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North Carolina's Interstates:

In The Beginning
Interstate Numbers and Markings
Did You Know
Fact Sheets

In The Beginning:

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After six years of debate, Congress authorized the development of the "National System of Interstate and Defense Highways" in 1956. At the same time, a new federal tax on gasoline, motor oil, tires and other items necessary for vehicular travel were levied to finance this program.

The plan was to create a 41,000-mile connecting system of "super" highways. It was to be the greatest peacetime construction program in our country's history and would:

Contribute to the economy by encouraging wider distribution of products;
Reduce traffic congestion and required travel time;
Save lives through improved safety;
Strengthen national defense; and
Provide improved facilities for personal transportation.

Each state was to build the segments of interstate routes within its boundaries with 90 percent federal aid. The interstate routes were designed to connect the larger cities, while at the same time serve the highly industrial and agricultural areas of the country. The plan called for the entire system to be completed and opened to traffic in 1972.

North Carolina was originally allocated 714 miles which were designated to become Interstates 95, 85, 40 and 26. In 1957, the total interstate mileage allocated to North Carolina increased to 776 miles when I-77 was added to connect Charlotte and Ohio.

Interstate 85 was to begin in central Virginia and end at I-65 at Montgomery, Ala. Traversing 233 miles of the state, I-85 would be North Carolina's longest interstate route. It would enter North Carolina just north of Henderson and leave just south of Kings Mountain, serving Durham, Burlington, Greensboro, High Point, Lexington and Charlotte.

Interstate 40 would begin at the intersection of I-85 in Greensboro and stretch all the way to Barstow, Calif., with 219 miles in North Carolina. It would serve Winston-Salem and wind its way west to Asheville, then up the rugged Pigeon River Gorge of Haywood County and exit into Tennessee.

Interstate 95 would begin in Houlton, Maine and end at Miami, Fla. The third longest interstate route in North Carolina, I-95 would enter the state just north of Roanoke Rapids and Weldon and traverse our state for nearly 182 miles to just south of Lumberton to South Carolina.

Interstate 26, the shortest of North Carolina's interstate routes, could have been called the "interstate of the Carolinas." It would begin at I-40 in Asheville and continue to Charleston, S.C. From Asheville, I-26 would head south through the Saluda Valley and enter South Carolina near Columbus in Polk County.

Added in 1957, Interstate 77 would have only 96 miles through North Carolina, entering the state near Mt. Airy from Virginia and continue southward through Elkin and Statesville and end at Charlotte. The route's northern terminus would be Cleveland, Ohio.

Although massive federal aid for construction of the interstates was not authorized until 1956, North Carolina started building segments of the system in 1949. The Lexington Bypass (U.S. 29 and U.S. 70) was the first completed segment and is now part of I-85 Business. The Lumberton Bypass (U.S. 301) was completed in 1950 and became part of I-95. North Carolina spent an estimated $60 million on these highways prior to the 90 percent federal funding match became available.

Interstate Numbers and Markings:

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Roadways- March/April- 1959

The erection of the new-type signs on Interstate highways takes many steps. Made of aluminum panels, both the green background and the white message of the signs are reflectorized. The signs are unique in their mountings - tapered aluminum poles set in concrete footings, thus cutting down on maintenance, in addition to affording the maximum clarity and visibility for the motoring public.

When you see the red, white and blue interstate route marker, do you ever wonder how interstates were numbered? Even numbered interstates travel east-west and odd numbered interstates travel north-south. Interstates 95 and 40 are classic examples of the numbering system in North Carolina. Interstate 95 runs north-south while Interstate 40 runs east-west. However, the direction of an interstate is determined by the starting and ending points of the interstate, not by its local direction. A north-south interstate might run east-west for a while and then change back to north-south. One such example is I-85 between Hillsborough and Greensboro, where it follows the same route as I-40.

Connecting interstate routes and beltlines (full or partial) around or within an urban area carry a three-digit number. These routes are designated with the number of the main route and an even-numbered prefix. Supplemental radial and spur routes, connecting with the main route at one end, also carry a three-digit number, using the number of the main route with an odd-number prefix.

To prevent duplication within a state, a progression of prefixes is used for the three-digit numbers. For example, if I-40 runs through three cities in a state, circumferential routes around these cities would be numbered as I-240, I-440, and I-640. The same system would be used for spur routes into the three cities, with routes being numbered I-140, I-340, and I-540, respectively. This system is not carried across state lines. As a result, several cities in different states along I-40 may each have circumferential beltways numbered as I-240 or spur routes numbered as I-140.

Interstate Exit Numbers:

States use one of two methods of numbering the interstate exits. The "consecutive" numbering system numbers interchanges consecutively starting at the most westerly or southerly point on each interstate route. The first interchange would become interchange number 1 and each succeeding interchange would be numbered consecutively as number 2, 3, 4, etc.

