Segment 18


Where:   From US 74/76 interection west of Whiteville, Columbus County to US 17 near Hickman Road near the South Carolina Line, Brunswick County

Length:   62 Miles

Needed:  Construct New Highway/Upgrade Existing Highways to Interstate Standards

As originally proposed, Interstate I-74 was to be routed from the US74/76 freeway near Whiteville into South Carolina. NCDOT has produced proposals for two different routes since 1997, the currently favored proposal being the subject of a feasibility study released in December 2005.  (1).
A. THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL. The first option studied by NCDOT in the 1990's, originally listed as late as the 2006-2012 STIP as Project R-3436, would have built a new 31 mile freeway from US 74/76 near Whiteville to US 17 at the South Carolina line. This project was later listed simply as a 'Feasibility Study Reevaluation in Progress' after a new routing proposal from NC's Governor Easley in 2003 (see B below). (2)  With the release of the feasibility study reeevaluation in August 2005 this older proposal is now seen simply as a basis of comparison to tout the merits of the proposal discussed in section B. This was actually not the first reevaluation of this route. In 2000, citing concerns that the planned I-74 routing through Brunswick County could be environmentally damaging, NCDOT undertook another feasibility study on the possibility of upgrading US 74-76 to interstate standards from Whiteville to the future US 17 bypass west of Wilmington (which NCDOT announced in Sept. 2002 would also designated as Interstate 140
(3)). The study was completed in the Fall of 2001 and indicated it would be possible, at a cost $4 million a mile, to upgrade the 40 miles of US 74-76 to an Interstate. (1) The Draft 2009-2015 STIP lists this as Project Number R-4462, currently unfunded, with an estimated construction cost of $160 million and a start date after 2015. (4) Part of this route, the 8 mile long US 74-76 Whiteville bypass, is already close to interstate standards already and has a 70 mph speed limit. NCDOT has put up Future I-74 Corridor signs along the bypass, like the one below (photo courtesy of Adam Prince).


Some officials in Wilmington used this study as a basis to call for the ending of I-74 there (See E below). (5)

B. A NEW PROPOSAL FOR I-74.  On May 5, 2003 NC Governor Mike Easley announced, as part of his 'Strategic Transportation Plan' for SE North Carolina, a new routing for I-74 east of Whiteville, shown in map at top. I-74 would not go to Wilmington, nor directly to SC, but would instead travel east along US 74-76 to near Bolton and from there roughly parallel NC 211 to US 17 near Shallotte. I-74 would then follow US 17 south to a few miles north of the SC border where it will jog slightly west and then south on a new highway that would connect with an extension of the Carolina Bays Parkway to Myrtle Beach (currently SC 31). (6)  It is this route that now is referred to under Project R-3436 in the Draft 2009-2015 STIP, and is listed for 'planning and environmental study' by the NC Turnpike Authority. (7) (To see a more detailed version of the map of this proposed routing created by the NCDOT Statewide Planning Branch for the Strategic Highway Corridors project, click HERE). (8))  NCDOT had previously announced helping SC study extending the Parkway (which is currently 20 miles long with 6 lanes running from SC 9 to US 501) northward from SC 9 to the NC Border. (9,10) SCDOT has been encouraged to petition the FHWA to have the Parkway be designated I-74. (11) The Governor's proposal directs NCDOT to work with the Federal Highway Admininstration (FHWA) to get approval for the proposed routes. If approved, funding would be sought from Congress to help pay for them. It is unclear how soon construction along the proposed route(s), if approved, would begin but it may not be for 20 to 30 years under the current highway funding mechanisms. NCDOT began studying the new proposal by holding public hearings on the NC 211 routing in late 2003. The Draft 2009-2015 STIP lists a project to build an interchange along US 74-76 at NC 211 (Project R-61). (14) The NC 211 interchange may now be east of where I-74 leaves US 74-76. Construction of this interchange, along with one at US 74 and NC 242 (see Segment 17), is to begin in 2010. (15) A workshop was held by NCDOT at the Bolton Town Hall on July 10, 2006 to provide information to interested citizens. (16) The new SAFETEA-LU transportation law has moneys earmarked for both these projects. In August 2005 an NCDOT financed feasibility study of the I-74 route in this area was completed. The study was publicly released in December 2005, the cost pegged for the preferred alternative, a 64 mile stretch mostly involving new freeway construction from Whiteville to the South Carolina border using the NC 211 corridor and US 17, and the Carolina Bays Parkway Extension (see Segment 19) is $641 million. (16)

Under this latest proposal this segment of I-74 would be broken up 3 ways, with approximate mileage (some figures taken from the I-74 Feasibility Study and NCDOT Strategic Corridors website) being:
US 74/76  West of Whiteville to NC 211, Bolton         Upgrade Highway             22 Miles
NC 211     From US 74/76 to US 17 near Shallotte    (Mostly) Build Highway      28 Miles
US 17       Shallotte to Carolina Bays Extension         Build and Upgrade            12 Miles
                Connector                                                             Total Route:            62 Miles
A more extensive description of each section can be found HERE.

