# North Carolina Highway 242

North Carolina Highway 242 (NC 242) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It traverses from Cerro Gordo to Benson, connecting the towns of Bladenboro, Elizabethtown, and Roseboro.

## Route description

NC 242 is a 94.2-mile (151.6 km) long rural highway that goes from US 76 in Cerro Gordo, to I-40, near Benson. It passes through Columbus, Bladen, Cumberland, Sampson and Johnston Counties. Some major cities, and towns it goes through are Cerro Gordo, Bladenboro, Elizabethtown, Roseboro, Spiveys Corner and Benson.
Although it passes through the southeastern tip of Cumberland County, it never goes near Fayetteville.

## History

NC 242 was established in 1930 as a new primary route between NC 24, in Roseboro, and NC 60, in Beamans Crossroads. In 1937, NC 242 was extended south as new primary routing to US 701/NC 41/NC 53, near Elizabethtown. In 1940, NC 242 was rerouted at Salemburg north to US 421, its old alignment became Odom Road (SR 1323). Around 1946, NC 242 was extended southwest as new primary routing to NC 410, in Bladenboro. In 1948, NC 242 was extended to its current southern terminus at US 76, in Cerro Gordo. In 1952, NC 242 was extended north to NC 50, in Benson. In 1988, NC 242 was extended north, through Benson, to its current northern terminus at I-40.

## Major intersections

| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| Columbus | Cerro Gordo | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 76 / Powell Street – Chadbourn, Fair Bluff | Southern terminus |
| Columbus | Evergreen | 5.6 | 9.0 | US 74 / NC 130 – Whiteville, Lumberton | Future I-74 |
| Bladen | ​ | 16.9 | 27.2 | NC 410 south – Chadbourn | South end of NC 410 overlap |
| Bladen | Bladenboro | 19.2 | 30.9 | NC 131 south (Whiteville Road) / White Street – Whiteville | South end of NC 131 overlap |
| Bladen | Bladenboro | 19.8 | 31.9 | NC 211 Bus. (Seaboard Street) | |
| Bladen | Bladenboro | 19.9 | 32.0 | NC 131 north / NC 410 north (Main Street) – Dublin | North end of NC 131 / NC 410 overlap |
| Bladen | ​ | 21.0 | 33.8 | NC 211 (CDR Frank Elkins Memorial Highway) – Clarkton, Lumberton | |
| Bladen | ​ | 31.1 | 50.1 | US 701 south – Whiteville | South end of US 701 overlap |
| Bladen | ​ | 31.3 | 50.4 | NC 87 – Fayetteville, Southport | |
| Bladen | Elizabethtown | 33.2 | 53.4 | NC 41 south / NC 87 Bus. (Broad Street) – Fayetteville, Southport | South end of NC 41 overlap |
| Bladen | Sutton's Corner | 34.5 | 55.5 | US 701 north / NC 41 north / NC 53 east – White Lake | North end of US 701 / NC 41 and south end of NC 53 overlap |
| Bladen | Sutton's Corner | 34.6 | 55.7 | NC 53 west – Fayetteville | North end of NC 53 overlap |
| Cumberland | ​ | 51.8 | 83.4 | NC 210 – Fayetteville, Moores Creek | |
| Sampson | ​ | 57.3 | 92.2 | NC 411 east – Garland | Western terminus of NC 411 |
| Sampson | Roseboro | 59.0 | 95.0 | NC 24 (Fayetteville Highway) – Fayetteville, Clinton | |
| Sampson | ​ | 72.7 | 117.0 | US 421 south – Clinton | South end of US 421 overlap |
| Sampson | Spivey's Corner | 76.7 | 123.4 | US 13 – Fayetteville, Goldsboro | |
| Sampson | Spivey's Corner | 77.7 | 125.0 | US 421 north – Dunn | North end of US 421 overlap |
| Johnston | McKoy | 81.5 | 131.2 | NC 55 (Harnett-Dunn Highway) – Dunn, Newton Grove | |
| Johnston | Benson | 90.2 | 145.2 | I-95 to I-40 / NC 50 south (Main Street) – Newton Grove, Dunn, Smithfield | South end of NC 50 overlap |
| Johnston | Benson | 90.9 | 146.3 | US 301 south (Wall Street) / NC 27 west / NC 50 north (Main Street) – Campbell University | North end of NC 50 and south end of US 301 overlap |
| Johnston | Benson | 91.5 | 147.3 | US 301 north (Wall Street) – Four Oaks, Smithfield | North end of US 301 overlap |
| Johnston | ​ | 94.2 | 151.6 | I-40 – Wilmington, Raleigh | Northern terminus |
| Johnston | ​ | 94.2 | 151.6 | Woodall Dairy Road | Continuation beyond I-40 |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus ||||||

## Special routes
### Roseboro truck route

North Carolina Highway 242 Truck (NC 242 Truck) is a short 1-mile-long (1.6 km) truck route through Roseboro, via Pinewood Street and East Street.

### Roseboro alternate spur

North Carolina Highway 242 Alternate (NC 242A) was established in 1939 as a new alternate spur, creating a cutoff between NC 242 and NC 24, in Roseboro. It is unclear when NC 242A was decommissioned, from its still appearing on Sampson County maps as late as 1968, to links of missing documents located on NCDOT's website, indicated it may have been as late as 1977. Today it is East Roseboro Street.