| State: | NC |
| Type: | NC |
| Route: | 142 |
| Map: | North Carolina Highway 142 map.png |
| Length Mi: | 9.2 |
| Direction A: | West |
| Direction B: | East |
| Terminus A: | in Fountain Fork |
| Terminus B: | near Hamilton |
| Junction: |
|
| Counties: | Edgecombe, Martin |
| Spur Type: | NC |
| Spur Of: | 42 |
| Established: | 1975[1] |
| Previous Type: | NC |
| Previous Route: | 141 |
| Next Type: | NC |
| Next Route: | 143 |
North Carolina Highway 142 (NC 142) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina that goes through the town of Hassell. The entire route is two lanes wide.
The western terminus of the highway is NC 111. Traveling east 2.5miles, the highway beings a brief 1.1miles concurrency with NC 42 and joins the Tar Heel Trace scenic byway.[2] NC 42 departs the route at the NC 11 intersection, NC 142 continues 1.4miles to the rural community of Hassell. Leaving Hassell to the east, NC 142 terminates after 3.7miles with the NC 125/NC 903 junction. The Tar Heel Trace continues southbound on NC 125.
The route was created in 1975 as part of a rerouting of NC 42, which formerly ran from the current NC 11/NC 42/NC 142 junction to the NC 125/NC 903 junction. In 1980 the route was expanded west to its current profile by promoting two secondary routes in Edgecombe and Martin County.[1]