Interstate 73
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| Interstate 73 Main route of the Interstate Highway System |
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| Length: | 26 mi (42 km) |
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| Formed: | 1997 |
| South end: | Candor, NC |
| North end: | Ulah, NC |
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Interstate 73 (abbreviated I-73) is a main route of the Interstate Highway System, currently located entirely within the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of a longer planned corridor, defined by various Federal laws to run from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to Charleston, South Carolina (later truncated to Georgetown), but only the part south from Huntington, West Virginia is presently under study. Closely related is the extension of Interstate 74 from Cincinnati, Ohio east to Georgetown, South Carolina, with several concurrencies planned.
The only part signed as I-73 runs 26 miles (42 km) along the U.S. Route 220 freeway in North Carolina, from south of Candor to south of Ulah. A further 27 miles (43 km) from near Ulah north to Interstate 85 (the Greensboro Bypass; future Interstate 40) near Greensboro is signed as future I-73, with the word FUTURE replacing INTERSTATE in the route shield. The whole route of I-73 is also designated Interstate 74, and part of Future I-73 around Asheboro is also designated Future I-74.
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[edit] Major cities
[edit] History
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) defined High Priority Corridor 5, the "I-73/74 North-South Corridor" from Charleston, South Carolina, through Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Portsmouth, Ohio, to Cincinnati, Ohio, and Detroit, Michigan." This would provide for a single corridor from Charleston, splitting at Portsmouth, with I-74 turning west to its current east end in Cincinnati, and I-73 continuing north to Detroit.
The National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 added a branch from Toledo, Ohio to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan via the U.S. Route 223 and U.S. Route 127 corridors. (At the time, US 127 north of Lansing was part of US 27.) It also gave details for the alignments in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. I-73 and I-74 were to split near Bluefield, West Virginia, joining again between Randleman, North Carolina and Rockingham, North Carolina; both would end at Charleston. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved the sections of I-73 and I-74 south of Interstate 81 in Virginia (with I-74 ending at I-73 near Myrtle Beach) on July 25, 1996, allowing for them to be marked once built to Interstate standards and connected to other Interstate routes. The final major change came with the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century of 1998 (TEA-21), when both routes were truncated to Georgetown, South Carolina.
North Carolina took the lead in signing highways as I-73 following AASHTO's approval in 1997 and since has approved construction projects to build new sections of the interstate highway. Currently two sections of what will be I-73 are being built, the southwestern part of the Greensboro Urban Loop around Greensboro, North Carolina (more below) and the US 220 Bypass of Ellerbe, south of Asheboro, North Carolina. The only other progress in building I-73 can be seen in Virginia and South Carolina. In 2005 Virginia completed an environmental impact statement for its recommended route for I-73 from Roanoke to the North Carolina border. It has been submitted to the Federal Highway Administration for its approval. Once given, funds will be needed to start construction. South Carolina is now showing interest in building its section of I-73 with studies underway to determine how the highway is to be routed through that state. In January 2006 the South Carolina state legislature introduced bills to construct Interstate 73 as a toll highway. It is hoped a guaranteed stream of revenue will allow it to build its section of I-73 within 10 years. [1]
[edit] Route description
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This article contains information about a planned or expected future road. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the road's construction and/or completion approaches and more information becomes available. |
[edit] South Carolina
On May 30, 2006, SCDOT announced its preferred routing of I-73 between Myrtle Beach and I-95. I-73 will begin where the Conway Bypass (S.C. Highway 22) starts at U.S. Route 17 near Briarcliffe Acres. It will then proceed northwest crossing the proposed routing of Interstate 74 (currently S.C. Highway 31, the Carolina Bays Parkway). After passing Conway I-73 will leave SC 22 at a new interchange to be constructed two miles west of U.S. Route 701, and will then use a new highway to be built between SC 22 and SC 917 north of Cool Springs. I-73 will then use an upgraded SC 917 to cross the Little Pee Dee River. It will then proceed on a new freeway alignment between SC 917 and I-95 that would have an interchange with U.S. Route 76 west of Mullins and then would proceed northwest to an exit with U.S. Route 501 near Latta, passing that city to the south before intersecting Interstate 95 near S.C. Highway 38. [2] After crossing Interstate 95, I-73 will use one of six alternative corridors under study roughly paralleling SC 38 to proceed further north to the North Carolina state line. These alternative corridors were formally announced to the public on September 7, 2006 at a meeting in Bennettsville, South Carolina. A final decision on a preferred alternative is due in the spring of 2007. [3]The North and South Carolina Departments of Transportation previously agreed to an I-73 corridor crossing the state line along SC/NC 38 near Hamlet, North Carolina on February 11, 2005. Previously I-73 had been planned to cross the state line further west, near U.S. Route 1 south of Rockingham, North Carolina.
