North Carolina Highway 403

North Carolina Highway 403
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length	25.7 mi (41.4 km)
Existed	1932–present
Major junctions
South end	US 701 Bus. in Clinton
Major intersections	I-40 / US 117 Conn. near Faison US 117 / NC 50 in Faison
North end	NC 55 in Williams
Location
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Counties	Sampson, Duplin, Wayne
Highway system
North Carolina Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← US 401 → NC 410

North Carolina Highway 403 (NC 403) is a primary state highway located in U.S. State of North Carolina. The highway travels through Sampson, Duplin, and Wayne Counties between its southern terminus at U.S. Route 701 Business (US 701 Business) in Clinton and NC 55 in Williams. Between its termini, NC 403 connects to Interstate 40 (I-40) and Faison. While signed in a north-south direction, NC 403 physically travels in a northeast-southwest direction along the duration of its route.

Prior to the establishment of NC 403, multiple secondary roads linked Clinton and Faison. NC 403 was established in 1932 running along these secondary roads from NC 24 in Clinton to US 117/NC 40 in Faison. In 1957, NC 403 was extended northeast from Faison to NC 55 in Williams. The southern terminus of NC 403 was moved from Warsaw Road to US 701 (modern-day US 701 Business) in 1966. Upon the completion of I-40, NC 403 was slightly rerouted northeast of the Interstate to accommodate the interchange and a new secondary road running northeast to Calypso. In 2009, US 117 Connector was signed along the secondary road to I-40, creating a 0.2-mile (0.32 km) concurrency.

Route description

NC 403 is a predominantly two-lane rural highway that traverses 25.7 miles (41.4 km) from Clinton to Williams. The southern terminus of NC 403 is located at an at-grade intersection with US 701 Business (Northeast Boulevard) northeast of downtown Clinton. From the intersection, NC 403 runs northeastward along the two-lane Faison Highway, exiting Clinton to the northeast. Outside of Clinton, the majority of the surrounding area is farmland and forested areas. However, some residential neighborhoods are located adjacent to NC 403 on the outskirts of the city. The highway crosses Beaverdam Swamp and makes a gradual turn northward. Beyond the initial curve, the highway makes several minor turns to return to a northeastern orientation. NC 403 intersects Keener Road which runs westward to the census-designated place of Keener. The highway crosses several other river branches of the Cape Fear River as it approaches I-40. As NC 403 approaches I-40, it widens to a four-lane divided highway. NC 403 meets I-40 at a diamond interchange (I-40 exit 355) southwest of Faison. US 117 Connector begins at the interchange, marking the beginning of the NC 403/US 117 Connector concurrency. NC 403 continues northeast for 0.2 miles (0.32 km) until reaching an at-grade intersection northeast of I-40. At the intersection, NC 403 turns southeastward toward Faison while US 117 Connector continues northeast toward Calypso.

Approaching Faison, NC 403 makes a reverse curve before intersecting NC 50 west of the town. At the intersection, NC 50 turns to run concurrently with NC 403 to the east. Entering Faison from the west, NC 403 and NC 50 travel along Main Street to pass through the downtown area of Faison. Immediately east of the central business area, the highway crosses a CSX Transportation owned railroad line and meets US 117/NC 50 at an intersection. The NC 403/NC 50 concurrency ends at the intersection as NC 50 turns south to follow US 117 toward Warsaw. NC 403 exits Faison to the east and the surrounding area becomes predominately farmland. The highway makes a turn to the northeast and intersects several secondary roads that run northwest to Calypso. NC 403 makes a turn to the southeast before intersecting Beautancus Road which runs north to Mount Olive. At the intersection, the highway turns back to the northeast, an orientation it largely remains for the duration of its route. NC 403 passes through a community southeast of Mount Olive, with several businesses and residential buildings located adjacent to the highway. From the community, NC 403 continues northeastward for 2.8 miles (4.5 km). NC 403 reaches its northern terminus at an intersection with NC 55 in the unincorporated community of Williams.

History

In 1930, several secondary roads linked Clinton and Faison along the future routing of NC 403. All of the secondary roads were classified as graded roads. NC 403 was established in 1932, replacing the secondary roads. The southern terminus was located at NC 24 (modern-day Warsaw Road) in Clinton. The highway ran northeast until reaching US 117/NC 40 in Faison. Between 1956-1958, NC 403 was extended north over existing secondary roads to its current northern terminus with NC 55. In 1966, NC 403 was removed from downtown Clinton, to its current southern terminus at US 701 Business. In 2009, US 117 Connector was established overlapping part of NC 403 at its I-40 interchange.

Junction list

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Sampson	Clinton	0.0	0.0	US 701 Bus. – Newton Grove, Elizabethtown
	​	11.2	18.0	I-40 / US 117 Conn. – Wilmington, Newton Grove	South end of US 117 Conn overlap
	​	11.5	18.5	US 117 Conn. north – Mount Olive, Goldsboro	North end of US 117 Conn overlap
Duplin	Faison	13.6	21.9	NC 50 north – Newton Grove	North end of NC 50 overlap
		14.3	23.0	US 117 / NC 50 south – Goldsboro, Wilmington	South end of NC 50 overlap
Wayne	Williams	25.7	41.4	NC 55 – Kinston, Mount Olive
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

External links

Template:Attached KML/North Carolina Highway 403

KML is from Wikidata

• Media related to North Carolina Highway 403 at Wikimedia Commons
• NCRoads.com: N.C. 403