Skip to main content

I-73/I-74 (and Other Future Interstates) in NC Year in Review 2018

Image
By
Welcome to my latest annual review of the progress of building I-73, I-74 and other Future Interstate routes in North Carolina. 2018 saw the completion, for the time being, of the remaining I-73 construction projects, the expansion of I-74 construction, and the establishment of one new interstate route, I-285 between Lexington and Winston-Salem.

I-73

Work was completed on the US 220 widening project between Summerfield and NC 68 in December 2017, however the route was not officially signed until March 2018. Completion of this segment extended I-73 northward about 4 miles just beyond NC 68. This will be the northern limits of the route for the time being.
End I-73 sign approaching US 220 freeway end north of NC 68

At the southern end of state work too was completed, for now, on I-73 (and I-74) in the Rockingham area. The first section of the Rockingham Bypass, the upgrade of 3 miles of US 220 to Interstate Standards was completed in June 2018. The project includes a new exit at Dockery Road/Haywood Cemetery Road and the completion of what will be the future ramp from I-73 South/I-74 East for US 220 South. The FHWA formally accepted this southern part of I-73/I-74 into the Interstate System in September 2018.
First overhead sign northbound with I-73/I-74 shields at Dockery/Haywood Cemetery Road exit.

I-73 now runs continuously for 101 miles (Exit 22 to Exit 103) and will not grow any larger for a few more years. The end of 2018 saw NCDOT add the last phase of the Rockingham Bypass to its project letting list for October 2019, construction could therefore be started in a year and be completed by perhaps 2022 or 2023. The last northern segment, from NC 68 to the Virginia border, will probably take longer to complete. While projects to upgrade US 220 to interstate standards were considered for the upcoming 2020-2029 State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP), none scored high enough according to NCDOT's priority scoring method to be added to the list. It therefore may be beyond 2030 before any work is started along this segment.

I-74

While no new segment of I-74 alone opened in 2018, there is cause for optimism about the further expansion of this route in the next few years. Work continued on the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway. While opening of the first section from Business 40/US 421 to US 158 was postponed from the spring of 2019 to the end of the year, work officially started on the remaining segments from US 311 to US 52 and work also started on building the future interchange between I-74 and US 52. 
Noise wall under construction along future I-74 ramp to Business 40 East/US 421 South

Work is scheduled to be completed on the Beltway by 2023 including the segments from I-74/US 311 to Business 40. The only other major news on the Winston-Salem area segments was the approval by AASHTO in the fall of 2018 to remove US 311 from the route. Though it was publicized that this would happen by the end of the year, no signs have been removed, so far.

As far as I-74 in southeastern North Carolina, many projects were accelerated during 2018. This included the adding back of upgrading US 74 between Rockingham and Laurinburg to the funded project list with work to start by 2028 and the acceleration of several projects east of Lumberton to replace intersections with interchanges along US 74. Work started on upgrading Broadridge Road in Robeson County while the project to upgrade the intersections of NC 130 and NC 72 into one interchange are now scheduled to start in the spring of 2019. Several of the remaining projects in Columbus County have been moved up to the early 2020s. As of 2018, I-74 totals about 125 miles in 3 separate segments. 

Future Interstates

2018 saw the birth of North Carolina's newest interstate, I-285. The route along Business 85 and US 52 freeways between I-85 in Lexington and I-40 in Winston-Salem was signed (so far only with ground-mounted shields) in November 2018. I-285 signs replaced Business 85 at the southern end of the route.
Newly added I-285 shield, replacing Business 85, northbound in Lexington.

While the Business 85 shield was removed, the route, unlike it's northern segment along I-85 through Greensboro which was removed officially in October 2018, has not been decommisioned, but it's prominence is being reduced on exit signs on approaching roadways. I-285 may be extended to I-74 after the completion of the eastern segment of the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway.

The next new interstate scheduled to be signed is I-885 in Durham as part of the completion of the East End Connector project, currently scheduled for the end of 2019. Much work still needs to be completed at the Durham Freeway and US 70 ends of the project.
US 70 West traffic travels under bridge under construction as part of East End Connector project.

There was not much to report about North Carolina's two new 2-digit interstates, I-42 and I-87 in 2018. Though ground-mounted signage for I-87 went up in 2017 in the Raleigh area, this has not been followed, as many expected, with new overhead signage. There should be progress on this front in 2019, however, as work to install new I-87 signs is part of a contract widening I-40 between I-440 and US 70. According to the Request for Proposals for that design-build contract, the new signs should be up by the summer. 2019 also will see the first projects to bring parts of US 17, US 64, and US 70 (along with US 264 for I-587) up to Interstate Standards. Pavement rehabilitation projects that will widen shoulders to Interstate specifications are to be let for US 70 in Johnston County in May 2019, US 64 in Nash County in July, US 64 in Martin County in September and US 17 in Pasquotank and Camden Counties in October. Work to upgrade US 264 for I-587 in Greene County is supposed to be let in May 2019. Meanwhile, work is to start on the US 70 Havelock Bypass, part of I-42 in the spring of 2019.

The final contracts to complete the Fayetteville Outer Loop, Future I-295, though delayed from January are now to let separately, the first from Raeford Road to Strickland Bridge Road in May and the second (separated for "strategic planning") from Strickland Bridge to Camden Road will be let in September 2018. Work is to be completed by late 2021 or 2022. Not currently an interstate, but possibly in future plans, the Monroe Expressway, of US 74 Bypass, a toll road was opened in November east of Charlotte, many see this as part of a future interstate route between Charlotte and Wilmington. NCDOT is also working with officials in the Goldsboro area to figure out the route for the extension of I-795 to I-40, work isn't planned to start though until 2027.

I would like to thank all those who contributed news and photos from North Carolina for inclusion in my I-73/I-74 and Future (and New) Interstate sites including Strider, J. Austin Carter, Adam Prince, and Ben Thurkill. I hope to be able to travel south to drive the routes myself sometime in the next year. As always, the latest updates can be found on my MalmeRoads site: I-73/I-74 in NC and NC Future Interstates.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

By
The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old NC 10 - The Central Highway: Old Fort to Black Mountain through the Royal Gorge

By
A unique way of tracing the remnants of the Central Highway is through the mountainous terrain of Eastern Buncombe and Western McDowell Counties.  From the east on US 70, you reach the base of Blue Ridge Mountains at the town of Old Fort.  Old Fort is a tiny rail town that the old Central Highway and now US 70 goes through.  The Central Highway can be followed via a right onto Mill Creek Road from US 70.  Follow the highway as it takes you closer to the mountains.  When Mill Creek Road bears right to head towards Andrews Geyser stay straight until the road ends at a gate.  The nearby Piney Grove Church can be used for parking.  At this point, the old Central Highway began a 3.5 mile climb of the mountain to Swannanoa Gap.  NC 10 and later US 70 travelers followed this road for over 30 years until a new and modern four lane US 70 was built to the south.  This same four lane road would eventually become Interstate 40.    The Centra...
Post a Comment
Read more