman University | |||
| Travelers Rest | 17.5 | US 25 – Hendersonville, Asheville | brief overlap with US 25 | |
| 22.2 | SC 414 (Bates Crossing Road) | |||
| Slater-Marietta | 23.4 | SC 186 (Dacusville Road) – Dacusville, Pickens | ||
| 23.7 | SC 288 (Pumpkintown Road) – Pumpkintown | |||
| Cleveland | 27.8 | SC 11 east to US 25 (Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway) |
East end of SC 11 overlap, to Pleasant Ridge County Park | |
| 33.3 | SC 11 west (Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway) | West end of SC 11 overlap, to Table Rock State Park | ||
| 34.2 | SC 8 south (Caesars Head Highway) – Pickens | Northern terminus of SC 8, to Table Rock State Park | ||
North Carolina |
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| County | Location | Mile | Destinations | Notes |
| Transylvania | Cedar Mountain | 1.6 | Cascade Lake Road | To DuPont State Forest |
| Brevard | 12.5 | US 64 west (Broad Street) – Highlands, Franklin | West end of US 64 overlap | |
| 13.3 | US 64 Bus. west (Caldwell Street) |
Brevard College at intersection | ||
| Pisgah Forest | 15.9 | US 64 east / NC 280 east – Asheville, Hendersonville | East end of US 64 overlap, east end of NC Bike 8, begin of Forest Heritage Scenic Byway overlap | |
| 31 | Blue Ridge Parkway | West end of NC Bike 8 | ||
| Haywood | Woodrow | 45.3 | NC 110 north / NC 215 south – Canton, Rosman | South end of NC 215 overlap, end of Forest Heritage Scenic Byway overlap |
| Bethel | 46 | NC 215 north – Canton | North end of NC 215 overlap | |
| Waynesville | 52 | US 23 Bus. (Main Street) |
Brief .4 miles (0.64 km) concurrency | |
| 53.1 | US 23 / US 74 (Great Smoky Mtn. Expressway) – Asheville, Sylva | |||
| Lake Junaluska | 54.5 | US 19 north (Dellwood Road) – Asheville | North end of US 19 overlap | |
| Dellwood | 56.9 | US 19 south (Soco Road) – Maggie Valley, Cherokee | South end of US 19 overlap | |
| Cove Creek | 62.9 | I-40 – Asheville, Knoxville | US 276 ends | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus • Closed/Former • Incomplete access • Unopened |
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