North Carolina Highway 3

NC Highway 3
Dale Earnhardt Boulevard
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	27.8 mi[1] (44.7 km)
Existed:	2002[2] – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 601 in Concord
	US 29 in Kannapolis
North end:	NC 150 in Mooresville
Highway system
North Carolina Highway System Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← NC 2 NC 4 →

North Carolina Highway 3 (NC 3) is a North Carolina state highway approximately 25 miles (40 km) in length. It is numbered after Dale Earnhardt, the NASCAR driver, who was driving the #3 car when he died at the 2001 Daytona 500.^[3] This state highway runs from Kannapolis, Earnhardt's birthplace, to downtown Mooresville. A short section of NC 3 is named Dale Earnhardt Boulevard, a name which was given to the road prior to Earnhardt's death. From Kannapolis to the Cabarrus-Iredell county line, it is signed as Mooresville Road.

Route description

NC 3's southern terminus is in Concord, at NC 73. From there, NC 3 travels north through Kannapolis and on to Mooresville. After meandering through downtown Mooresville and switching roads multiple times, NC 3 meets its northern terminus at Plaza Drive (NC 150).

History

The highway is numbered in honor of Dale Earnhardt's car number (pictured at the Michigan International Speedway in 1994)

In 1934, NC 3 was signed as a short 1.5-mile (2.4 km) route on Buck Island traveling from U.S. Highway 158 to the Currituck Sound in Currituck County.^[2]

On October 23, 2002, Governor Mike Easley signed into law a bill officially reassigning NC 136 to NC 3's current route and vice versa. NC 3 was moved because it was the hometown of the aforementioned Dale Earnhardt who died in the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt drove the #3 Goodwrench Chevrolet and grew up in the Mooresville region. NC 136 now follows the old NC 3 route.^[3]

Major intersections

Northbound NC 3, in Concord

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Cabarrus	Concord	0.0	0.0	US 601 / NC 73 Truck (Warren C. Coleman Boulevard) to NC 49 / Woodland Drive – Monroe, Kannapolis
		2.9	4.7	NC 73 (Corban Avenue) – Mount Pleasant
	Kannapolis	8.6	13.8	US 29 (Cannon Boulevard)
Iredell	Mooresville	27.0	43.5	NC 152 east (North Main Street)	Western terminus of NC 152
		27.0	43.5	NC 115 (North Broad Street)
		27.8	44.7	NC 150 (East Plaza Drive) to I‑77 / Limerick Road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. Google (January 28, 2016). "North Carolina Highway 3" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
2. NCRoads Annex - NC 3 Archived September 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
3. "SESSION LAW 2002-170 HOUSE BILL 1516" (PDF). General Assembly of North Carolina. Retrieved 2010-01-05.

External links

• Media related to North Carolina Highway 3 at Wikimedia Commons
• NCRoads.com: N.C. 3