[edit] North Carolina
Based on the potential I-73 corridors announced by South Carolina in September 2006, I-73 will be routed either to the east or west of current NC 38. The eastern corridor would connect to the U.S. Route 74 freeway south of Hamlet near the current NC 38 interchange, the western alternative would have it meeting US 74 a mile east of the NC 177 interchange. Whichever alternative is chosen, I-73 will join I-74 (the freeway is currently signed as Future Interstate 74), where the two will run south of the Rockingham area, and then turn north on a proposed (U.S. Route 220) western bypass of Rockingham. From south of Ellerbe to south of Candor, I-73/74 will use a new US 220 freeway which is presently under construction, with a planned completion by June 2007 which connects with the existing I-73/74 freeway.
Interstate 73 currently begins south of Candor, where the US 220 freeway presently begins. The portion from south of Steeds north to south of Ulah was completed in 1996, and was the first road marked as I-73 (and I-74), with signs going up by May 1997.[4] Future signage was also installed north to the Greensboro area, and standard signage was later placed south on the early 1980s freeway to south of Candor. Shields north of near Ulah are marked Future, as the older road does not meet Interstate standards. Planned upgrades of this route are scheduled to be started by 2009 afterwards which the route can be marked as a standard interstate. Future I-74 signage ends at the U.S. Route 311 interchange near Randleman, as it will split onto a new freeway paralleling US 311 to High Point, while Future I-73 continues north to Greensboro.
Approaching Greensboro, the US 220 freeway crosses the recently built southern part of the Greensboro Urban Loop carrying (Interstate 85) and continues towards downtown crossing Interstate 85 Business and ending at Interstate 40. Though Future I-73 signs continue along US 220 to I-40, I-73 is planned to turn west where the Urban Loop meets US 220. (The Greensboro Urban Loop is planned full beltway of Greensboro, and will by the end of 2007 carry I-40 around the south and west sides.) From there it will head northwest and north with I-40 across current I-40 onto the northern half of the beltway (planned as Interstate 840), splitting onto Bryan Boulevard, a freeway being built around the north side of the Piedmont Triad International Airport. This will lead to the NC 68 freeway and a planned NC 68 Connector, returning to US 220 south of Madison. The final section of I-73 in North Carolina will again be a relocation and upgrade of US 220.
[edit] Virginia
In Virginia, I-73 will continue along the US 220 corridor all the way to Roanoke. This is presently a rural four-lane highway with several freeway bypasses of cities. In Roanoke, Interstate 581 connects to Interstate 81, the north end of the section approved in 1996 by AASHTO. If I-73 is extended northward, from Roanoke, it will turn southwest on I-81, running concurrent to east of Blacksburg, and then using the Smart Road to Blacksburg. The rest of the way to West Virginia will be an upgrade of U.S. Route 460, Corridor Q of the Appalachian Development Highway System. Interestingly, the I-73/I-81 will be the second wrong-way concurrency in Virginia on I-81, the first only an hour southward with Interstate 77 in Wytheville.
[edit] West Virginia
See U.S. Route 52 in West Virginia for more information.
I-73 will continue next to US 460 (Corridor Q) from the Virginia state line west to Bluefield, where it will join with Interstate 74. (I-74 will use I-77 through Virginia.) For the rest of its path through West Virginia, from Bluefield to Huntington, I-73 will follow U.S. Route 52, which is presently being upgraded to a four-lane divided highway as the King Coal Highway to Williamson and the Tolsia Highway the rest of the way to Huntington. This section has been marked as the Future I-73/I-74 Corridor with signs, but is not being built to Interstate standards.
[edit] Ohio
In Ohio, I-73 is planned to parallel U.S. Route 52 to Portsmouth, where it would split with I-74, and U.S. Route 23 the rest of the way through Columbus to Toledo and the Michigan state line. The part from Portsmouth to Columbus is Corridor C of the Appalachian Development Highway System.
[edit] Michigan
The original defined alignment of I-73 would have simply run along Interstate 75 to Detroit. However, the definition was amended in 1995 to have a branch along the U.S. Route 223 corridor to south of Jackson and the U.S. Route 127 corridor (formerly U.S. Route 27 north of Lansing until 2002) north to I-75 near Grayling. From Grayling it would simply use I-75 to Sault Ste. Marie. Except south of Jackson, where it is a two-lane road, this is mostly a rural four-lane freeway.
