Interstate 40 in North Carolina

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Interstate 40
Main route of the Interstate Highway System

Maintained by North Carolina DOT

Length:

423.55 mi^[1] (681.64 km)

Formed:

1956-1990

West end:

I-40 at Tennessee state line

Major
junctions:

I-26 in Asheville

I-77 in Statesville

US 52 in Winston-Salem

US 29 in Greensboro

I-85 in Greensboro

I-95 in Benson

East end:

US 117 / NC 132 in Wilmington

North Carolina highways
< NC 39		NC 41 >

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Interstate 40

Interstate 40 in North Carolina runs for 421 miles through the state of North Carolina from the Tennessee state line in the west to its eastern terminus in Wilmington. The middle segment of I-40 in the state is sometimes informally known as the "Tobacco Road" since it is the major thoroughfare linking the "Big Four" universities in the Tobacco Road sports rivalry.^[2]

1 History
2 Trouble spots
3 Major cities
4 Intersections with other Interstates
5 Auxiliary routes in North Carolina
6 Exit list
7 References

[edit] History

Construction on I-40 through North Carolina officially began in 1956 along the Pigeon River in Haywood County. This would be the first section of I-40 to be built anywhere in the country. This section was completed in 1968 and at that time contained the only interstate highway tunnels east of the Mississippi River. Construction continued through the 1950s and 1960s, with much of the interstate being constructed in the 1960s. The last portion of I-40 to be completed, between Raleigh and Wilmington was opened on June 29, 1990 by Governor James G. Martin. Much of Martin's election campaign in the mid-1980s was hinged on opening this section for the sake of improving access to the North Carolina State Port at Wilmington.^[3]

[edit] Trouble spots

One of the most dangerous portions of I-40 throughout its entirety is the section that travels through the Pigeon River Gorge in Haywood County. Known locally as simply "the gorge", this part of I-40 cuts a path west from Waynesville to the Tennessee state line. This section of the interstate is fairly curvy and tends to become a bit narrow in some places when compared to other portions of the highway. Because much of the road was cut through mountainside, concrete retaining walls have been built on both sides of the road and in the median, cutting down on the width of the breakdown lanes. Coupled with speeding vehicles, the extremely thick fog that tends to plague the area, and little room to maneuver in case of accident, this area has become notorious for its severe and many times fatal accidents. It is reported that a person is 20 times as likely to die on I-40 in Haywood County than they would be to win the Powerball lottery, which equals to be twice the average of any other interstate highway in North Carolina. ^[4] Even some minor accidents have been known to tie up traffic in this area, because there is little room to move accidents off or to the side of the road with the terrain. Speeding semi trucks have been a problem in the gorge and have subsequently led to many accidents. Several state troopers have been killed in the gorge since 2001, which has led the North Carolina Highway Patrol to crack down on speeding tractor trailers and speeders in general through the area. This portion of the highway is, also, notorious for rockslides and rocks falling onto the highway. In July of 1997 a rockslide near the Tennessee state line closed the road for nearly six months.^[5]

[edit] Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

[edit] Intersections with other Interstates

Interstate 26 in Asheville
Interstate 240 in Asheville
Interstate 77 in Statesville
Future Interstate 274 in Winston-Salem
Future Interstate 74 in Winston-Salem
Future Interstate 73 in Greensboro
Future Interstate 840 and Interstate 785 near Greensboro
Interstate 85 in Greensboro (They stay merged until Hillsborough)
Interstate 540 between Durham and Raleigh
Interstate 440 in Raleigh (twice)
Interstate 95 in Benson

[edit] Auxiliary routes in North Carolina

I-40/85 through Burlington

Interstate	City	Type	Notes
Business Interstate 40	Winston-Salem Greensboro	Business loop
Interstate 140	Wilmington	Spur
Interstate 240	Asheville	By-pass
Interstate 440	Raleigh	Beltway
Interstate 540	Raleigh	Beltway	Partially constructed beltway
Interstate 840	Greensboro	Beltway	Under construction

