North Carolina Route 27 stretches across the Tar Heel State from NC 10 in northern Cleveland County to NC 50 at Benson in Johnston County. The bulk of NC 27 overlaps with NC 24, from Charlotte 103 miles east to Johnsonville in Harnett County.
North Carolina Highway 27 Guides
- Route 24/27 East - Mint Hill to Locust
- Route 24/27 West - Moore County
- Route 24/27 West - Montgomery County
- Route 24/27 West - Albemarle to Charlotte
NC 27 stems east from NC 10 near Carpenter Knob. Passing between Toluca and Laurel Hill, NC 27 enters Lincoln County at NC 18 and then bee lines east southeast to Lincolnton. Within the Lincoln County seat, NC 27 (Main Street) combines with NC 150 from U.S. 321 Business east 2.08 miles to Boger City.
Continuing southeast from NC 73 into Gaston County, NC 27 leads to Stanley and Mount Holly. Crossing the Catawba River and Mecklenburg County line, NC 27 (Charlotte Avenue) becomes Mount Holly Road. Mount Holly Road extends east to I-485 and the Paw Creek area of Charlotte, where NC 27 turns south onto Freedom Drive.
NC 27 on Freedom Drive in Charlotte advances southeast by the Thomasboro, Enderly Park and West End neighborhoods. NC 27 combines with U.S. 74 and I-277 (John Belk Freeway) from the end of Freedom Drive to bypass Uptown Charlotte. Prior to 2021, NC 27 combined with U.S. 29 (W Morehead Street) east from Freedom Drive to S Mint Street, and with NC 49 from there to S Tryon Street. NC 27 continued along Morehead Street to S McDowell Street, parallel to I-277/U.S. 74. NC 27 turned northeast along McDowell Street to the Second Ward and southeast from the First Ward along E 7th Street to ramps joining Charlottetowne Avenue with U.S. 74 along Independence Boulevard.
U.S. 74/NC 27 overlap along Independence Boulevard on an urban freeway in Charlotte from Elizabeth to Albemarle Road at Sheffield Park. NC 27 advances 2.91 miles east along Albemarle Road to NC 24 (W.T. Harris Boulevard). NC 24/27 combine east from Charlotte and Mint Hill to the county seats of Ablemarle, Troy and Carthage.
Beyond the separation with NC 24, NC 27 arcs northeast to a diamond interchange with NC 87 at Pineview. Paralleling Barbecue Creek, the rural highway progresses east to cross the Upper Little River north of Big Ridge. NC 27 enters the Harnett County seat of Lillington from the southwest, lining W Old Road to a 1.96 mile long overlap with U.S. 401/NC 210 north on Main Street.
North of the Cape Fear River, NC 27 parts ways with U.S. 401/NC 210 to combine with U.S. 421 for 5.05 miles east to Buies Creek and Harnett Regional Jetport (HRJ). NC 27 previously followed a more direct route from Buies Creek northeast along Leslie Campbell Avenue, but was relocated over SR 1006 to bypass Campbell University. NC 27 continues east to the town of Coats and across Mingo Swamp to W Main Street in Benson.
Morehead Street - Former  East - Charlotte |
 | Morehead Street (old NC 27) intersects College Street just east of where NC 49 turns south onto S Tryon Street to the South End district. 11/20/21 |
 | A grade separation takes Morehead Street over South Boulevard, the historic alignment of U.S. 21 north into Uptown Charlotte. 11/20/21 |
 | Morehead Street proceeds east from South Boulevard to a traffic light at Caldwell Street. 11/20/21 |
 | NC 27 shifted northeast from Morehead Street onto McDowell Street. The shield assembly marking the turn was removed in 2021. 11/20/21 |
 | NC 27 followed McDowell Street northeast 0.96 miles to E 7th Street. NC 16 southbound overlays McDowell Street from E 4th Street west to E 3rd Street east. 11/20/21 |
 | NC 16 south parts ways with I-277/U.S. 74-NC 27 west via a loop ramp to E 4th Street north. 11/20/21 |
| Former West - Charlotte |
 | Trailblazers along the exit from U.S. 74 (Independence Boulevard) west onto E 6th Street referenced the continuation of NC 27 west from E 7th Street. 11/20/21 |
 | 6th Street angles northwest into Uptown Charlotte while NC 27 circumvented Uptown along McDowell Street southwest and Morehead Street northwest. 11/20/21 |
Photo Credits:
11/20/21 by AARoads
Connect with:
Interstate 73
Interstate 74
Interstate 77
Interstate 85
Interstate 277
Interstate 485 - Charlotte Beltway
U.S. 29
U.S. 52
U.S. 74
U.S. 321
U.S. 401
U.S. 421
U.S. 601
Highway 16
Highway 24
Route 49
Charlotte City Route 4
Page Updated 11-30-2021.