The other method called the "milepost" numbering system is the system North Carolina uses. Interstate routes are numbered by mile beginning at the most westerly or southerly point. The beginning point will be milepost "0." Then the interchanges on the interstate will match the numbers on the mile markers along the highway. Therefore, if the first interchange is located between milepost 8 and 9, it is numbered as interchange number 8. The next interchange located at milepost 15, would be numbered 15. With this system, the motorists can easily determine the location and distance to a desired interchange.

Did You Know:

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The total interstate mileage allocated to North Carolina in 1956 was 714 miles. Virginia was allocated 1,008 miles; Tennessee, 1,093 miles; and South Carolina, 769 miles.
In 1956, North Carolina's 714 miles of interstate were designated to become Interstates 95, 85, 40 and 26.
Nearly a third of the above total mileage, 233 miles, would be on I-85, which passed through North Carolina in the general vicinity of Henderson, Durham, Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury, Charlotte and Gastonia.
In 1957, an interstate route connecting Charlotte with Canton, Ohio was added. This route was designated as I-77 and gave North Carolina a revised total of 776 allotted interstate highway miles.
The first section of completed interstate, a three-mile section of the East-West Expressway originally designated as I-40, opened to traffic in early 1958.
On July 1, 1959, 56.6 miles of four-lane interstate highways were opened in North Carolina.
In 1960, safety statistics showed that interstate highways were four times safer than conventional two-lane roads. The average fatalities per 100 million travel miles on two-lane roads ran slightly over eight, while on interstate highways, the fatality rate was slightly over two.
The use of interchanges to control access on interstate highways was the greatest contributing factor to increased safety. With it, no left-turn movements are permitted and there is no need for stop signs or traffic lights. The N.C. State Highway Commission adopted this same design feature for its Intra-State Trunk Line Highway System. (North Carolina Roadways, Nov.-Dec. 1960)
The longest single section of interstate open to traffic in 1960 was the 51.7-mile long I-95 route serving eastern North Carolina, from Kenly southward to Eastover in Cumberland County.
"Interstate construction is the most expensive sort of highway work. Including right-of-way costs, it takes about a million dollars to build two miles on the Interstate System." (North Carolina Roads and Their Builders, 1966)
1966 was a good year for the interstate program in North Carolina: the contract for the Pigeon River Gorge on I-40 and the contract for the Green River Bridge on I-26 and the adjoining link of roadway was let; work was well under way for upgrading I-85 at Greensboro; contracts were out on I-85 from Charlotte to China Grove; construction continued on I-95 from Weldon to Gold Rock and a hearing was held on the I-95 link in the Fayetteville area; and the interchange at the junction of I-40 and I-77 in Statesville was dedicated.
The Pigeon River Gorge section of I-40 was completed in 1968. This 22-mile interstate highway went through rugged mountains and included the only tunnels on the interstate system east of the Mississippi River. This project was also the largest single North Carolina highway project at that time.
The 2.3-mile I-85 bypass of Henderson opened in 1970 at a cost of $2.6 million; I-26 from I-40 in Asheville to the South Carolina state line was completed in 1976; and I-77 was completed from the South Carolina state line to the Virginia state line in 1977.
During the 1980s, I-95 was completed from the Virginia state line to the South Carolina state line (1980); I-240 around Asheville was completed (1981); I-85 from the Virginia state line to the South Carolina state line was completed (1984); I-277 around the central business district of Charlotte was completed (1988); I-40 in the Research Triangle Park was widened (1988); and I-40 opened between U.S. 70 near Garner and I-95 near Benson (1989).
The I-40 Winston-Salem Bypass was opened in 1992, with the original I-40 route taking the name I-40 Business.
The first section of I-440 around Raleigh opened in 1991, followed by the opening of the first section of I-540 in January 1997.
In 2005, the first segments of I-295 in Cumberland County and I-140 in New Hanover County opened.
I-40 was completed in North Carolina in 1990. I-40 is the third longest interstate in the United States with over 2,555 miles and links Barstow, Calif. to Wilmington.
Today, North Carolina has more than 1,083 miles of interstate highways.
Mecklenburg County has more interstate mileage, 103.61 miles, than any other North Carolina county. Iredell County is second with 61.42 miles; third is Johnston County, 60.03 miles; and fourth is Wake County with 60.01 miles.
The highest elevation on North Carolina's interstate system is on I-26 in Madison County, at 3,875 ft. The lowest elevation is on I-40 at the Pender County/New Hanover County line, which is 15 ft. above sea level.
North Carolina's interstate system comprises 1.36 percent of the total state highway system mileage, yet 19.5 percent of the 95,627,000,000 miles of North Carolina vehicle travel miles annually take place on North Carolina's interstate highways.