North Carolina Highway 90

North Carolina Highway 90 (NC 90) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is one of the few highways in the state with an unpaved portion.

North Carolina Highway 90 marker
North Carolina Highway 90
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length71.7 mi[1] (115.4 km)
Existed1921–present
Major junctions
West endEdgemont Road (SR 1420) in Edgemont
Major intersections US 321 in Lenoir
US 64 / NC 18 in Lenoir
I-40 in Statesville
East end US 21 / US 64 in Statesville
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNorth Carolina
CountiesCaldwell, Alexander, Iredell
Highway system
NC 89 NC 91

Route description

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The western terminus is in Edgemont (in Caldwell County) at an intersection with Edgemont Road (SR 1420), Roseboro Road (Pisgah National Forest FR 981) and Edgemont Church Place (SR 1358). The first 8 miles (13 km) of the highway are quite curvy and unpaved.[2] NC 90 enters Lenoir on Valway Road (SR 1352). The route then turns left onto N. Main Street to then overlap with US 321 on Blowing Rock Boulevard. NC 90 then turn left, after 2 miles, onto Wilkesboro Boulevard to overlap with US 64 and NC 18. After about 2 miles, the route then turns right onto Taylorsville Road, keeping and overlap with US 64. After 40 miles, going through Taylorsville, NC 90 ends at US 21/US 64 in Statesville.

History

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Established in 1921 as an original state highway, it started at NC 50 (Person Street), in Raleigh, going east to Columbia. In 1927, NC 90 was extended west from Raleigh to Lenoir at NC 18. In 1929, NC 90 extended east from Columbia to Fort Landing.

In 1932, US 64 was established and was overlapped on NC 90 from just west of Statesville to Fort Landing. In late 1934, NC 90 was removed from all overlap with US 64 east of Statesville; at same time, NC 90 was extended west from Lenoir to US 221 near Linville, replacing NC 171.

Sometime between 1939 and 1944, NC 90 was extended east back in Statesville to its current east terminus, replacing some of US 64 through the downtown area. At some point in the 1960s, NC 90 was truncated to its current west terminus in Edgemont, its former route to Linville moved under Pisgah National Forest management.[3][4]

In 2008, NC 90 was removed from downtown Lenoir, creating an overlap with US 321.[5]

Major intersections

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CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
CaldwellEdgemont0.00.0Edgemont Road / National Forest Road
Lenoir27.944.9 
 
US 321 north (Blowing Rock Boulevard) – Boone
North end of US 321 overlap
30.148.4 
 
 
 
 
 
US 64 west / NC 18 south (Harper Avenue) / US 321 south (Hickory Boulevard) – Downtown Lenoir, Hickory
South end of US 321/NC 18 and west end of US 64 overlap
31.550.7 
 
NC 18 north (Wilkesboro Boulevard) – Moravian Falls, Wilkesboro
North end of NC 18 overlap
AlexanderEllendale46.074.0 
 
NC 127 south – Hickory
Northern terminus of NC 127
49.279.2 
 
US 64 east / Golf Course Lane – Statesville
East end of US 64 overlap
Taylorsville50.481.1 
 
NC 16 north – Moravian Falls, Wilkesboro
North end of NC 16 overlap
50.881.8 
 
NC 16 south – Conover
South end of NC 16 overlap
Iredell67.7109.0 
 
US 64 west – Taylorsville, Lenoir
West end of US 64 overlap
Statesville68.3109.9  I-40 – Hickory, Winston-Salem
69.6112.0  
 
US 70 (Newton Drive / Garner Bagnal Boulevard) to I-77 – Statesville Regional Airport, Hickory
70.4113.3 
 
US 64 east (Front Street)
East end of US 64 overlap
71.4114.9  NC 115 (Center Street) – North Wilkesboro
71.7115.4   US 21 (Davie Avenue) / US 64 – Harmony, Mocksville
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Special routes

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Rocky Mount alternate route

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North Carolina Highway 90A
LocationRocky Mount, North Carolina
Existed1932–1934

North Carolina Highway 90 Alternate (NC 90A) was new alternate routing through downtown Rocky Mount, via Thomas Avenue. In 1934, it was replaced by US 64A.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "North Carolina Highway 90" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  2. ^ Caldwell County, North Carolina (PDF) (Map) (2000 (Rev. 07/13/2007) ed.). North Carolina Department of Transportation Information Technology - IMG Unit. Retrieved September 6, 2007.
  3. ^ "NC State Hwy 90 Ends". Archived from the original on November 1, 2010. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
  4. ^ "NC 90: Lost in Caldwell County". Retrieved 2011-07-02.[self-published source]
  5. ^ "NCRoads.com: N.C. 90". Retrieved 2011-07-02.[self-published source]
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