[edit] Exit list

County	Location	#	Destinations	Notes
Haywood		7	Harmon Den
		15	Fines Creek
		20	US 276 – Waynesville, Maggie Valley
		24	NC 209 – Lake Junaluska, Hot Springs
		27	US 19 / US 23 / US 74 west – Clyde, Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Franklin, Murphy, Atlanta	West end of US 74 overlap
		31	NC 215 – Canton
		33	Newfound Road
Buncombe		37	Candler, East Canton
	Asheville	44	US 19 / US 23 – West Asheville, Enka, Candler
		46A	I-26 east – Hendersonville, Spartanburg, Asheville Airport	East end of US 74 overlap
		46B	I-26 west / I-240 – Asheville	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		47	NC 191 – West Asheville, Farmers Market
		50	US 25 to NC 81 – South Asheville, Biltmore House	Signed as exits 50A (south) and 50B (north) westbound
		51	US 25 Alt. – Asheville
		53A	US 74 Alt. east / Blue Ridge Parkway – Bat Cave
		53B	I-240 / US 74 Alt. west – East Asheville, Asheville
		55	To US 70 – East Asheville, VA Hospital
		59	Swannanoa
	Black Mountain	64	NC 9 – Black Mountain, Montreat
	Black Mountain	65	US 70 west – Black Mountain	West end of US 70 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		66	Ridgecrest
McDowell		72	US 70 east – Old Fort	East end of US 70 overlap; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	Old Fort	73	Old Fort
		75	Parker Padgett Road
		81	Sugar Hill Road - Marion
		83	Ashworth Road
		85	US 221 – Marion, Rutherfordton
		86	NC 226 – Marion, Shelby
		90	Nebo, Lake James
Burke		94	Dysartsville Road - Lake James
		96	Kathy Road
		98	Causby Road - Glen Alpine
	Glen Alpine	100	Jamestown Road, Dixie Boulevard - Glen Alpine
	Morganton	103	US 64 – Morganton, Rutherfordton
		104	Enola Road
		105	NC 18 – Morganton, Shelby
		106	Bethel Road
		107	NC 114 – Drexel
	Valdese	111	Valdese
	Valdese	112	Mineral Springs Mountain Road - Valdese
	Rutherford College	113	Rutherford College, Connelly Springs
	Icard	116	Icard	Former NC 10
	Hildebran	118	Old NC 10
	Hildebran	119	Henry River, Hildebran	Signed as exits 119A (Henry River) and 119B (Hildebran) eastbound
Catawba	Long View	121	Long View
	Hickory	123	US 321 to US 70 / NC 127 , Lenoir, Lincolnton	Signed as exits 123A (south) and 123B (north)
	Hickory	125	Hickory, Lenoir-Rhyne College
		126	To US 70 – Hickory, Newton
		128	Fairgrove Church Road
	Conover	130	Old US 70
		131	NC 16 – Conover, Taylorsville	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		132	To NC 16 – Conover, Taylorsville
		133	Rock Barn Road
	Claremont	135	Claremont
		138	NC 10 west (Oxford School Road) – Catawba
Iredell		141	Sharon School Road
		144	Old Mountain Road
		146	Stamey Farm Road
	Statesville	148	US 64 / NC 90 – West Statesville, Taylorsville
		150	NC 115 – Downtown Statesville, North Wilkesboro
		151	US 21 – East Statesville, Harmony
		152	I-77 – Charlotte, Elkin	Signed as exits 152A (south) and 152B (north)
		153	US 64	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		154	To US 64 / Old Mocksville Road
		162	US 64
Davie		168	US 64 – Mocksville
		170	US 701 – Mocksville, Yadkinville
		174	Farmington Road
		180	NC 801 – Bermuda Run, Tanglewood
Forsyth	Clemmons	182	Tanglewood, Bermuda Run	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Clemmons	184	Lewisville, Clemmons
	Winston-Salem	188	I-40 Bus. east / US 421 south – Winston-Salem	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		188	I-40 Bus. east / US 421 – Winston-Salem, Yadkinville, Wilkesboro	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		189	US 158 (Stratford Road)
		190	Hanes Mall Boulevard	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		192	NC 150 (Peters Creek Parkway) – Downtown Winston-Salem
		193C	Silas Creek Parkway, South Main Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		193	US 52 / NC 8 (US 311 north) – Lexington, Mount Airy	West end of US 311 overlap; signed as exits 193A (south) and 193B (north)
		195	NC 109 / Clemmonsville Road – Thomasville
		196	US 311 south – High Point	East end of US 311 overlap
