Where:     US 52, I-74 interchange, south of Mt. Airy, Surry County to NC 65 near Winston-Salem, Forsyth County Length:     21 Miles Needed:    Upgrade to Interstate Standards Signed as:  ,

From the end of the freeway near Mt. Airy, I-74 is to use the current US 52 freeway to just north of Winston-Salem. This freeway was originally built in 1960s and is not up to current interstate standards (1) (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). When the routes for I-73 and I-74 were first agreed to in 1996, NCDOT asked that this freeway be signed as Interstate 74 south to NC 65 (where I-74 was to be routed off onto the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway) and the US 52 freeway through Winston-Salem to I-40 signed as 'Temporary I-74.' The latter application was rejected by AASHTO, however, who suggested the route could simply be signed 'To I-74'. (2) The FHWA then refused to allow NCDOT to sign the rest of US 52 as I-74 because the road was not to interstate standards, nor Future I-74 because projects to upgrade the road were unfunded. Instead, they allowed NCDOT to sign the route as a 'Future I-74 Corridor.' An example of one of these signs is below. In order for NCDOT to sign the route at least as Future I-74 projects to improve the freeway must be funded in the state's transportation program. A project to upgrade the highway is listed in the Draft 2009-2015 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), it is unfunded, however, and is not scheduled to start construction until after 2015. The project, I-4404, is to upgrade the roadway to interstate standards, and is estimated to cost $101 million for both right-of way and construction. (3) The shoulders in Forsyth and Stokes Counties are actually quite close to interstate standards after a recent upgrading of the road. The southern end of these projects are at the location of the planned Winston-Salem Northern Beltway (near NC 65). US 52 south of there may also be upgraded to interstate standards at a cost of about $500 million, but this is a project unrelated to I-74, go HERE for details.

Comment: When the upgrade project is finally funded, NCDOT should put up Future I-74 shields along this stretch as they have done along US 220 south of north of Asheboro. NCDOT, however, may be more interested in waiting until the Winston-Salem Beltway portion of I-74 is completed, then fund the upgrade projects for a few years further down the road and in the meanwhile ask the FHWA for a waiver to sign the route as I-74 before the projects are completed, like they plan to do with I-73 south of Greensboro and are apparently doing with the US 74 Laurinburg/Maxton bypass in 2008.

View of Pilot Mountain from Northbound US 52 Scenic Overlook, Stokes County:

Junction US 52 signage

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Typical US 52 interchange, this one at Pinnacle, current Exit 129

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Above is the first 'Future I-74 Corridor' sign along US 52 South near Mt. Airy taken in 2004. Photo courtesy of H.B. Elkins.

If anyone is willing to share more photos from this segment, feel free to E-mail me.

Sources: NC Transportation Map 2001.
(1) Former NCRoads.com website, I-74 page.
(2) Personal E-Mail from Stephen Summers, 8/2/05.
(3) NCDOT. June 2008. State Transportation Improvement Program, 2009-2015, Division 9, p. 9-18. 

US 52 shield courtesy of David R. Kendrick's Shield's Up!.