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

Hawaii Route 8930

Hawaii Route 8930 is a 2.5-mile State Highway on the Island of O'hau.  Hawaii Route 8930 is aligned over Kualakai Parkway over the course of its entire alignment south from Interstate H-1 to Kapolei Parkway.  Hawaii Route 8930 is one of the newest Hawaii Routes only having been completed during 2010.   This page is part of the Gribblenation O'ahu Highways page.  All Gribblenation and Roadwaywiz media related to the highway system of O'ahu can be found at the link below: https://www.gribblenation.org/p/gribblenation-oahu-highways-page.html Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 8930 The history of Hawaii Route 8930 is brief given it is a modern facility.  Hawaii Route 8930 and what was known as "North-South Road" were built to facilitate the developing areas of Kapolei on western O'ahu.  According to hawaiihighways.com the first stage of Hawaii Route 8930 was completed from Kapolei Parkway north to Farrington Highway as a four-lane highway during November...

Madera County Road 607 and the Stockton-Los Angeles Road

Madera County Road 607 is an approximately seven-mile rural unsurfaced highway which spans from Road 600 near Raymond west to Road 29.   Road 607 west from Raymond Road Cemetery (established in 1905) is part of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road corridor surveyed in 1853. The corridor lies in the gap between Fresno Crossing at the Fresno River west to Newton's Crossing at the Chowchilla River. The Buchanan Copper Mine would be along what is now Road 607 in the namesake Buchanan Hollow during July 1863. The Buchanan Mine is thought to have once had a population of between 1,000-1,500 residents by the early 1870s. Copper prices would decline in the decade after the Civil War and much of the activity at Buchanan shifted towards cattle ranching. The last businesses in the community would shutter during World War II and it is now a true ghost town. Part 1; the history of Madera County Road 607 and the Stockton-Los Angeles Road What is now Road 607 was a component of the larger Sto...

Old US Route 60/70 through Hell (Chuckwall Valley Road and Ragsdale Road)

Back in 2016 I explored some of the derelict roadways of the Sonoran Desert of Riverside County which were part of US Route 60/70; Chuckwalla Valley Road and Ragsdale Road. US 60 and US 70 were not part of the original run of US Routes in California.  According to USends.com US 60 was extended into California by 1932.  US 60 doesn't appear on the California State Highway Map until the 1934 edition. USends.com on US 60 endpoints 1934 State Highway Map Conversely US 70 was extended into California by 1934, it first appears on the 1936 State Highway Map. USends.com on US 70 endpoints 1936 State Highway Map When US 60 and US 70 were extended into California they both utilized what was Legislative Route Number 64 from the Arizona State Line west to Coachella Valley.  LRN 64 was part of the 1919 Third State Highway Bond Act routes.  The original definition of LRN 64 routed between Mecca in Blythe and wasn't extended to the Arizona State Line until 1931 acc...