Here's a photo of the NC 130 interchange on US 17 near Shallotte which, under some alternative corridors for the proposed routing above, will be an exit off of I-74:


Photo courtesy of Adam Prince

 in North Carolina?
As part of Gov. Easley's 2003 proposal (see text and map link above), US 74-76 from Whiteville to Wilmington would be upgraded to an interstate, and be designated as part of an extension of I-20 from Florence, SC to the Wilmington Outer Loop (I-140) (As of now there is no proposal for I-20 to take over I-140's route to I-40, I-20 may continue, however along US 74-76 to downtown Wilmington as shown on a Strategic Highway Corridors map of the area). I-20 would total about 60 miles in NC and I-74 and I-20 would be routed together for 22 miles from just west of Whiteville to near Bolton. There does not appear to be much support for this plan in South Carolina, however. On March 22, 2004 Rep. Mike McIntyre held a series of "I-74/I-20 Rallies" in his district, which includes Wilmington, to help jump start lobbying efforts for building I-20. According to an article written covering the event, the I-20 proposal was losing steam due to SC's determined efforts to get funds for I-73, a road that would parallel much of the proposed I-20 routing. An SCDOT spokesman is quoted in the same article as confirming I-73 is the top priority and saying "(t)here are no plans or thoughts of the I-20 extension." (12) NCDOT at the SCDOT I-73 Summit in February 2005 gave in on having I-20 be part of the discussions about final routing for I-73 and I-74, allowing for an agreement on border routings to occur, see I-74 Segment 19 and I-73 Segment 13. (13) Though some officials are still optimistic. (17) The new SAFETEA-LU transportation act signed by President Bush in August 2005 contains $5 million for NC to study extending the I-20 route to Wilmington. SC did not request similar moneys, however. As it looks now, I-20 will not be routed east of Florence any time soon.

C. YET ANOTHER I-74 ROUTING PROPOSAL? According to a March 10, 2005 article in the Whiteville (NC) News Reporter, at a fundraising dinner for Congressman Mike McIntyre on March 7 NCDOT officials released a map showing I-74 routed through Columbus County on a new route from US 74 east of Chadbourn to US 17 roughly following the paths of NC 410 and 130 and crossing US 701 halfway between Whiteville and Tabor City. (17) This map has not appeared as of yet at the NCDOT website. It is unclear whether this is new route is now the preferred alternative or whether it is a fallback in case the NC 211 route proves unfeasible. A subsequent article a week later in the same paper about progress on the NC 211 corridor study implies the latter. (18) Both older proposals (the original roughly following NC 904 and the suggested NC 211 route) traverse swamp lands for most of their paths, the NC 410/130 route has fewer wetlands to go through.  The Nature Conservancy, which oversees much of the Green Swamp through which NC 211, and the proposed I-74, traverses has come out publicly against the route. (19) They held had discussions with NCDOT about possibly putting the route on a new alignment away from NC 211 which was reflected in the subsequent I-74 feasibilty study discussed above. (20)

D. Build as a Toll Highway?
A November 16, 2005 report in the Wilmington Star-News indicated that Brunswick County officials approached the North Carolina Turnpike Authority about financing the proposed 44.8 mile I-74 segment from US 74/76 in Bolton to the SC Border as a toll highway during a meeting earlier in the month. The officials, seeing both the $550 million projected cost from feasilibity studies and that NCDOT may not build the road with current revenues for another 20-30 years, have suggested building it as a toll road to speed up construction. (21) At its June 14, 2006 meeting the Turnpike Authority Board agreed to study building I-74 as a toll road but only the Brunswick County portion that will parallel US 17. They do not believe traffic counts along the NC 211 corridor portion would be high enough to make tolling that feasible. A preliminary feasibility study put the cost of building the toll road 22 miles from US 17 in Supply to the SC border at $340 million. (22) The consultants final report in June 2007 indicated that tolls would only cover only 42% of the cost and would not be worth building if the other connecting routes were not built first. Substantial money would be required from the state legislature which would compete with money needed for the nearby proposed Cape Fear Skyway where tolls would cover only 55% of the cost. (23)

