U.S. 76
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Photo: The end of U.S. 76, in Wrightsville Beach.
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U.S. 76
U.S. Route List | Home Photo: The end of U.S. 76, in Wrightsville Beach. |
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| U.S. 76 84 miles | |||
| The Road: | Enters Columbus County from South Carolina.
Ends at Wrightsville Beach, at the ocean.
Nationally, U.S. 76 starts in Carpet City, Georgia. |
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| Towns and Attractions: | Columbus Co.: Fair Bluff; Chadbourn; Whiteville;
Lake Waccamaw
New Hanover Co.: The U.S.S. North Carolina Memorial; crosses Cape Fear River; Wilmington (street names: Dawson Street one-way westbound, Wooster Street one-way eastbound, Oleander Drive); crosses ICW; Harbor Island; Wrightsville Beach |
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| Multilane Segments: | Four-lanes divided while multiplexed
with 74 all the way to Wilmington. Freeway in Whiteville area.
Freeway from eastern Brunswick County over Eagle Island into downtown Wilmington. |
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| History: | U.S. 76 was a preliminary 1926 route,
and was planned to follow its current course. But when the U.S. highway
system was finalized in early 1927, U.S. 76's eastern terminus was near
Florence, South Carolina, and the road between Florence and Wilmington
was numbered as U.S. 17 instead. 76 was sent
eastward into North Carolina and 17 was rerouted to the south of Wilmington
in 1934.
The 74/76 bypass was finished by the late 1970s north of the Chadbourn/Whiteville area, but not until the early 1990s north of Lake Waccamaw. Through Wilmington, 76 originally crossed over the Parsley Street bridge and was routed along Third Street, Market Street and 17th Street (see map below). 76 received its current alignment when the freeway bridge was built around 1968. |
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| Comments: | The last few miles of 74 and 76 are intriguing:
First, the two routes team up to cross the Cape Fear River. They separate
in downtown Wilmington, only to join up a few miles later across the ICW.
Approaching Wrightsville Beach, 74 goes north along the island, and 76
heads south. This is appropriate, because 74 should be "above" 76. These
roads go as far as they can before the ocean makes them quit. Maps imply
that these two routes have split like this since the 1930s. See the 1963
General Drafting map below.
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| Business U.S. 74/76 29 miles | |||
| The Road: | Runs through the towns of Chadbourn and Whiteville,
Columbus County. Multiplexed with N.C. 214 through Lake Waccamaw.
It's Strawberry Boulevard in Chadbourn, Washington Street on the east side of Whiteville and Jefferson Street on the west. Hits a traffic circle in the center of Whiteville. Between Chadbourn and Business U.S. 701, Business 74/76 is multiplexed with N.C. 130. |
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| History: | Completely bypassed by 1991; part or all of it was the original 74/76 until then. | ||
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