Segment 9 /
Segment 10
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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.
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)
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.
The only new construction on this stretch until the shoulders are widened on the southern section* is the building of two rest areas on the north and southbound roadways near Seagrove in Randolph County just north of the Montgomery County Border. 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 latest completion date is mid-January 2010 but the NC Board of Transportation in its October meeting set opening ceremonies for January 2. These rest areas will serve as 'Visitor's Center's' meaning they will be run by local groups supporting regional tourist attractions. 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 less expensive Visitors Centers, still impressive buildings as seen from the freeway. The contract is about 85% complete as of early November 2009. (4) Below you can see progress on the northbound rest area in the distance in November, showing that the freeway is no longer one lane in the north direction around the construction area, but still is southbound (see photos below).
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) NCDOT. 2008. Construction Progress Report, Contract C201776, TIP Project
K-3807, accessed 11/16/09.
I-73,
I-74 and US 220 shields courtesy of
David R. Kendrick's
Shield's Up!.
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