Where:      US 220, Virginia Border to NC 68,                   Rockingham County Length:     19 Miles Needed:    Upgrade to Interstate Standards Signed as:  (Future I-73 Corridor)

Interstate 73 is to cross the Virginia border and enter Rockingham County on US 220. US 220 in this area is a 4-lane expressway (divided highway with at-grade intersections) which was constructed during the mid to late-1990s (the last section to be four laned, from NC 770 to the Virginia border was completed in 1998). (1) For Interstate 73 to be signed the current highway must be converted to an Interstate standard freeway (Interstates have higher specifications than normal freeways, some of specs include (at least) 12' wide lanes, 12 foot wide right shoulders, 10 foot wide left shoulders, 36 foot (in rural areas) or 10 foot medians (urban or mountainous areas), and design speeds of either 60 mph (urban) or 70 mph (rural), for more about interstate standards, go here). Currently there are no active projects listed through 2015 in NCDOT's State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) to upgrade this highway. There is only a project (R-5015) to rebuild the bridge and upgrade the US 220/NC 135 interchange near Mayodan. It is currently unfunded and no start date is listed. (2) Also listed as an unfunded project is constructing a Welcome Center/Rest Area on southbound US 220 (I-73) at the Virginia border, construction to start after 2015. (3) This project (K-4404) was restored after being dropped from 2003 and subsequent TIP documents. (4) In the Summer of 1998, at the urging of Rockingham County Economic Development officials, NCDOT put up 2 signs along this stretch indicating the highway was a "Future I-73 Corridor" (see photo below). The signs were put up for primarily economic reasons to serve as an "advertisement, meaning the attraction of (future) businesses."(1) In June 2008 it was reported that NCDOT had acquired the land necessary to upgrade the US 220 highway to interstate standards once Virginia started construction on their portion. Though the routing of I-73 from the NC border to Roanoke has been approved by the FHWA, funding has only been obtained for a short portion of highway near Martinsville but any work on that section, preliminarily scheduled for 2011, has been held up by a lawsuit from an organization called Virginians for Appropriate Roads that advocates I-73 on a renovated US 220, not a new route which the group claims would have adverse environmental effects (5).

I-73 Corridor sign along US 220 North near Madison. Photo courtesy of Chris Curley (via Adam Prince).

If anyone other photos of the current US 220 along this segment, feel free to E-mail me.

Sources: NC Transportation Map 2001, former NCRoads web site.
(1) Kritzer, Jamie. 1998. "Interstate 73? That Designation Still Years Away; Two Signs Erected Along US 220 Advertise the Future I-73 Corridor." News & Record (Greensboro, NC) Rockingham Edition. August 2: R1.
(2) NCDOT. June 2008. Transportation Improvement Program, 2009-2015, Division 7, p. 7-48.
(3) NCDOT. June 2008. Transportation Improvement Program, 2009-2015, Division 7, p. 7-52. 
(4) NCDOT. June 2002. Transportation Improvement Program 2004-2010, Draft, p. 7-38.
(5) Martinsville Bulletin. 2008. "Board to Get I-73 Request." Martinsville Bulletin. June 13. Downloaded from http://www.martinsvillebullentin.com/
     article.cfm?ID=14260. 6/13/08.

I-73 and US 220 shields courtesy of David R. Kendrick's Shield's Up!.

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