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North Carolina Highway 306
North Carolina Highway 306
	Route of NC 306 in solid red; NC 306 ferries in dashed red
Route information
	Maintained by NCDOT
Length	45.1 mi (72.6 km)
Existed	1930–present
Major junctions
South end	NC 101 near Havelock
	NC 55 near Grantsboro;
North end	NC 92 / NC 99 in Gaylord
Location
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Counties	Craven, Pamlico, Beaufort
Highway system
	North Carolina Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Scenic;

North Carolina Highway 306 (NC 306) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The highway provides a link between Havelock, Minnesott Beach, and Grantsboro. The route is primarily rural, and uses two free ferries to cross the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers before reaching NC 92/NC 99 near Gaylord.

NC 306 was established in 1932 as a new primary route running from Minnesott Beach to NC 302 in Grantsboro. The highway was extended north to NC 33 near Aurora in 1936. The highway remained unchanged until 1976, when the northern and southern termini of the highway were extended to their current locations.

Route description

The highway's southern terminus is in Craven County, near Havelock. It follows Ferry Road north from its intersection with NC 101 for about five miles (8.0 km) before it encounters the Neuse River. On the banks of the river is the dock for a free ferry, which the highway utilizes to cross the river. Many locals use this ferry to commute to and from the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, which makes this particular crossing among the busiest in the state.^[1]^[2]

Once across the river, which serves as the county line for Pamlico County, the highway goes through the village of Minnesott Beach. The route goes due north through Pamlico County on the east bank of the river. In Grantsboro, it crosses NC 55 about halfway through the county before crossing into Beaufort County. Many from southern Craven and Carteret counties use this route to get to the popular destination of Oriental.^[1]^[2]

Once in Beaufort County, a brief concurrency with NC 33 begins about six miles (9.7 km) into the county. NC 306 then turns left from the NC 33, skirting Aurora and bisecting the large PCS Phosphate facilities. After going through PCS Phosphate, the road crosses the Pamlico River, again by a free ferry used by many commuters to get to the phosphate plant. On the other side of the river, the route immediately and abruptly comes to its northern terminus at NC 92 and NC 99, still in Beaufort County.^[1]^[2]

History

NC 306 was established in 1930 as a new primary routing from Minnesott Beach to NC 302 (present-day NC 55) in Grantsboro.^[3] In 1932, NC 306 was extended north on new primary routing to NC 33 near Aurora.^[4]

In 1976, NC 306 was extended on both directions. The northern extension overlaps with NC 33 to Aurora, where it then goes north on new primary routing to the Pamlico River Ferry where it crosses the Pamlico River to Gaylord, ending at NC 92. The southern extension begins at Minnesott Beach, where it goes on the Neuse River Ferry, crossing the Neuse River to Cherry Point, then continuing south on new primary routing to NC 101.^[5] In 2001, the routing between Aurora and the Pamlico River Ferry was adjusted related to expansion at the nearby PCS Phosphate site.^[6]

Future

NCDOT has identified the need to replace the current ferry service across the Pamlico River with a 4.36-mile (7.02 km) two-lane bridge. The justification is to accommodate current existing and future commuter and commercial traffic growth related to the PCS Phosphate site. At an estimated cost of $101 million, it is currently unfunded.^[7]

Junction list

County	Location	mi^[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Craven		0.0	0.0	NC 101 – Havelock, Beaufort
Craven	Neuse River	4.5	7.2	Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach Ferry
Pamlico	Grantsboro	19.0	30.6	NC 55 – Bayboro, New Bern
Beaufort		30.1	48.4	NC 33 west – Chocowinity	West end of NC 33 overlap
	Aurora	33.3	53.6	NC 33 east – Bayboro	East end of NC 33 overlap
	Pamlico River	41.5	66.8	Bayview-Aurora Ferry
	Gaylord	45.1	72.6	NC 92 west / NC 99 north – Bath, Belhaven	Eastern terminus of NC 92, southern terminus of NC 99
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "North Carolina Highway 306" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c North Carolina Department of Transportation (2015). 2015–2016 State Transportation Map (Map) (2015–16 ed.). 1:823,680. Cartography by North Carolina State Tax Commission. North Carolina Department of Transportation.
^ State Highway System of North Carolina (PDF) (Map). Cartography by NCDOT. North Carolina Department of Transportation. 1930. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
^ North Carolina Primary Highway System (PDF) (Map). Cartography by NCDOT. North Carolina Department of Transportation. 1940. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
^ "NC Route Change (1976-10-01)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. October 1, 1976. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
^ "NC Route Change (2001-03-30)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. March 30, 2001. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
^ "SPOT ID: H090535" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. May 30, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.