North Carolina Highway 131

North Carolina Highway 131
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length	24.5 mi[1] (39.4 km)
Existed	1949–present
Major junctions
South end	US 701 near Whiteville
North end	NC 87 in Tar Heel
Location
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Counties	Columbus, Bladen
Highway system
North Carolina Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← NC 130 → NC 132

North Carolina Highway 131 (NC 131) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It connects the city of Bladenboro to Fayetteville, via NC 87, and Whiteville, via US 701.

NC 131 is a two-lane rural highway that begins at US 701 north of Whiteville. In Bladenboro, it shares concurrencies with NC 242 and NC 410 along its Main Street crossing NC 211 Business at Seaboard Street. It soon splits from NC 242, which continues north to Elizabethtown, followed by crossing NC 211 By-Pass, before leaving Bladenboro. Five miles (8.0 km) later, it splits from NC 410, which continues north to Dublin. At NC 41, NC 131 has a brief .1-mile (0.16 km) overlap; it is noticeable that the routing here was reconfigured to slowdown NC 131 at this location.^{[citation needed]} At the end of its journey, NC 131 meets with NC 87, in Tar Heel; where travelers can continue on to Fayetteville or Elizabethtown.

NC 131 goes through predominantly forested or farmlands in the area, with Bladenboro being the only urban location along its route.

NC 131 was established in 1949 as a new primary routing from US 701 north of Whiteville to NC 87 in Tar Heel.^[2] In 1970, NC 131 was rerouted onto a new road east of downtown Tar Heel.^[3] In 2015, NC 131 was realigned on new road and brief overlap with NC 41, eliminating an intersection; old alignment was downgraded to secondary roads, with some partial removal of roadway.^[4]

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Columbus	​	0.0	0.0	US 701 (James B. White Highway) – Clarkton, Whiteville
Bladen	Bladenboro	9.2	14.8	NC 242 / NC 410 south (Main Street) – Chadbourn, Evergreen, Boardman	South end of NC 242/NC 410 overlap
		9.8	15.8	NC 211 Bus. (Seaboard Street)
		10.0	16.1	NC 242 north – Elizabethtown	North end of NC 242 overlap
		10.7	17.2	NC 211 – Clarkton, Lumberton
	​	15.6	25.1	NC 410 north – Dublin	North end of NC 410 overlap
	​	17.4	28.0	NC 41 west – Lumberton	West end of NC 41 overlap
	​	17.5	28.2	NC 41 east – Elizabethtown	East end of NC 41 overlap
	Tar Heel	24.5	39.4	NC 87 – Elizabethtown, Fayetteville
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

• Media related to North Carolina Highway 131 at Wikimedia Commons
• NCRoads.com: N.C. 131