North Carolina Highway 20

North Carolina Highway 20
North Carolina Highway 20
Route information
	Maintained by NCDOT
Length	28.6 mi (46.0 km)
Existed	1934–present
Major junctions
West end	; US 401 Bus. / NC 211 in Raeford
	I-95 in St. Pauls; US 301 in St. Pauls
East end	NC 87 near Tar Heel
Location
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Counties	Hoke, Robeson, Bladen
Highway system
	North Carolina Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Scenic;

North Carolina Highway 20 (NC 20) is a 27-mile (43 km) North Carolina state highway that runs through Hoke, Robeson and Bladen counties. It serves as a major road in each of the three incorporated communities through which it passes. The route is co-designated as St. Pauls Road in Raeford, Main Street in Lumber Bridge, and Broad Street in St. Pauls.

Route description

NC 20 begins at its western terminus at NC 211 and runs concurrent with US 401 Bus. along Central Avenue for about 0.3 miles (0.48 km) in Raeford. The route then heads southeast as St. Pauls Drive, crossing over Peddlers Branch before exiting town. The route then passes through Dundarrach before exiting Hoke County. In Lumber Bridge, NC 20 continues as Main Street and intersects NC 71 and then continues southeast, passing by Rex.

The highway then interchanges I-95 and then intersects US 301 as it passes through St. Pauls as Broad Street. The route then enters Bladen County and reaches its eastern terminus at NC 87 north of Tar Heel.^[3]

History

The original NC 20 was at one time the longest numbered route in North Carolina, running from the Tennessee border to the port city of Wilmington, a distance of 401 miles (645 km). After the introduction of U.S. highways in North Carolina in 1934, the route was carved up between routes US 19, US 70, US 74, US 76, and US 17.^[2]

The modern NC 20 was originally NC 220. Despite a few minor reroutings, the state highway has remained largely unchanged since the 1930s. The NC 220 designation was dropped permanently from the state highway system around 1935 after the introduction of US 220 into North Carolina.^[4] With the possible extension of I-20 into North Carolina, this route may be renumbered again.^{[citation needed]}

Major intersections

County	Location	mi^[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Hoke	Raeford	0.0	0.0	US 401 Bus. south / NC 211 (Main Street) – Wagram, Red Springs, Aberdeen	West end of US 401 Bus. overlap
Hoke	Raeford	0.3	0.48	US 401 Bus. north (Central Avenue) – Fayetteville	East end of US 401 Bus. overlap
Robeson	Lumber Bridge	11.3	18.2	NC 71 – Red Springs, Parkton
	St. Pauls	18.6– 18.7	29.9– 30.1	I-95 – Lumberton, Fayetteville	I-95 exit 31; diamond interchange
	St. Pauls	19.3	31.1	US 301 (5th Street) – Lumberton, Hope Mills
Bladen	Tar Heel	28.6	46.0	NC 87 – Dublin, Fayetteville
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus