I-85 Winston-Salem Connector
First Proposed: 2003
Route Approved: 2005
Full Interstate By: 2010

The Initial Route: US 52 from I-85 near Lexington, NC to I-40 in Winston-Salem, 23 miles
(may be extended 10 more miles further north to I-74)

Interstate 285 will be the new designation for the US 52 freeway between I-85 and I-40 in Winston-Salem starting in 2011, see map below:
 
 
Map courtesy of NCDOT's Strategic Highway Corridors Website (4)

This future interstate highway starts at the current I-85/Business 85-US 29/52/70 interchange (Exit 87) near Lexington and proceeds north up US 52 to its interchange with I-40 in Winston-Salem. Getting an interstate designation for this highway is part of an effort by Winston-Salem and Davidson County officials to boost economic development in the area. (1) AASHTO approved the I-285 designation on September 8, 2005 after the FHWA approved the number for the highway on June 29 (1,2). Parts of the highway are currently not up to interstate standards though and will have to be improved before full interstate designation can be applied. Though the highway could now be signed by NCDOT as Future I-285 until a project to upgrade the US 52 freeway to interstate standards is complete, it now appears this will not be the case. In February 2006 NCDOT put up several 'Future I-285 Corridor' signs along the route. There is at least one southbound after the I-40 interchange and two going northbound, one at the start of the route in Lexington (for a photo of this sign, go HERE) and another after the NC 8 interchange. NCDOT will apparently wait until the upgrade project is complete to put up official I-285 signs. The 2006-2012 STIP released in July 2005 called for this $2.5 million project (Number R-4750), mostly highway shoulder improvements, to start in 2011. (3) The draft 2007-13 STIP released in September 2006 moved up the construction date to 2010. (4)

AASHTO's approval comes after a rejection earlier that year at the May 6, 2005 meeting of AASHTO's Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering and the rejection of NCDOT's first application to have this route designated first as I-185 in 2003.  An I-285 shield for this route first appeared on NCDOT's "Strategic Highway Corridors" Triad Area Vision map of September 2004 with a disclaimer stating the route number had not officially been approved by the FHWA or AASHTO.*

A further I-285 extension? As shown in the Strategic Corridors Triad Area map above, I-285 is shown as extending north another 10 miles through Winston-Salem to what will be the intersection with the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway (I-74/I-274). A note on the map says the "I-285 Shield is Extended from I-40 to I-74 if US 52 is Improved to Interstate Standards."(5) NCDOT now estimates upgrading of this stretch of US 52 would cost at least $500 million. (1) A project to upgrade US 52 appears in the 2007-2013 Draft STIP, Number U-2826. Though a design-build project, construction is unfunded and no start date is listed, meaning it is unlikely to start before 2013. (6)

Map courtesy of the Winston-Salem Journal (www.journalnow.com) (1)

 Sources:
(1) Sparks, Jim. 2005. "US 52 Gets a Second Name." Winston Salem Journal. September 10.
(2) E-mails from Stephen Summers, 8/1/05 and 9/13/05.
(3) NCDOT. 2005. 2006-2012 State Transportation Improvement Program, Division 9-Forsyth County, p. 9-12.
(4) NCDOT. 2006. 2007-2013 State Transportation Improvement Program, Draft, Division 9-Forsyth County, p. 9-18.
(5) NCDOT. 2004. Strategic Highway Corridors. Vision Plan Triad Area. Sept. 2, note 3.
(6) NCDOT. 2006. 2007-2013 State Transportation Improvement Program, Draft, Division 9-Forsyth County, p. 9-22.

*See Main Page for link to map.
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Last updated: 9/7/06