		201	Union Cross Road
	Kernersville	203	NC 66 – Kernersville, High Point
Guilford		206	I-40 Bus. north / US 421 – Kernersville, Downtown Winston-Salem	West end of US 421 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Greensboro	208	Sandy Ridge Road - Farmers Market
		210	NC 68 – High Point, Piedmont Triad International Airport
		211	Gallimore Dairy Road
		212	I-40 Bus. east / US 421 south / to Bryan Boulevard (via I-840) – Greensboro, PTI Airport	East end of US 421 overlap; signed as exits 212A (Bryan Boulevard) and 212B (I-40 Bus./US 421) westbound
		214	Wendover Avenue
		218	I-85 south / US 29 / US 70 west – High Point, Charlotte	No exit number westbound
		219	I-85 Bus. north / US 29 north / US 70 east to US 220 north – Greensboro	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		220	US 220 south – Asheboro	Signed as exit 122B westbound
I-40 overlaps with Interstate 85 (exits 121 to 163)
Orange	Hillsborough	259	I-85 north – Durham	East end of I-85 overlap
	Hillsborough	261	Hillsborough	Former NC 86
		263	New Hope Church Road
		266	NC 86 – Chapel Hill
Durham	Chapel Hill	270	US 15 / US 501 – Chapel Hill, Durham
	Chapel Hill	273	NC 54 – Chapel Hill, Durham	Signed as exits 273A (west) and 273B (east) westbound
		274	NC 751 – Jordan Lake
		276	Fayetteville Road - Southpoint–North Carolina Central University
		278	NC 55 to NC 54 – Apex
		279A	Alexander Drive
		279B	NC 147 north (Durham Freeway) – Downtown Durham
	RTP	280	Davis Drive
		281	Miami Boulevard
		282	Page Road
		283	I-540 north / NC 540 west to US 70 / NC 55 – Apex	Signed as exits 283A (west) and 283B (north) westbound
Wake		284	Airport Boulevard - RDU International Airport	Signed as exits 284A (west) and 284B (east) eastbound
		285	Aviation Parkway - Morrisville, RDU International Airport
		287	Harrison Avenue - Cary
		289	To I-440 / US 1 north / Wade Avenue
	Cary	290	NC 54 – Cary
		291	Cary Towne Boulevard - Cary
		293	I-440 east / US 1 / US 64 west – Sanford, Asheboro, Wake Forest, Raleigh	West end of US 64 overlap; signed as exits 293A (south/west) and 293B (north/east)
		295	Gorman Street
		297	Lake Wheeler Road
	Raleigh	298	US 70 / US 401 / NC 50 (South Saunders Street) – Fayetteville, Downtown Raleigh	Signed as exits 298A (east/south) and 298B (west/north)
		299	Hammond Road, Person Street
		300	Rock Quarry Road	Signed as exits 300A (south) and 300B (north) westbound
		301	I-440 west / US 64 east – Rocky Mount	East end of US 64 overlap
		303	Jones Sausage Road
		306	US 70 – Garner, Smithfield, Goldsboro	Signed as exits 306A (west) and 306B (east) westbound
Johnston		312	NC 42 – Clayton, Fuquay-Varina
		319	NC 210 – Smithfield, Angier
	Benson	325	NC 242 to US 301 – Benson
	Benson	328	I-95 – Benson, Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, Smithfield	Signed as exits 328A (south) and 328B (north)
		334	NC 96 – Meadow
Sampson	Newton Grove	341	NC 50 / NC 55 to US 13 – Newton Grove
	Newton Grove	343	US 701 to US 13 – Clinton, Newton Grove
		348	Suttontown Road
		355	NC 403 – Faison
Duplin		364	NC 24 west / NC 24 Bus. east to NC 50 – Warsaw, Clinton	West end of NC 24 overlap
		369	US 117 – Warsaw, Magnolia
		373	NC 24 east / NC 903 – Magnolia, Kenansville	East end of NC 24 overlap
		380	Rose Hill, Greenevers
		384	NC 11 – Teachey, Wallace, Kenansville
		385	NC 41 – Wallace, Chinquapin, Beulaville
Pender		390	US 117 – Wallace
		398	NC 53 – Burgaw, Jacksonville
		408	NC 210 – Hampstead, Rocky Point, Moores Creek National Battlefield
New Hanover	Castle Hayne	414	Castle Hayne, Brunswick County Beaches, Hampstead
		416	I-140 west / US 17 – Topsail Island, New Bern, Jacksonville, Shallotte, Myrtle Beach	Signed as exits 416A (west/south) and 416B (north)
	Wilmington	420	US 117 north / NC 132 north / Gordon Road	Signed as exits 420A (Gordon Road) and 420B (US 117/NC 132) westbound
	Wilmington		US 117 south / NC 132 south	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance