Interstate 85 in North Carolina

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This article is about the section of Interstate 85 in North Carolina. For the entire route, see Interstate 85.

Interstate 85 marker

Interstate 85
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length: 234.6 mi[1] (377.6 km)
Existed: 1958 – present
Major junctions
South end: I-85 at the SC line near Blacksburg, SC
  I‑485 in Charlotte (twice)
I‑77 / US 21 in Charlotte
I‑85 Bus. / US 29 / US 52 / US 70 near Lexington
I‑74 / US 311 near Archdale
I‑73 / US 421 in Greensboro
I‑40 in Greensboro
US 15 / US 501 in Durham
US 1 in Henderson
North end: I‑85 at the VA line near Bracey, VA
Location
Counties: Cleveland, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Rowan, Davidson, Randolph, Guilford, Alamance, Orange, Durham, Granville, Vance, Warren
Highway system
← NC 84 NC 86 →

In the U.S. state of North Carolina, Interstate 85 (I-85) scales the state for 234.6 miles (377.6 km) from the South Carolina border to the Virginia border. As the second-longest interstate in the state (behind Interstate 40), it provides an important link between the cities of Atlanta, Greenville, Charlotte, Greensboro, Richmond, Virginia and Washington, D.C..

Route description

I-85 enters the state from Cherokee County, South Carolina near Grover in Cleveland County, which is part of the Charlotte metropolitan area. After only a few miles, the highway enters Gaston County.

Near Kings Mountain, I-85 turns from a northeast trajectory to an eastward one and goes through Gastonia, where it widens from four to six lanes. It stays at six lanes until it reaches Belmont, where the highway widens again to eight lanes.

The highway crosses the Catawba River just before entering Charlotte. It passes north of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and goes by a number of retail centers before turning northeastward again just west of Uptown Charlotte. The highway bypasses the downtown area, but several exits do provide access to the area. A partial wrong-way interchange exists at the exit with Interstate 77 north of Uptown.

The highway actually lies within the city limits of Charlotte for most of its route through Mecklenburg County. As a result, none of the exit signs list "Charlotte" as a destination for the intersecting routes. This can be confusing to motorists not familiar with the region, who often don't realize that they are actually within the city limits of Charlotte when searching for an exit that will take them to Bank of America Stadium, Time Warner Cable Arena, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, or other destinations in Uptown. The route through Charlotte traverses a heavily commercialized section in the northern portion of the city that is more suburban than urban in character, with light industry such as truck terminals, warehouses, small manufacturing facilities, and small office parks lining the highway. It also passes by the University City area and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

After Charlotte, I-85 continues northeastward into Cabarrus County, passing through the cities of Concord and Kannapolis. It drops from eight to four lanes between exit 55 (near Concord and Huntersville) and exit 68 near the Rowan County town of China Grove, at which point it increases to eight lanes again.

Approximately 70 miles (110 km) northeast of the Charlotte area is the Triad area, anchored by the cities of Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point. I-85 bypasses High Point and also largely bypasses Greensboro. Up until February 2004, I-85 went through the heart of Greensboro and joined Interstate 40 near downtown. Today, I-85 is routed along the Greensboro Urban Loop and meets I-40 east of downtown. Its former route is now known as Business 85.

Interstates 85 and 40 remain joined as they continue eastward to the Triangle region, anchored by the cities of Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh. West of Durham near Hillsborough, the two highways split, with I-40 heading southeast through Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh while I-85 continues eastward through Durham, then northeastward as it exits the city. In between Greensboro and Durham, 85/40 is 8 lanes wide even through the more suburban stretches. Once 85 hits Durham is widens to 10 lanes. It takes on a more suburban character once it leaves Durham, bypassing Oxford and Henderson before crossing into Mecklenburg County, Virginia.

Alternate names

Though the highway is commonly known as "Interstate 85" or "I-85" throughout the state, the highway does have other known names it uses locally in areas.

  • Blue Star Memorial Highway – official North Carolina honorary name of Interstate 85 throughout the state (approved: May 5, 1967).[2][3]
  • Richard Childress Freeway - official North Carolina name of I-85 from exit 96 to exit 102 in Davidson County.[4]
  • Jeff Gordon Expressway – official North Carolina name of I-85 from Charlotte city limit to the Mecklenburg/Cabarrus county line in Northeast Mecklenburg County (Lua error in Module:Convert at line 272: attempt to index local 'cat' (a nil value).).[5] It is named in honor of NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon (dedicated May 25, 2012).[6][7][8][9]
  • Sam Hunt Freeway – official North Carolina name of I-85/I-40 from the Guilford County line to one mile east of NC 54 in Graham (approved: September 5, 1997).[3]
  • Bob Timberlake Freeway - official North Carolina name of I-85 from exit 92 to exit 96 in Davidson County. [4]
  • Senator Marshall Arthur Rauch Highway – official North Carolina name of Interstate 85 through Gaston County (approved: October 3, 1997)[3]
  • William James Pharr Bridge – official North Carolina name of Bridge over South Fork River on Interstate 85 in Gaston County (approved: August 5, 1994).[3]
  • Cameron Morrison Bridge – official North Carolina name of Bridge over Catawba River on Interstate 85 between Gaston and Mecklenburg counties (approved: March 11, 1983). It is named in honor of Cameron A. Morrison, known as the Good Roads Governor.[3]

History

I-40/85 through Burlington
I-85 passing through Durham

Parts of Interstate 85 were already constructed before federal aid was available in the 1950s, as the state had been constructing sections of the Interstate Highway System since 1949. The Lexington Bypass north of Lexington - which at the time was signed U.S. 29 and U.S. 70 - is now a part of Business I-85.[10]

One planned road was the Salisbury bypass, 15 miles (24 km) long with a $1 million 880-foot (270 m) twin-span bridge over the Yadkin River. Construction on the bridge started in 1955 (this date is shown on a plaque, and most sources have used the date), but the lanes were not as wide as federal standards required, and the road had a sharp curve north of the bridge. Both of these characteristics saved money.

The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 provided for 90 percent federal funding of highways that would become part of the Interstate Highway System, and the N.C. Highway Commission used the funds to build the rest of the highway, which opened as I-85 in 1958. The bridge, finished a year earlier, was "grandfathered" despite not meeting standards. Also designated as I-85 was the bypass around Charlotte.[11]

Another section of I-85 opened to traffic on September 9, 1958 when an 11.3-mile (18.2 km) stretch in Mecklenburg County was opened.

The year 1960 saw several sections of the highway open to traffic:[10]

  • An 18.3-mile (29.5 km) section of Interstate 85 between Henderson and the Virginia border as well as a 46-mile (74 km) section between Greensboro and western Durham opened to traffic.
  • A 15.4-mile portion of U.S. 29/U.S. 70 between Salisbury and Greensboro was incorporated into I-85 when further grade separations and access control was completed
  • A 14-mile (23 km) segment of I-85 known as the "Charlotte Bypass" in Charlotte.
  • A 13.8-mile (22.2 km) segment between Greensboro and Whisett.

By 1965, I-85 from the South Carolina border to Charlotte was complete, while it took until 1970 for the section between Charlotte and Durham to be completed. However, the "Temporary 85" designation would remain on the segment between Lexington and Greensboro until 1984 because there were too many access roads. That year, a new six-lane section opened, resulting in the "Temporary 85" designation to be dropped.[12]

Since its completion, many widening projects have been undertaken on I-85, particularly along the stretch of highway between Gastonia and Durham. By 1988, widening I-85 to six lanes from Greensboro to Burlington was being considered.[13] The plan was later changed to eight lanes.[14] The $175 million project began in 1989. With the opening of a 2.3-mile (3.7 km) section in Alamance County on November 23, 1994, 21 miles (34 km) of I-85/I-40 were eight lanes. An additional 14 miles (23 km) were to be ready by 1996, giving the interstate eight lanes all the way to where I-40 turned southward at Hillsborough.[15]

In addition, Interstate 85 was relocated in 2004, south of Greensboro, forming part of the Greensboro Urban Loop, allowing through traffic to bypass that city's downtown area.[citation needed] Between 2004 and 2008, I-85 was widened to eight lanes around Salisbury.[11]

The I-85 Corridor Improvement Project, located in Rowan County and Davidson County, was a two-phase project to replace the narrow bridge over the Yadkin River and widen the freeway from four to eight lanes.[16] In the first phase, all traffic from the old bridge moved to a new $201 million bridge in August 2012.[11] On March 9, 2013, all eight lanes of the I-85 bridge opened to the public.[17] The project finished eight months ahead of schedule and $44 million under budget.[18]

From May 2010 through April 2014, I-85 was widened from four to eight lanes between exit 49 (near Charlotte Motor Speedway and Concord Mills Mall) and Exit 55.[19]

Future

In April 2014, the N.C. Department of Transportation announced plans to add four new general purpose lanes(two in each direction), from north of N.C. 73 (Exit 55) to north of Lane Street (Exit 63) near the Cabarrus-Rowan county border. Work could begin in less than a year. Construction is scheduled to be completed by December 2017.[20] When finished, that will leave I-85 in North Carolina with at least six lanes of highway between Exits 10 (US 29 north / US 74 – Kings Mountain, Shelby) and 164 (I-40 in Hillsborough), except for approximately five miles from Exit 63 to Exit 68 (US 29 / NC 152 – China Grove, Rockwell).

Another construction project that is part of the I-485 Charlotte Outer Loop, located in Mecklenburg County, will reconstruct the I-485 interchange (exit 48) to a fully directional interchange and widen the freeway from 6-lanes to 8-lanes from I-485 to Bruton Smith Boulevard/Concord Mills Boulevard. Currently, the entire project is expected to be completed in 2015 and at budget.[21]

Auxiliary routes in North Carolina

Interstate City Type Notes
Business Loop 85.svg Interstate 85 Business Lexington, High Point, and Greensboro Business loop Expressway grade from Lexington-High Point, freeway grade in Greensboro
I-285.svg Interstate 285 Winston-Salem Connector Future, currently under construction
I-485.svg Interstate 485 Charlotte Beltway Beltway
I-785.svg Interstate 785 Greensboro and Danville Spur Currently a 2.21-mile (3.56 km) stub in eastern Guilford County; to be extended
I-885.svg Interstate 885 Durham Connector Proposed designation along NC 147 and US 70

Exit list

County Location mi[1] km Exit Destinations Notes
Cleveland State line 0.0 0.0 I-85 south – Spartanburg Continuation into South Carolina
​ 1.8 2.9 2 NC 216 – Kings Mountain National Military Park
​ 3.6 5.8 4 US 29 south South end of US 29 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
​ 4.8 7.7 5 Dixon School Road
Kings Mountain 7.6 12.2 8 NC 161 – Kings Mountain
Gaston 10.0 16.1 10 US 29 north / US 74 – Kings Mountain, Shelby North end of US 29 overlap; signed as exits 10A (north/east) and 10B (west)
Bessemer City 12.8 20.6 13 Edgewood Road – Bessemer City
Gastonia 14.5 23.3 14 NC 274 – East Bessemer City, West Gastonia
17.0 27.4 17 US 321 – Gastonia, Lincolnton
19.0 30.6 19 NC 7 – East Gastonia
19.7 31.7 20 NC 279 (New Hope Road) – Dallas
20.6 33.2 21 Cox Road – Ranlo
Lowell 22.3 35.9 22 Main Street – Cramerton, Lowell
23.2 37.3 23 NC 7 – Lowell, McAdenville
Belmont 25.7 41.4 26 Belmont–Mount Holly Road – Belmont, Mount Holly To Belmont Abbey College
26.9 43.3 27 NC 273 – Belmont, Mount Holly
Mecklenburg ​ 29.4 47.3 29 Sam Wilson Road To U.S. National Whitewater Center
​ 30.3 48.8 30 I‑485 to I‑77 – Pineville, Statesville Signed southbound as exits 30B (north/inner) and 30A (south/outer)
Charlotte 32.0 51.5 32 Little Rock Road
33.2 53.4 33 Billy Graham Parkway – Charlotte/Douglas International Airport
34.7 55.8 34 NC 27 (Freedom Drive) / Tuckaseegee Road
35.4 57.0 35 Glenwood Drive
36.2 58.3 36 NC 16 (Brookshire Boulevard) to US 74 east – Downtown Charlotte
37.8 60.8 37 Beatties Ford Road – Johnson C. Smith University
38.2 61.5 38 I‑77 / US 21 – Statesville, Columbia
38.8 62.4 39 Statesville Avenue / Statesville Road
40.5 65.2 40 Graham Street
41.3 66.5 41 Sugar Creek Road
42.3 68.1 42 To US 29 to NC 49 (North Tryon Street) Northbound exit and southbound entrance
43.0 69.2 43 To NC 49 / University City Boulevard To Ikea Boulevard
44.5 71.6 45 NC 24 (W.T. Harris Boulevard) Signed as exits 45A (east) and 45B (west)
46.2 74.4 46 Mallard Creek Church Road Signed northbound as exits 46A (east) and 46B (west)
47.5 76.4 48 I‑485 – Huntersville, Matthews Turbine interchange
Cabarrus Concord 49.2 79.2 49 Bruton Smith Boulevard / Concord Mills Boulevard To Concord Mills and Charlotte Motor Speedway
51.8 83.4 52 Poplar Tent Road DDI[22]
53.6 86.3 54 George W. Liles Parkway / Kannapolis Parkway
55.0 88.5 55 NC 73 – Concord, Huntersville To Rowan-Cabarrus Community College South Campus; DDI [23]
