Skip to main content

A few more photos of I-73 on the Greensboro Outer Loop

Now that everyone has calmed down at the sight of seeing I-73 signed on the recently opened segments of the Greensboro Outer Loop, it's time to get you all excited again!

Yep, you guessed it. More I-73 Photos! A few weeks ago Bob Malme sent me three shots showing other ways I-73 is signed on the freeways and surface streets that interchange with I-40/73.

Here Bob is on Wendover Ave. and I-73 is marked on the overhead signs. It will be interesting to see what will be listed under Winston-Salem as the Greensboro Loop and I-73 is built. Martinsville, maybe?

Again on Wendover, here's a look at stand alone I-40 and I-73 shields. If you aren't a fan of I-73....get used to it. It's here to stay.

Now some have stated that I-40/73/85 form one of the few triplex Interstate segments in the country. And hell, the state even signs it that way.


Well upon closer inspection, that may not be the case. You see, I-85 South physically leaves the Greensboro Loop before I-73 North joins it. (Now for about a 1/2 mile or so I-73 North runs parallel to the loop via the ramp that begins at right in the photo above.) I-73 South leaves I-40 East before I-85 North Joins the loop. (Again same scenario with parallel ramps).


Now the two photos above are from last October when the new section was still under construction. To the right is the two lane ramp that carries I-73 North from US 220 (along with access to Grandover Parkway) In the middle I-40 West will bear to the right while I-85 South heads left and off the loop to head south to Charlotte, Atlanta, and whatnot. SO I-73 North is not on the main traffic lanes of the loop when I-85 South exits off. (Now you see why I call it 'The Maze'?)


Then there is the above sign on US 220 (Future I-73 North) as it approaches the loop. There is no access to I-85 South from I-73 North. Those wanting to get on I-85 South and head to Charlotte need to go a mile further north to where US 220 meets what is now Business I-85.

Confused yet? I am sure you are. Fortunately, this 'Maze' of connections are all within a mile of each other, and someway somehow you can get there from here. But it appears that the I-40/73/85 multiplex doesn't 'technically' exist.

Comments

Akilez said…
How about driving on 95?
Anonymous said…
I've also questioned whether it exists, because Future Interstate 73 shields were posted on the U.S. 220 freeway leaving south of now Business Loop Interstate 40 & U.S. 421. Have those been removed, or is the triplex signing a stop-gap until that section of freeway is brought up to standards?
Adam said…
Alex,

The Future shields that you are referring to are from the original I-73 corridor (the one that had it down NC 68 to I-40 to US 220).

From my understanding I-73 will be on the loop from Bryan Boulevard to US 220. There has never been an official announcement, but a number of NCDOT maps show the change in the corridor to the current routing around Greensboro.

The shields were up prior to the bypass opening; however, I am not aware of their status since the 40 bypass opened. If they are still up, it's more than likely that NCDOT has not gotten to them yet.

I am in Charlotte this weekend, so on my way back to Raleigh - I'll try to see if the shields in fact have been taken down.

Popular posts from this blog

When did people begin to refer to the "Ridge Route" as "The Grapevine?" (former US Route 99 and Interstate 5)

The segment of US Route 99 from Los Angeles north to Bakersfield was traditionally known in State Highway documents as the "Ridge Route."  Even as the Ridge Route was transitioning from curvy mountain grade to the facility now occupied by Interstate 5nthe name largely persisted in California Highways & Public Works documents.  During modern times the name "Ridge Route" has be usurped in popular lexicon in favor to the nickname known as "The Grapevine."  This blog will attempt to decipher the origins of "The Grapevine" and how it came into popular use today.  Featured as the blog cover photo is a view of Interstate 5 in Grapevine Canyon and former US Route 99 at Deadman's Curve of the Ridge Route. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Note:

US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway

The communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway can all be found along US Route 101 within southern Humboldt County.  The former surface alignment of US Route 101 in Garberville and Redway once crossed the Garberville Bluffs along what is now Redwood Drive via a corridor constructed as part of the Redwood Highway during the 1910s.  US Route 101 through Benbow, Garberville and Redway was modernized by 1935.  US Route 101 would eventually be upgraded to freeway standards in Benbow, Garberville and Redway by extension of the Redwood Freeway during 1966-68.  As the cover photo the original grade of US Route 101 and the Redwood Highway can be seen at the Garberville Bluffs during 1934.  US Route 101 can be seen in the communities of Benbow, Garberville and Redway on the 1935 Division of Highways Map of Humboldt County .   The history of US Route 101 in Benbow, Garberville and Redway Benbow, Garberville and Redway lie on the banks of the South Fork Eel River of southern Humboldt County.  D

Legend of the Ridge Route; a history of crossing the mountains between the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley from wagon trails to Interstates

Over the past two decades I've crossed the Interstate 5 corridor from Los Angeles north over the Sierra Pelona Mountains and Tehachapi Range to San Joaquin Valley what seems to be an immeasurable number of times.  While Interstate 5 from Castaic Junction to Grapevine via Tejon Pass today is known to most as "The Grapevine" it occupies a corridor which has been traversed by numerous historic highways.  The most notable of these highways is known as the "Ridge Route."  This article is dedicated to the Ridge Route and the various highways that preceded it.  This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Ridge Route corridor introdution The Ridge Route as originally envisioned was a segment of highway which was completed in 1915 between the northern Los Angeles city limit