The route then heads southeast as St. Pauls Drive, crossing over Peddlers Branch before exiting town.

The route then enters Bladen County and reaches its eastern terminus at NC 87 north of Tar Heel.

[3] The original NC 20 was at one time the longest numbered route in North Carolina, running from the Tennessee border to the port city of Wilmington, a distance of 401 miles (645 km).

The NC 220 designation was dropped permanently from the state highway system around 1935 after the introduction of US 220 into North Carolina.

[citation needed] Media related to North Carolina Highway 20 at Wikimedia Commons