58.0 93.3 58 US 29 / US 601 south – Kannapolis, Concord South end of US 601 overlap
Kannapolis 59.9 96.4 60 Dale Earnhardt Boulevard / Copperfield Boulevard
62.5 100.6 63 Lane Street – Kannapolis
Rowan China Grove 68.0 109.4 68 US 29 / NC 152 – China Grove, Rockwell
​ 70.4 113.3 70 Webb Road
​ 71.5 115.1 71 Peeler Road
​ 72.3 116.4 72 Peach Orchard Road
Salisbury 73.7 118.6 74 Julian Road
74.5 119.9 75 US 601 north (Jake Alexander Boulevard) North end of US 601 overlap; to Rowan–Cabarrus CC North Campus
76.0 122.3 76 US 52 south (Innes Street) – Albemarle, Salisbury South end of US 52 overlap; formerly signed as exits 76A (south) and 76B (north)
Spencer 79.0 127.1 79 Andrews Street – Spencer, East Spencer
80.4 129.4 81 Long Ferry Road – Spencer
Yadkin River 82.2 132.3 Yadkin River Veterans Memorial Bridge
Davidson ​ 82.7 133.1 82 US 29 south / US 70 west / NC 150 east – Spencer Permanently closed as of April, 2010[16][24][25][26]
​ 83.1 133.7 83 NC 150 Permanently closed as of May, 2013[16][25][26]
​ 83.4 134.2 84 US 29 south / US 70 west to NC 150 – Spencer South end of US 29 and west end of US 70 overlap
​ 84.4 135.8 85 Clark Road Permanently closed as of November, 2012[27]
​ 85.5 137.6 86 Belmont Road
​ 87.2 140.3 87 I‑85 Bus. north / US 29 north / US 52 north / US 70 east – Lexington, Winston-Salem North end of US 29/US 52 and east end of US 70 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
​ 88.0 141.6 88 NC 47 to US 52 – High Rock Lake, Linwood
Lexington 91.1 146.6 91 NC 8 – Lexington, Southmont
93.7 150.8 94 Old US 64
96.0 154.5 96 US 64 – Asheboro, Lexington
Thomasville 101.5 163.3 102 Lake Road
103.4 166.4 103 NC 109 – Thomasville
Randolph Trinity 105.5 169.8 106 Finch Farm Road
107.5 173.0 108 Hopewell Church Road – Trinity
Archdale 111.0 178.6 111 Main Street – Archdale, Downtown High Point
Guilford 112.7 181.4 113A NC 62 – Archdale
113.4 182.5 113B-C I‑74 / US 311 – Asheboro, Winston-Salem Signed as exits 113B (east) and 113C (west)
Greensboro 118.1 190.1 118 I‑85 Bus. south / US 29 south / US 70 west – High Point South end of I-85 Bus./US 29/US 70 (west) overlap
119.5 192.3 119 Groometown Road to Grandover Parkway Signed as exit 122A southbound
120.0 193.1 120A I‑85 Bus. north / US 29 north / US 70 east – Greensboro North end of I-85 Bus./US 29/US 70 (east) overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
120.4 193.8 120B I‑73 north / US 421 north to I‑40 west – Winston-Salem Signed as exit 121 southbound; north end of US 421 overlap
121.7 195.9 122 I‑73 south / US 220 – Asheboro, Greensboro Southbound exit and northbound entrance; signed as exits 122B (south) and 122C (north)
123.7 199.1 124 South Elm–Eugene Street
126.0 202.8 126 US 421 south – Sanford Signed as exits 126A (US 421 South) and 126B (Greensboro); south end of US 421 overlap
128.2 206.3 128 Alamance Church Road
130.2 209.5 129 Youngs Mill Road
132.0 212.4 131 I‑40 west / I‑85 Bus. south to US 70 – Greensboro, Winston-Salem West end of I-40 overlap; hidden north I-785 and west I-840
McLeansville 133.3 214.5 132 Mount Hope Church Road
Whitsett 136.3 219.4 135 Rock Creek Dairy Road
138.6 223.1 138 NC 61 – Gibsonville
Alamance Burlington 141.5 227.7 140 University Drive – Elon To Elon University
142.5 229.3 141 Huffman Mill Road
144.2 232.1 143 NC 62 – Downtown Burlington, Alamance
146.3 235.4 145 NC 49 – Downtown Burlington, Liberty
Graham 148.0 238.2 147 NC 87 – Graham, Pittsboro
