History
- Before 1928: NC 16 was one of the original North Carolina state highways. It ran due south from NC 10 in Newton to the South Carolina border, following mostly what is today US 321 Business.
- 1928: The route was extended north all the way to the Tennessee border; from to Newton to Wilkesboro it was cosigned with NC 18.
- 1933: NC 16 south of Conover was truncated in favor of US 321.
- 1937: NC 16 dropped its former routing along SR 1562 in the foothills of North Carolina for a more direct route.
- 1939: The route's northern terminus was moved to the Virginia border and its southern terminus was extended southward through Charlotte.
- 1954: NC 16 was rerouted away from North Wilkesboro.
- 1958: NC 16 was slightly diverted for an interchange with the newly constructed Interstate 85.
- 1959: NC 16 gained its own unshared route from US 221 to the Virginia border.
- Late 1950s and early 1960s: NC 16's routing through Charlotte changed numerous times.
- 1963: A zigzag routing in southern Charlotte was removed for NC 16.
- 1988: NC 16 follows the newly built Brookshire Boulevard in northern Charlotte; it used to follow parts of Bellhaven Boulevard and Rozzelles Ferry Road, which still exist.
- 1990: NC 16 is rerouted along a newly built 4-lane bypass through Catawba, Lincoln, and Gaston counties. The old route was designated as NC 16 Business.
- Late 1990s and early 2000s: Numerous road widenings are made along NC 16 in the Charlotte area.
- 2008: A new 4 lane divided portion of NC 16 is opened. This new four lane section of NC 16 had dead ended and exited on NC 73 near Denver, NC in Southeastern Lincoln County. It is expected the 4 lane portion will be extended to NC 150 by 2012.
On Thursday, July 30, 2009 The four-lane divided NC16 opened to traffic to Optimist Club Rd. in the Triangle community, south of Denver in eastern Lincoln County, with the next section to open in October, 2009 which will extend to St. James Church Rd. just west of Denver, NC in eastern Lincoln County, NC. Northbound drivers on NC16 will need to exit at St. James Church Rd. and travel east app. 1 mile to intersect with present-day NC16 and then turn left to continue north on NC16 toward Conover, NC.
Read more about this topic: North Carolina Highway 16
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