North Carolina Highway 87 Bypass (Sanford)

North Carolina Highway 87
Route of NC 87 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	236.8 mi (381.1 km)
Existed:	1937 – present
Major junctions
South end:	NC 211 in Southport
	US 17 near Bolivia US 74 / US 76 in Sandy Creek US 701 in Elizabethtown I‑95 / US 301 / I‑95 Bus. in Fayetteville US 1 / US 15 / US 501 / US 421 Bus. in Sanford US 64 in Pittsboro I‑40 / I‑85 in Burlington US 70 / NC 54 in Burlington US 29 / US 158 in Reidsville US 311 / NC 14 / NC 770 in Eden
North end:	SR 87 at VA line near Eden
Location
Counties:	Brunswick, Columbus, Bladen, Cumberland, Harnett, Lee, Chatham, Alamance, Caswell, Rockingham
Highway system
North Carolina Highway System Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← NC 86 NC 88 →

North Carolina Highway 87 Business
Location:	Elizabethtown, North Carolina
Length:	6.4 mi (10.3 km)
Existed:	1998–present

North Carolina Highway 87 Bypass
Location:	Sanford, North Carolina
Length:	8.0 mi (12.9 km)
Existed:	2013–present

North Carolina Highway 87 (NC 87) is a mostly rural highway traversing the eastern half of the U.S. state of North Carolina. NC 87 begins in the Atlantic coastal town of Southport and crosses into Virginia at the Virginia state line five miles (8 km) north of Eden in Rockingham County. At 240 miles (390 km) in length, NC 87 is the second longest state highway in North Carolina.

NC 87 is a four-lane, divided highway with at-grade crossings between Elizabethtown and Sanford with the exception of Fayetteville, where NC 87 is a freeway. Other sections that are four-lane, divided highways include concurrencies with US 17 and US 74/US 76 in Brunswick County.

North of Sanford, NC 87 runs concurrent with US 15/US 501 to Pittsboro. It then continues towards Graham as a two-lane highway. It returns to four-lanes in southern Graham, returning to two-lane in downtown Graham. The route makes a left turn one block north of the Alamance County Courthouse, where it follows a two-lane road before making a right turn onto a four-lane street. The highway remains four-lane through downtown Burlington, returning to two-lane for the remainder of its route in North Carolina, save for a small section near its intersection with US 29.