The routing of modern-day NC 133 was established in 1916 when North Carolina created a highway running from Wilmington, through Castle Hayne and Bells Crossroads, towards
Clinton. The section between Bells Crossroads and Castle Hayne became part of NC 60; while the section south of Castle Hayne to Wilmington became part of NC 40. By 1931,
US 17-1 ran concurrently with NC 40 along the entire route, including the segment from Wilmington to Castle Hayne. US 117 replaced US 17-1 along the Castle Hayne to Wilmington segment in 1933. The same year, US 421 was extended concurrent with NC 60 from Bells Crossroads to Castle Hayne. US 421 was extended south along US 117 in 1935. This replaced NC 40 to Wilmington, while NC 60 was also removed from the concurrent routing. Beginning in 1940, an improved road was created from NC 130 (modern-day NC 211) to Oak Island. A segment between Belville and Southport first appeared on North Carolina maps beginning in 1941 as an unnumbered gravel-topsoil road. South of Liliput Creek, the road followed an eastern route, which ran parallel to the Cape Fear River and followed East Moore Street into Southport. The road was improved from US 17/US 74/US 76 to Orton Plantation in 1948. In 1951, the segment was completely improved, and NC 130 was extended along the road from Southport to Belville. North of Wilmington, US 421 was removed from the routing between Bells Crossroads and Wilmington in 1954. NC 210 was routed along the segment from Bells Crossroads to US 117 north of Castle Hayne. The third and final designation of NC 40 was established from Bells Crossroads to Southport in 1957, as a partial renumbering of NC 210 and NC 130. The highway also ran concurrently with US 117 from Castle Hayne to Wilmington, and US 17/US 74/US 76/US 421 west of Wilmington. Following the establishment of Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, NC 40 was rerouted along new routing along the western edge of the installation. It then ran concurrent with NC 87 to Southport. The highway was extended south from Southport to Oak Island in 1960, running concurrently along NC 211 for . In 1961, NC 40 was renumbered as NC 133 with the establishment of I-40 in North Carolina. In 1969, the routing of NC 133 was adjusted to its modern route between the Brunswick River and Northeast Cape Fear River. NC 133 ran concurrently with US 17/US 74/US 76 in
Brunswick County until reaching US 421 at an interchange. NC 133 then ran concurrently with US 421 north to the Isabel Stellings Holmes Bridge, where it crossed the Northeast Cape Fear River concurrent with US 117. Both highways then followed Front Street and Fourth Street in downtown Wilmington, along with Cornelius Harnett Drive and Castle Hayne Road towards Wrightsboro. In 1978, NC 133 was placed onto the modern-day freeway between Belville and US 421, running concurrently with US 17/US 74/US 76. Between 1980 and 1984, the section of NC 133 running concurrently with US 421 was mulitlaned and adjusted slightly to the west NC 133 was removed from its routing along North Front Street, North Fourth Street, Cornelius Harnett Drive, and Castle Hayne Road in 2005. This temporary gap in the route was due to the construction of the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in Downtown Wilmington. The route was reestablished in February 2008 via the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. In 2014, construction began on the Long Beach Road Extension in Brunswick County which removed NC 133 from a concurrency with NC 211 and shortened its concurrency with NC 87. The project was completed on January 10, 2016. In 2016, construction on a diverging diamond interchange was completed at the US 17/US 74/US 76 interchange in Leland. ==Future==