Where:      US 220, Virginia Border to NC 68,                   Rockingham County Length:     18 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 plus some grade-separated interchanges) 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 rest of 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 2020 in NCDOT's Draft 2011-15 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 2020 also. (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). An NCDOT project is set for 2011 that will add 'median dividers' to this segment, it is unclear whether they are referring to guardrails or wires, or barriers that will seal off cross traffic at intersections. (6)

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

Here are some other photos taken along the corridor in February 2009:

This is the first interchange along the freeway north of the intersection with NC 68, notice the 'To US 311' sign stuck on top. NCDOT applied and AASHTO approved an extension of US 311 from Business 220 to NC 770 in Eden, but no signs are up. The correct signage should read NC 704 North Business US 220 South US 311, etc.

This is what US 220 mostly looks like in Rockingham County. Further south near NC 68 there are many businesses which will either have to be taken down or the roadway rearranged to include a frontage road.

This sign for NC 135 should include US 311 as well.

The NC 770 exit in Stoneville. Notice the left hand turn lane before it that will have to be removed during the conversion to a freeway.

Smith Road, the last exit in North Carolina. The Virginia border is about 3 miles north of here.

If anyone has any 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.
(6) NCDOT. August 2010. 2011-2015 State Transportation Improvement Plan, Draft, Division 7, Excel Spreadsheet of Project Listings.

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

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