NCRoads.com: N.C. 120 to 124

N.C. 120 to 124 < 115 to 119 \| Home \| 125 to 129 > Photo: Sign announcing the settlement of Speed, located on N.C. 122. "Officer, I was just doing what the sign said!"

N.C. 120 6 miles

The Road:		Starts at U.S. 221A in Cliffside, Rutherford County. Ends at the U.S. 74 freeway, still in Rutherford.

History:		Dates back to at least 1930, when today's U.S. 221A was N.C. 207 and U.S. 74 was N.C. 20. The state's original numbering convention (see A Treatise on Numbering) would have dictated that 120 be the tenth spur route off the original N.C. 12, but apparently this was never the case. When the U.S. 74 freeway was completed in the early 1970s, 120's northern terminus was cut back to the junction of the freeway. Before that, 120 ended at what is now called Business 74 (but was formerly mainline 74).

N.C. 121 15 miles

The Road:

Starts at N.C. 91 in northern Greene County. Ends at N.C. 43 near the Tar River, in Pitt County.

Towns and Attractions:

Pitt Co.: Farmville (Wilson Street; Main Street), where it's multiplexed with U.S. 258

History:

The original N.C. 121 dates from at least 1930, and was a spur off the original N.C. 12. It was signed along today's U.S. 258 from Kinston (where it hit the original 12 to the east of town) south to 258's junction with N.C. 24 (24 has always been 24). Map #1 shows this alignment.

U.S. 258 was first signed along 121 in 1933. Because its path coincided with that of a U.S. highway, this first 121 was killed as part of the great renumbering of 1934.

Today's 121 started life in 1939 or 1940. Originally it ran only from Farmville northeast to N.C. 43. The stretch of today's 121 west of Farmville was part of mainline U.S. 264, then later Business 264. Map #2 shows this alignment. (The east-west black line going through Farmville is Business 264, not 121.)

121 remained this way until about 1988, when Business 264 through Farmville was decomissioned. 121 was extended three miles west of Farmville at that time, and ended at what would remain U.S. 264 for a couple more years. By 1990, a new four-lane 264 was built to the north of the original 264 (Map #2 shows the new 264 proposed), and 121 was extended westward along the old 264 to its current western terminus. N.C. 91 got part of the old U.S. route, too.

1. 1932 Gousha map

2. 1986 official map

Comments:

For a few years there was also a U.S. 121 in a different part of the state. Both U.S. and N.C. 121 were killed during the great renumbering of 1933-34: the N.C. route was killed in Phase I, and the U.S. route was killed in Phase II.

N.C. 122 29 miles

The Road:

Starts at U.S. 258 in Edgecombe County. Ends at N.C. 97 in Hobgood, Halifax County.
122 is co-signed with N.C. 124 from Maclesfield east to U.S. 258, for some reason.

Towns and Attractions:

Edgecombe Co.: Pinetops (2d Street); Tarboro; Speed

History:

122 was a spur off the original N.C. 12 (12 in Edgecombe is now U.S. 258), and ran only between U.S. 258 and N.C. 97 (97 used to be N.C. 95), as the map at right shows. It dates to at least 1932.

N.C. 122 went virtually unchanged until the mid-1990s, although it may have ended a bit further north at one time than it does now, at N.C. 125 instead of today's 97 (125 was there first).

In 1994, 122 was extended southward as part of that year's Tarboro Renumbering. It didn't supersede any existing numbered routes; it was mostly sent along previously unnumbered secondary roads (north to south, from Tarboro: McKendree Church Road, Pinetops-Tarboro Road, 2d Street in Pinetops and Pinetops-Macclesfield Road and N.C. 124).

1938 General Drafting map

N.C. 123 7 miles

The Road:		Starts at N.C. 58 in Greene County. Ends at U.S. 13/258, still in Greene. Intersects N.C. 903 in Maury; that's it.

History:		Another spur route from the original N.C. 12. The map at right is from the 1932 Gousha.

N.C. 124 9 miles

The Road:

Starts at N.C. 42 in Edgecombe County. Ends at N.C. 42/43, still in Edgecombe.
Hits N.C. 111, and goes through Macclesfield, where it hits N.C. 122. Between Macclesfield and U.S. 258 it's co-signed with N.C. 122. If you want, think of 124 as the Pinetops Bypass.

History:

The eastern six miles of 124, from 42 through Macclesfield to U.S. 258, date from at least 1937 (see map at right). 124 has not yet been found on any earlier maps. However, it seems 124 should be an original 1920s route, because U.S. 258 though Edgecombe was originally N.C. 12, and 124 would have been a spur from 12. Highways 121, 122, 123 and 125 all existed by 1932; why not 124?

124 was extended the three miles west of U.S. 258, meeting back up with N.C. 42, in 1963.

1938 General Drafting map

Sources: Michael Roberson, for the 122/124 multiplex info

Last Update: 2 May 1999

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