US 117 begins at the Port of Wilmington. Going east, it overlaps with NC 132 at College Street, then proceeds north. At the intersection of Kings Grant Road, I-40 begins; it has a brief concurrency before exiting off at exit 420. From this point, US 117 parallels I-40 on a mostly two-lane road, going through the towns of Burgaw, Wallace and Warsaw. At Calypso, it highway expands to 4-lane; this is also where a rare connector route is located going back to I-40. In Goldsboro, US 117 overlaps with US 13 and NC 581; it then splits from NC 581, which connects to I-795. With a brief concurrency with US 70, US 117 splits from both US 13 and US 70 to continue north towards Wilson. US 117 ends at US 301 in Wilson, near exits to both I-795 and US 264.
History
The second and current US 117 was established in 1932 as a renumbering of several routes in both South and North Carolina. In South Carolina, it replaced SC 38 from Conway to Myrtle Beach and SC 49 from Myrtle Beach to the state line. In North Carolina, it replaced SR 30 from the state line to Wilmington and US 17-1/SR 40 from Wilmington to Wilson. By 1939, US 17 replaced US 117 south of Wilmington. In the 1950s, bypasses were established in Burgaw and Goldsboro. In the early 1960s, US 117 bypassed Calypso to Mount Olive; which was later extended in 1988 to Brogden. In 2006, US 117 was moved onto a new freeway between Goldsboro and Wilson, its northern terminus ending at I-95. However, because of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act specifying that trucks over 48 feet in length can utilize only Interstate and specific routes approved by the state, larger trucks were not legally allowed to use the new route. As a result, NCDOT decided to get it approved as an interstate as opposed to the longer process of adding it on the STAA system. AASHTO conditionally agreed to this on September 28, 2007, which gave birth to I-795 and moved US 117 back to its original route, ending at US 301 near Wilson.
U.S. Route 117 Alternate was established in 1953 when mainline US 117 bypassed Burgaw to its east. It traveled through downtown Burgaw, via Walker Street, Bridges Street, and Timberly Lane. In 1960, the route was rebannered as a business loop.
Burgaw business loop
U.S. Route 117 Business was established in the mid-1950s, the route that goes through downtown Burgaw, via Walker Street, Bridgers Street, and Timberly Lane.
Calypso Connector
U.S. Route 117 Connector is a rare spur route connects I-40/NC 403 to US 117 in Calypso. What makes it unique is that this connector route is signed and traverses for several miles; it and US 19 Connector in Bryson City are the only confirmed signed connector routes in North Carolina.
Calypso–Mount Olive business loop
U.S. Route 117 Business was established in 1960 as a renumbering of US 117A. It traveled along 4th Street in Calypso and Breazeale Avenue in Mount Olive. In 1988, the entire route was rebannered as an alternate route.
Calypso–Brogden alternate route
U.S. Route 117 Alternate was established in 1988, the alternate route followed the previous US 117 Business route between Calypso and Mount Olive to Vision of Faith Road, then continuing north replacing mainline US 117 when it was moved onto new freeway just west of it.
Goldsboro alternate route
U.S. Route 117 Alternate was established in 1952 when mainline US 117 bypassed Goldsboro to its west. It traveled through downtown Goldsboro, via George Street, Chestnut Street, Center Street, Ash Street, and William Street. In 1949, the US 117A was rerouted and replaced NC 102A on George Street, between Chestnut and Ash Streets. In 1960, the route was rebannered as a business loop.
Goldsboro business loop
U.S. Route 117 Business was established in the mid-1950s, the route that goes through downtown Goldsboro via George Street, Ash Street, and William Street.
Goldsboro–Wilson alternate route
U.S. Route 117 Alternate was established on September 2006 as a renumbering of mainline US 117 through Goldsboro, Pikeville, and Fremont, before connecting briefly with both US 301 and US 264 and the start of mainline US 117. On April 2009, nearly the entire alternate route was reverted to mainline US 117 when I-795 was established; overlapping sections of US 301 and US 264 were removed.
