Where:   US 220, NC 68 to US 220-NC 68 Connector Length:   5 Miles Needed:   Upgrade Highway to Interstate Freeway Existing Road Signed as:

South of NC 68, US 220 is currently a two-lane roadway. As part of a project that will build a connector between US 220 and NC 68 near Greensboro (listed in the 2009-2015 STIP as project No. R-2309, see Segment 3), NCDOT is upgrading the highway to a "multi-lane" roadway. Construction is apparently complete on the northern section from SR 2127 (Brook Bank Road) to the Haw River. Work on the remaining section is to start in 2010. The total cost for the project (right-of-way and construction is now budgeted at around $216 million. (1) The roadway will not be initially designed to Interstate standards but NCDOT has plans to upgrade it later. (2)  This project will be completed before work on the Connector (below) begins in 2013.  

Where:   US 220-NC 68 Connector from Summerfield to Existing NC 68 Freeway North of Greensboro Length:   7 Miles Needed:   Construct New Freeway Project to Start: 2013

Also as part of Project R-2413, NCDOT plans to build a 'multi-lane connector' between US 220 from near its intersection with NC 150 in Summerfield to where the current NC 68 freeway begins north of Greensboro. Construction, originally set to start in 2002, has been continually delayed due to legal challenges from the city and residents of Summerfield that were first heard in 1999 and NCDOT's recent financial difficulties. The lawsuits aimed at getting NCDOT to perform more environmental studies and change some of the routing of the highway. The original construction plan required 75 residences and businesses to be relocated. (3) By early 2002 the city had conceded that I-73 was going to be built and hired a consultant to draft a development plan for where the Interstate will cross NC 150. (4) Design of this roadway is underway, with Right-of-Way acquisition scheduled starting in 2010. Currently NCDOT plans to start construction around 2013 at an estimated cost of $71 million (5). Most of the connector will be built to Interstate standards with the understanding that those sections not initially constructed as an interstate will be upgraded later. (6)

If anyone has photos of the current roads for either of these segments, feel free to E-mail me.

Sources: Maps-ADC 2002 North Carolina Atlas, p. 44, Map Supply Inc. Greensboro/High Point Street Map 2002, NCRoads (http://www.ncroads.com/interst/ih73.htm). 
(1) NCDOT. June 2008. State Transportation Improvement Program, 2009-2015, Division 7, p. 7-47.
(2) Greensboro Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. 2002. Transportation Project: Greensboro Urban Area. Spring 2002. Downloaded from Greensboro Dept. of Transportation website (www.ci.greensboro.nc.us/GDOT/), Nov. 2002.
(3) Ball, Andrea. 1999. "Opponents to I-73 Refuse to Yield; Residents Threaten to File Suit over Interstate's Future Path Through Summerfield." News & Record (Greensboro, NC). April 20: B1.
(4) Nonte, Daniel M. 2002. "Council Planning for Interstate 73." News & Record (Greensboro, NC). January 9: B3.
(5) NCDOT. June 2008. State Transportation Improvement Program, 2009-2015, Division 7, p. 7-47.
(6) Greensboro Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. 2002. Transportation Project: Greensboro Urban Area. Spring 2002. Downloaded from Greensboro Dept. of Transportation website (www.ci.greensboro.nc.us/GDOT/), Nov. 2002.

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

A more detailed look at the map segment above: