U.S. Route 276

U.S. Route 276 (US 276) is a United States highway that runs for 106.4 miles (171.2 km) from Mauldin, South Carolina to Cove Creek, North Carolina. It is known both as a busy urban highway in Greenville, South Carolina and a scenic back-road in Western North Carolina.

Route description

In South Carolina, US 276 only runs in Greenville County, for a total of 43.3 miles (69.7 km); beginning at the I-385/I-185 junction in Mauldin. The US Highway then runs north to the City of Greenville, then to Travelers Rest, and then Slater-Marietta before climbing into North Carolina. A two-mile portion of US 276 between Greenville and Travelers Rest is an expressway complete with shoulders, exits, a grass median, and a speed limit of 55 miles per hour.

In Travelers Rest, a Downtown Revitalization Plan has reduced US 276 from four lanes down to two; added trees, on-street parking, a new park, and other improvements.

After Slater-Marietta, US 276 climbs about 2,000 feet (610 m) to Caesars Head State Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains, 3 miles (4.8 km) from the North Carolina border. At the border, the US Highway crosses the Eastern Continental Divide at 2,910 feet (890 m) above sea level.

In North Carolina, US 276 traverses through Transylvania and Haywood counties, for a total of 63 miles (101 km). Between the towns of Brevard and Waynesville in North Carolina, US 276 travels through the Pisgah National Forest and is a route heavily traveled by recreationalists. The road follows the Davidson River and a tributary upstream before climbing the Pisgah Ridge and crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway at its top, then descending by the Pigeon River and the Shining Rock Wilderness. Many trailheads used for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding lie along US 276 in this area and roads connecting to it. Drivers will also find roadside campgrounds, picnic areas, waterfalls, and two museums — the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and the Cradle of Forestry in America — along the road or within a short distance of it. North of Waynesville, US 276 continues through Lake Junaluska, where it joins US 19 to Maggie Valley, then runs north to I-40 at Cove Creek.

US 276 is signed east–west in South Carolina and north–south in North Carolina; which is why it is listed as having an eastern and northern terminus.

US 276 overlaps with the Forest Heritage Scenic Byway, which is a North Carolina Scenic Byway, National Forest Scenic Byway and National Scenic Byway, that traverses between Pisgah Forest and Woodrow.

History

Northbound US 276, in Brevard

US 276 was established in 1932, traversing from Laurens, South Carolina to Brevard, North Carolina; it replaced US 76 between Laurens to Greenville, overlapped with US 25 to Travelers Rest, replaced SC 284/NC 284 to Brevard.

Around 1939, US 276 was extended north from Brevard, via Pisgah Forest along the old Pisgah Motor Road, to Waynesville, ending at main street. In the 1940s, US 276 was rerouted to its current routing around the downtown area of Greenville, which established US 276 Business by 1948; the business route would be later replaced by I-85 Business by 1968-70.

In 1957 or 1958, US 276 was moved onto new freeway south of Mauldin to just south of Fountain Inn; its old route was replaced by SC 417 between Mauldin-Simpsonville and SC 14 to Fountain Inn. Between 1959-61, US 276's realignment onto new freeway was complete with a connection with I-26 in Clinton, the remainder of its former route to Laurens was replaced by SC 14.

Also around 1959, US 276 was extended north again to Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, replacing another section of NC 284. By 1968, a widen 4-lane road was completed between Dellwood and Cove Creek, completing a temporary connection between to completed sections if I-40. This section became the final extension north of US 276, replacing the last remaining section NC 284; temporary I-40 lasted till 1974 (when the section between exits 20-27 was completed).

Around 1985, the Mauldin-Clinton freeway was renumbered to I-385; truncating US 276 to its current eastern terminus in Mauldin.

Junction list

Mileposts reset at state line crossings.

South Carolina
County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Greenville		0	I-185 / I-385 – Simpsonville, Columbia, Atlanta	US 276 begins
	Mauldin	1.4	SC 417 (Main Street) – Simpsonville
	Greenville	5	I-85 – Spartanburg, Atlanta
		6.3	SC 146 (Woodruff Road) – Woodruff
		7.6	SC 291 (Pleasantburg Drive)
		9	I-385 south – Spartanburg, Columbia	Northern terminus of I-385
		9.5	To US 29 / Wade Hampton Boulevard – Greer
		10.5	SC 183 south (Rutherford Road)
		12.4	SC 253 / SC 291 south (Blue Ridge Drive/Pleasantburg Drive)	Northern terminus of SC 291
		14.6	Old Buncombe Road	To Timmons Arena
		15.3	Furman University
	Travelers Rest	17.5	US 25 – Hendersonville, Asheville	Brief overlap with US 25
		22.2	SC 414 (Bates Crossing Road)
	Slater-Marietta	23.4	SC 186 (Dacusville Road) – Dacusville, Pickens
		23.7	SC 288 (Pumpkintown Road) – Pumpkintown
	Cleveland	27.8	SC 11 east to US 25 (Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway)	East end of SC 11 overlap, to Pleasant Ridge County Park
		33.3	SC 11 west (Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway)	West end of SC 11 overlap, to Table Rock State Park
		34.2	SC 8 south (Caesars Head Highway) – Pickens	Northern terminus of SC 8, to Table Rock State Park
North Carolina
County	Location	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Transylvania	Cedar Mountain	1.6	Cascade Lake Road	To DuPont State Forest
	Brevard	12.5	US 64 west (Broad Street) – Highlands, Franklin	West end of US 64 overlap
		13.3	US 64 Bus. west (Caldwell Street)	Brevard College at intersection
	Pisgah Forest	15.9	US 64 east / NC 280 east – Asheville, Hendersonville	East end of US 64 overlap, east end of NC Bike 8, begin of Forest Heritage Scenic Byway overlap
		31	Blue Ridge Parkway	West end of NC Bike 8
Haywood	Woodrow	45.3	NC 110 north / NC 215 south – Canton, Rosman	South end of NC 215 overlap, end of Forest Heritage Scenic Byway overlap
	Bethel	46	NC 215 north – Canton	North end of NC 215 overlap
	Waynesville	52	US 23 Bus. (Main Street)	Brief .4 miles (0.64 km) concurrency
		53.1	US 23 / US 74 (Great Smoky Mtn. Expressway) – Asheville, Sylva
	Lake Junaluska	54.5	US 19 north (Dellwood Road) – Asheville	North end of US 19 overlap
	Dellwood	56.9	US 19 south (Soco Road) – Maggie Valley, Cherokee	South end of US 19 overlap
	Cove Creek	62.9	I‑40 – Asheville, Knoxville	US 276 ends
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Bannered routes

Travelers Rest connector

U.S. Route 276 Connector (US 276 Conn) is an unsigned 1.0 mile (1.6 km) connector route, in concurrency with US 25 Conn, along Poinsett Highway. It connects US 276 with US 25, in downtown Travelers Rest.

See also

• Blue Ridge Parkway
• French Broad River
• Mount Pisgah
• Paris Mountain State Park
• Pisgah National Forest

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• NCRoads.com: U.S. 276
• Mapmikey's South Carolina Highways Page: US 276

• US Highways from US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz