SR 96 begins at an intersection with US 501 (Huell Matthews Highway) south of Cluster Springs in southern Halifax County.

The state highway heads southeast as Virgilina Road, which crosses Mayo Creek.

Northbound SR 49 follows 7th Street toward Clarksville while both state highways turn south onto Florence Avenue.

After crossing over the former alignment of the Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway, the two highways reach their respective termini at the North Carolina state line.

[3] By 1932, this southern piece of SR 302 became part of State Route 59, and that year it was extended east the rest of the way to Virgilina.