[edit] Exit list
Shields are shown at intersections with other Interstates.
- Notes: Current exit numbers are based on the mileage of US 220, which ends in Rockingham. Mileage is from current end of I-73 near Candor and is based on odometer readings taken along the route. Currently I-73 is signed only along US 220 north to exit 51; Future I-73 signs run north to exit 81. Though the road north of exit 78 is to only be US 220, the signs continue to connect I-73 to the current path of I-40, once I-40 is moved to the Greensboro Urban Loop these shields will likely be taken down.
*Exit number not signed; number based on relative distance
| Number | Mile | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28* | 2.5 | NC 211 - Candor/Pinehurst | |
| 33* | 7.5 | NC 24/NC 27 - Biscoe/Carthage/Troy | |
| 36 | 10.7 | Star/Robbins | |
| 39 | 13.7 | Ether/Steeds | |
| 41 | 16.4 | Black Ankle Road | |
| 45 | 18.5 | NC 705 - Seagrove/Robbins | |
| 49 | 22.5 | New Hope Church Road | |
| 51 | 24.4 | US 220 Business/NC 134 south - Ulah/Troy | |
| 55* | 28.2 | McDowell Road | |
| 56* | 29.3 | US 64/NC 49 - Raleigh/Lexington/Charlotte | |
| 58* | 31.0 | NC 42 - Asheboro | |
| 59* | 31.8 | Presnell Street | |
| 60* | 32.3 | to US 220 Business - North Fayetteville Street/Vision Drive | |
| 62* | 34.1 | Spero Road | |
| 63* | 35.4 | Pineview Street | |
| 65* | 37.2 | US 311 - High Point/Randleman | Future I-74 joins southbound and leaves northbound |
| 67* | 39.2 | Randleman | |
| 71* | 43.2 | US 220 Business south - Level Cross | |
| 74* | 45.9 | NC 62 - Climax/High Point | |
| 77 | 50.9 | Old Randleman Road | |
| 78A | 51.6 |  Interstate 85 to  Interstate 40 east - Durham/Raleigh |
exit 78 southbound |
| 78B | 52.3 | Groometown Road | northbound exit only |
| 79A | 52 |  Business Loop 85 north/US 29 north/US 70 east to Interstate 40 east - Burlington |
northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| 79B | 52 | Business Loop 85 south/US 29 south/US 70 west - High Point/Charlotte |
exit 79 southbound |
| 80 | 53 | Creek Ridge Road | split into 80A and 80B southbound |
| 81 | 54 | Interstate 40/US 220/US 421 - Winston-Salem/Burlington |
split into 81A and 81B southbound |
| 82* | Freeman Mill Road - Coliseum Area | northbound exit and southbound entrance |
[edit] See also
- Local projects
- Carolina Bays Parkway
- Conway Bypass
- Greensboro Urban Loop
- Bryan Boulevard
- NC 68 Connector
- Smart Road
- Corridor Q
- King Coal Highway
- TOLSIA Highway
- Corridor C
[edit] References
- ^ [1] I-73 Toll Road Article
- ^ Interstate 73 Environmental Impact Study (SC)
- ^ [2]
- ^ Michael King, Interstate 73/74 in use now in NC!, misc.transport.road May 5, 1997
[edit] External links
- [3]
- High Priority Corridors @ AARoads.com: Interstate 73/74 (Corridor 5)
- Interstate 73 Environmental Impact Study (South Carolina)
- The South Carolina I-73 Story
- I-73/74 in North Carolina
- NCRoads.com: I-73
- The Ohio Interstate 73 Page
| Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink) |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 30 |
| 35 | 37 | 39 | 40 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 49 | 55 | 57 | 59 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 66 (W) | 68 | |
| 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 (W) | 76 (E) | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | ||
| 83 | 84 (W) | 84 (E) | 85 | 86 (W) | 86 (E) | 87 | 88 (W) | 88 (E) | 89 | 90 | ||||||
| 91 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 99 | (238) | H-1 | H-2 | H-3 | ||||||
| Unsigned | A-1 | A-2 | A-3 | A-4 | PRI-1 | PRI-2 | PRI-3 | |||||||||
| Lists | Main - Auxiliary - Suffixed - Business - Proposed - Unsigned Gaps - Intrastate - Interstate standards - Replaced |
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