E. End in Wilmington Instead?
Business and political leaders in the Wilmington area saw the designation of I-140 in 2002 and NCDOT's US 74-76 feasibility study (discussed above) as incentives to build Interstate 74 along US74/76 and end it at I-140 west of the city. "It's an excellent hook to pull I-74 east" according to a statement at the time by Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) (3,4). With the proposed I-20 extension to Wilmington still only in the study phase, US 74-76 planned to be upgraded to interstate standards, and the apparent high costs (over $500 million) of routing an interstate through wetlands, there may be renewed support to having I-74 simply end at the port city. NCDOT seemingly doesn't rule this out in that the Feb. 2005 agreement with SC has that state willing to build an extension of the Carolina Bays Parkway to the NC state line 'to connect with either I-74 or a spur of I-74.' (19) The recently approved Strategic Highway Corridors plan indicates that US 17 south of Wilmington to SC is to be upgraded to a freeway (though recent reports have NCDOT suggesting cost considerations may mean it would be upgraded slowly over several decades, with stoplights being planned for some intersections in the interim). This freeway could conceivably be an I-74 spur. (or could simply be an extension of I-140, but plans are now to route that from US 17 east onto the proposed Cape Fear Skyway). It is unknown though when work on upgrading US 17 is planned.

Comment: Given the news that the latest proposal to toll I-74 in Brunswick County is economically unfeasible and that a route through the Green Swamp would be environmentally and economically costly, might it make more sense to fund the upgrading of US 74-76 to interstate standards and route I-74 along it in its entirety to end at Wilmington then perhaps extend the proposed toll road further north parelleling US 17 to tie into I-140 when it's completed? The toll road could serve (with or without an interstate designation) as a spur route from Wilmington to Myrtle Beach.

If anyone has any other photos to share of the area in the vicinity of this segment, feel free to E-mail me.

Sources: NC Transportation Map 2001, NCRoads (http://www.ncroads.com/interst/ih074.htm).
(1) Rummel, Klepper & Kahl, LLP. 2005. I-74 Feasibility Study: From Union Valley Road (SR 1585 ) in Whiteville to South Carolina State Line. Available online at http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruct/tpb/SHC/studies/I74/
(2) NCDOT. July 2005. State Transportation Improvement Program, 2006-2012, Division 3, p. 3-6.
(3) McGrath, Gareth. 2002. "Outer Loop named Wilmington's 2nd Interstate." Morning Star (Wilmington, NC). Sept. 19: 1A, 6A.
(4) NCDOT. Nov. 2007. State Transportation Improvement Program, Draft, 2009-2015, Division 6, p. 6-9. 
(5) McGrath, Gareth. 2001. "I-74 may be in Port City's Future." Morning Star (Wilmington, NC). October 9: 1B, 3B.
(6) WRAL TV. 2003. "Easley Announces Strategic Transportation Plan" Downloaded from http://www.wral.com/traffic/2180629/detail.html, May 5, 2003.
(7) NCDOT. Nov. 2007. State Transportation Improvement Program, Draft, 2009-2015, Division 6, p. 6-8.
(8) NCDOT. 2004. Strategic Highway Corridors. Strategic Highway Corridors Vision Map-Southeastern NC. Downloaded from http://www.ncdot.org/planning/tpb/SHC/PDF/shc_vision_map_southeast.pdf.
(9) SCDOT. 2003. Carolina Bays Parkway. Info downloaded from http://www.dot.state.sc.us/Projects/CarolinaBays /default.html, May 11, 2003.
(10) WRAL TV. 2003. "N.C. Officials Looking To Extend S.C. Highway For Beach Traffic." Downloaded from
http://www.wral.com/traffic/2171290/detail.html, May 1, 2003.
(11) The Sun News. 2005. "I-74 First to Reach Strand?" Editorial. The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC). October 15.
(12) Vergakis, Brock. 2004. "Funds Secured for NC Road Projects." The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC). March 30.
(13) Wilson, Zane. 2005. "Carolinas Reach Interstate Deal." The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC). February 12.
(14) NCDOT. Nov. 2007. State Transportation Improvement Plan, Draft 2009-2015, Division 6, Columbus County, p. 6-7.
(15) Phone conversation with Mark Schreiner, November 16, 2005.
(16) NCDOT. 2006. NCDOT Workshops July 10-11 for Proposed Interchange Additions Along U.S. 74 in Columbus County. Press Release, July 6.
(17) Helm, Mike. 2005. "Congressman Announces Highway Funding." The News Reporter (Whiteville, NC) March 10.
(18) Hinnant, Lee. 2005. "Route for Interstate Studied." The News Reporter (Whiteville, NC) March 16.
(19) Vergakis, Brock. 2005. "Brunswick Mixed on Roads." The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC). August 2.
(20) SCDOT. 2005. "Interstate 73 Summit a Success." News Release. Feb. 11.
(21) Schreiner, Mark. 2005. "Some Push for an I-74 Toll Link." The Star-News (Wilmington, NC). November 16.
(22) McGrath, Gareth. 2006. "Turnpike Authority to Study Stretch of I-74 for Toll Road." The Star-News (Wilmington, NC). June 15.
(23) Trapani, Carol. 2007. "I-74 Study: What's Missing are the Cars to Generate Money." The Brunswick (NC) Beacon. June 27.

I-74 shield courtesy of David R. Kendrick's Shield's Up!.