Segment 9 / Segment 10

Where:   I-73/I-74  "US 220 Bypass" from NC 134/Bus. 220, Ulah to US 220A near Candor

Length:   26 Miles (12 miles of new construction, 14 miles of previously existing freeway)

Status:   COMPLETE*

Signed as:    

 * except for 14 miles of needed shoulder widening

The US 220 bypass was opened by May 1997 from Ulah to Steed and was the first freeway to be signed as Interstate 73 and 74. (1) The constructed bypass ran between two older sections of US 220 freeway. Later the interstate signage was extended south to Candor on the previously existing US 220 freeway built in the 1980s. (2) This part received the Interstate designation, though it is not up to current Interstate standards. NCDOT was allowed to sign this 14-mile section as an Interstate with an agreement to fund a project to correct the remaining deficiencies in this section of the highway. Project No. I-4406 will increase the widths of the shoulders in this portion to interstate standards, 10 feet, in 2011 at a cost of $3.7 million. (3) For examples of some of the interchange and road signage in the area see the photos below. Exit numbers appear on the signage in the new portion of freeway (along with mileposts), numbers run from 39 to 51 and reflect US 220's mileage, the remaining exits on the older portion are not numbered. This should change by the end of 2012 when a contract to upgrade US 220 through Asheboro is complete. The new exit signs will have numbers reflecting I-73's mileage, see the probable exit number list at the bottom of the page.

Photos from June 2002:

Signage at the I-73/74 and US 220 Interchange with To US 220A and NC Zoo, looking East. (6/2002)

Signage at Intersection of US 220A and the road leading back to I-73/74. The Interstate is 1/2 mile behind where the picture is taken, these signs direct people to go left or right, probably safer than trying to turn around. (6/2002)

Signage at the entrance to the NC Zoo in Asheboro, one of the several I-73/74 sign assemblies miles from the freeway itself. (6/02)

From November 2009:

 
Junction I-73/74 US 220 signage on new portion of US 220 Bypass Freeway, note signs of wear on the 12 year-old shields (11/8/09).

Typical Interstate 73/74 US 220 signage at on-ramps south of Asheboro. This interchange is on the part of Interstate 73/74 signed on the newer US 220 freeway. For a list of exits in this segment, Go HERE.
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Signage for Exit 45, NC 705. The barrels are from a rest area under construction (see below). (11/8/09)

Another sign for Exit 45 showing the US 220 milepost the exit numbers are currently based on. (11/8/09)

Typical view of route signing and freeway landscape in this segment. (11/8/09)

The last exit in this segment, and the end of this segment of I-73 and I-74, after Exit 51 in Ulah (Alternate US 220 begins here going south but is not signed. (11/8/09)

The only new construction on this stretch until the shoulders are widened on the southern section* was the building of two rest areas on the north and southbound roadways near Seagrove in Randolph County just north of the Montgomery County line. The contract (C201776) was let on February 19, 2008 and work began in 6 weeks later on April 2. The estimated completion date for these rest areas was the end of 2009. Work fell slightly behind though in 2009, particularly on the southbound side. The northbound area opened on January 15, 2010 but the southbound side was not opened until about a week later. These rest areas serve also as 'Visitor Centers' meaning they are run by local groups supporting regional tourist attractions, in this case North Carolina's Pottery Region. There was some controversy when the NC legislature passed a bill that would make the rest areas more expensive 'Welcome Centers'. The bill was criticized as an unneeded expense, since Welcome Centers are run by the state with state personnel, and ridiculed for, unlike the normal Welcome Center at the state line, these would be 50 miles from the SC border. The legislature quickly passed a bill to make them the supposedly less expensive Visitors Centers, but as the photos show below the complexes are still impressive. (4)

Approaching the Northbound Visitor Center. (1/28/10)

Construction progress on the northbound rest area in November 2009. (11/8/09)


View in the distance from a year earlier, showing the progress made (10/2008)

The Northbound Visitor Center itself, showing that, in size, it's similar to NC's Welcome Centers. (1/28/10)

The Center has a fountain in front, not the case with the Southbound Center. (1/28/10)

The southbound visitors center is on top of a hill overlooking the freeway, the best I could do at that time was show that the road was still one-lane in this direction and the southbound on-ramp. (11/8/09)

The Southbound Center is on a hill allowing a view of the surrounding landscapre, including the Northbound Center. (1/28/10)

The Southbound Center features picnic tables above the Center buildings taking advantage of the hilltop location. (1/28/10)

The Southbound Center Complex, the Center is on the right, restroom facilities on the left, behind the rest rooms are soda and food vending machines. (1/28/09)

New Exit Number Scheme Using I-73 Mileage to Appear by 2013, going from north to south (5):
Interchange                    Current Number                  New (I-73 Mileage Number)
Business 220/NC 134         51                                        68
New Hope Church Rd         49                                        66
NC 705 Seagrove                45                                       62
Black Ankle Rd                    42                                        59
Alt US 220 Esther Steed     39                                        56
Star Robbins                       -- (36)*                                 53
NC 24/27 Biscoe                 -- (33)*                                 50
NC 211 Candor                   -- (28)*                                 45
Alt US 220 Candor              24                                        41

*Exit not Numbered, Based on Estimated US 220 Milemarker

Sources: NC Transportation Map 2001

(1) King, Michael. 1997. "Interstate 73/74 Now in use in NC!" Quoting article in Triad Business Journal. Posted on misc.transport.road newsgroup, May 5, 1997.
(2) Former NCRoads.com I-73 Page. Text available at: http://members.cox.net/ncroads/interst/ih073.html
 (3) NCDOT. June 2008. State Transportation Improvement Program, 2009-2015, Division 8, p. 8-17. 
(4) Walker, J.D. 2010. "To Folks From All Over...Welcome." Asheboro Courier-Tribune, Sunday 1/17/10. Downloaded from http://www.courier-tribune.com /articles/2010/01/21/news/gn3.txt, January 21, 2010.
(5) NCDOT. May 2010. Signing Plans, Project I-4407, Contract C202422, Released 5/18/10. Downloaded from: http://dotw-xfer01.dot.state.nc.us/dsplan/ 2010%20Highway%20Letting/06-15-10/Plans%20and%20Proposals/Randolph%20I-4407%20C202472/ 5/18/10. Exits numbers changed due to project in Segment 8. Assuming other I-73 exits will change numbers to provide continuity.

I-73, I-74 and US 220 shields courtesy of David R. Kendrick's Shield's Up!.