149.0 239.8 148 NC 54 – Chapel Hill, Carrboro
Haw River 150.8 242.7 150 Jimmie Kerr Road – Haw River, Roxboro
Mebane 153.2 246.6 152 Trollingwood Road
154.0 247.8 153 NC 119 – Mebane
155.5 250.3 154 Mebane–Oaks Road – Mebane
Orange ​ 158.2 254.6 157 Buckhorn Road
Efland 161.3 259.6 160 Mount Willing Road – Efland
161.9 260.6 161 To US 70 to NC 86 north (U.S. 70 Connector)
Hillsborough 164.0 263.9 163 I‑40 east – Raleigh East end of I-40 overlap
165.2 265.9 164 Old NC 86 – Hillsborough
166.5 268.0 165 NC 86 – Chapel Hill, Hillsborough
Eno 170.8 274.9 170
US 70 west / US 70 Bus. east to NC 751 – Duke University		 West end of US 70 overlap; to Bennett Place
Durham Durham 173.3 278.9 172 NC 147 south – Downtown Durham, Research Triangle Park Northbound exit and southbound entrance; to North Carolina Central University
174.2 280.3 173 Cole Mill Road
174.7 281.2 174A US 15 south / US 501 south to US 70 Bus. to NC 751 / Hillsborough Road – Chapel Hill South end of US 15/US 501 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance
175.3 282.1 174B Hillandale Road
176.0 283.2 175 NC 157 (Guess Road) To NC School of Science & Math and Duke Homestead
177.2 285.2 176 US 501 north (Duke Street) / Gregson Street – Roxboro North end of US 501 overlap; signed northbound as exits 176A (Gregson St) and 176B (Roxboro)
178.2 286.8 177 US 15 Bus. south / US 501 Bus. (Roxboro Street) / NC 55 east (Avondale Drive) To North Carolina Central University
179.2 288.4 178 US 70 east – RDU Airport, Raleigh East end of US 70 overlap
180.6 290.6 179 East Club Boulevard
181.3 291.8 180 Glenn School Road
Gorman 183.0 294.5 182 Red Mill Road
184.5 296.9 183 Redwood Road
Granville ​ 186.7 300.5 186 US 15 north – Creedmoor, Butner North end of US 15 overlap; signed northbound as exits 186A (US 15) and 186B (Butner)
Butner 189.7 305.3 189 Gate Two Road – Butner
192.0 309.0 191 NC 56 – Butner, Creedmoor
​ 202.8 326.4 202 US 15 – Oxford, Clarksville
Oxford 205.1 330.1 204 NC 96 – Oxford
207.5 333.9 206 US 158 – Oxford, Roxboro
Vance ​ 210.6 338.9 209 Poplar Creek Road To Vance–Granville Community College
Henderson 213.0 342.8 212 Ruin Creek Road
214.0 344.4 213 US 158 Byp. west / Dabney Drive West end of US 158 overlap
215.5 346.8 214 NC 39 – Downtown Henderson
216.4 348.3 215 US 158 Byp. east / Parham Road East end of US 158 overlap
218.0 350.8 217 Satterwhite Point Road To Satterwhite Point
219.0 352.4 218 US 1 south – Raleigh Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Middleburg 221.0 355.7 220 US 1 / US 158 / Fleming Road – Norlina
Warren Manson 224.5 361.3 223 Manson Road
​ 226.8 365.0 226 Ridgeway Road
​ 229.7 369.7 229 Oine Road
​ 233.8 376.3 233 US 1 / US 401 – Wise, Norlina
State line 234.6 377.6 I‑85 north – Petersburg Continuation into Virginia
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

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  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 North Carolina Department of Transportation. Facts: Interstate 85, Page 1. NCDOT Web site. Accessed April 21, 2007.[dead link]
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ North Carolina Department of Transportation. Facts: Interstate 85, Page 2. NCDOT Web site. Accessed April 21, 2007.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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Interstate 85
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