North Carolina Highway 53

NC 53 marker

NC 53

Route information

Maintained by NCDOT

Length:

126.7 mi (203.9 km)

Existed:

1923 – present

Major junctions

West end:

NC 24 / NC 210 in Fayetteville

I‑95 in Fayetteville

US 701 in White Lake

US 421 in Currie

US 117 in Burgaw

I‑40 in Burgaw

East end:

Gum Branch Road in Jacksonville^[1]

Highway system

North Carolina Highway System

←

US 52

NC 54

→

North Carolina Highway 53 is a state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina that mainly runs west–east in the eastern part of the state.

Route description

The highway begins near Fayetteville in Cumberland County. It runs through mostly rural areas in Bladen County, Pender County, and Onslow County before emerging near Jacksonville, NC.^[2]

The NCDOT extended the highway in August 2010 along the NC 24 bypass around the southern side of the city, then continuing onto Western Boulevard. This thoroughfare consists of the most commercially used area in the city. It was done to facilitate ease of obtaining future funding to maintain the roadway there.^[1]

History

North Carolina Highway 53 was born in 1923 as a new state route. It ran from NC 50 (where the old US 1, US 15/US 501/ NC 87 split is) to Pittsboro. In 1924 NC 53 was extended to Sanford then replaced NC 241 then went down current NC 24 into Fayetteville. In 1928 NC 53 was truncated to Sanford. In 1933 NC 53 was extended to US 701, NC 41, NC 201 in Elizabethtown. In 1934 NC 53 was extended along the entire routing of NC 201 to Jacksonville. Also in 1934 NC 53 was truncated to NC 24 in Fayetteville. In 2010 NC 53 was extended around the NC 24 bypass in Jacksonville to Gum Branch Road where it's current terminus is. ^[3]

North Carolina Highway 601

NC 601
Location:	Jacksonville-Atkinson
Existed:	1929–1932

North Carolina Highway 601 originally ran from NC 60 (current US 421) to NC 40 in Burgaw. In 1930 NC 601 was extended west to Atkinson, North Carolina. The same year NC 601 was extended to NC 24 in Jacksonville. In 1932 NC 601 was renumbered as part of NC 201. Today it is part of NC 53. ^[4]

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Cumberland	Fayetteville	0.0	NC 24 / NC 210 north (Grove Street) – Spring Lake, Stedman, Autryville	Western terminus; West end of concurrency with NC 210
	Fayetteville	3.5	I‑95 – St. Pauls, Dunn	Partial cloverleaf interchange
		6.7	NC 210 south	East end of concurrency with NC 210
Bladen	Elizabethtown	34.5	US 701 south / NC 41 south / NC 242 – Clarkton, Lumberton	West end of concurrency with US 701 and NC 41
	White Lake	38.7	US 701 north / NC 41 north – Garland, Harrells	East end of concurrency with US 701 and NC 41
	Colly	60.1	NC 210 – Hampstead	Brief 0.6 mile concurrency with NC 210
	Long View	64.3	NC 11 south – Bolton	West end of concurrency with NC 11
Pender	Wards Corner	74.5	US 421 / NC 11 north – Wilmington, Clinton, Wallace	East end of concurrency with NC 11
	Burgaw	83.2	US 117 Bus. south (Walker Street)	West end of concurrency with Business US 117
		83.5	US 117 Bus. north (Timberly Lane)	East end of concurrency with Business US 117
		83.9	US 117 – Wilmington, Wallace
		85.3	I‑40 – Wilmington, Benson	Partial cloverleaf interchange
	Maple Hill	98.7	NC 50 – Holly Ridge, Chinquapin
Onslow	Jacksonville	114.1	US 258 / NC 24 west / NC 24 Bus. east (Richlands Highway) – Richlands	West end of concurrency with NC 24; Western terminus of Business NC 24
		115.0	US 17 south / US 17 Bus. north (Wilmington Highway) – Holly Ridge	West end of concurrency with US 17; Southern terminus of Business US 17; Partial cloverleaf interchange
		118.9	US 17 north (Coretta Scott King and MLK Jr. Highway) / NC 24 Bus. west (Lejeune Boulevard) – Maysville	East end of concurrency with US 17; Eastern terminus of Business NC 24
		120.7	NC 24 east (Lejeune Boulevard) – Swansboro	East end of concurrency with NC 24
		123.2	US 17 (Marine Boulevard) – Wilmington, New Bern
		126.7	Gum Branch Road	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus