Interstate 73/74

[tolbs17]

https://connect.ncdot.gov/projects/planning/FeasibilityStudiesDocuments/I-5105_Feasibility-Study_0408A_Report_2007.pdf

When looking at this, there used to be a proposed flyover from the Asheboro bypass to I-73 South and I-74 East. Wonder why they removed it...

My guess would simply be because upon a further review, they deemed the volumes did not warrant a flyover for any of the loops. Given the two highways locations, I can't see much traffic switching between the two routes in any large volumes.

However, I will make an exception to this, and say that because of the Zoo access road interchange built on the bypass just east of the I-73 interchange, a flyover between I-73 South and US-64 East might have been warranted to accommodate zoo traffic from the north (likely busier than from the south). But that would strictly depend on how busy the loop gets during peak times.

They removed the flyover because of cost-saving. Instead of a flyover, they replaced it with the collector distributor lanes and the loop ramps. Also, you're right. traffic volumes did not warrant a flyover at this time.

And the proposed interchange that they are making, I still like the proposed SPUI. Right now it seems like they are doing minor improvements to the existing interchange.

Agreed, that whole segment of I-73/I-74 will need to be reconstructed at some point through Asheboro. Many geometrical deficiencies and overall being substandard. They reconstructed the mainline in the past decade to meet basic interstate standards and brought the speed limit up to 65 mph, but there's still much more work to do, which that feasibility study did outline some solutions.

Here is the last proposal of reconstructing the 64/49 exits in Asheboro that I found on the NCDOT website: https://www.ncdot.gov/news/public-meetings/Documents/U-5813-map-2.pdf. Unfortunately, there is very little detail regarding how they would treat existing 73/74/220.

Boring.....

[Strider]

https://connect.ncdot.gov/projects/planning/FeasibilityStudiesDocuments/I-5105_Feasibility-Study_0408A_Report_2007.pdf

When looking at this, there used to be a proposed flyover from the Asheboro bypass to I-73 South and I-74 East. Wonder why they removed it...

My guess would simply be because upon a further review, they deemed the volumes did not warrant a flyover for any of the loops. Given the two highways locations, I can't see much traffic switching between the two routes in any large volumes.

However, I will make an exception to this, and say that because of the Zoo access road interchange built on the bypass just east of the I-73 interchange, a flyover between I-73 South and US-64 East might have been warranted to accommodate zoo traffic from the north (likely busier than from the south). But that would strictly depend on how busy the loop gets during peak times.

They removed the flyover because of cost-saving. Instead of a flyover, they replaced it with the collector distributor lanes and the loop ramps. Also, you're right. traffic volumes did not warrant a flyover at this time.

And the proposed interchange that they are making, I still like the proposed SPUI. Right now it seems like they are doing minor improvements to the existing interchange.

Agreed, that whole segment of I-73/I-74 will need to be reconstructed at some point through Asheboro. Many geometrical deficiencies and overall being substandard. They reconstructed the mainline in the past decade to meet basic interstate standards and brought the speed limit up to 65 mph, but there's still much more work to do, which that feasibility study did outline some solutions.

Here is the last proposal of reconstructing the 64/49 exits in Asheboro that I found on the NCDOT website: https://www.ncdot.gov/news/public-meetings/Documents/U-5813-map-2.pdf. Unfortunately, there is very little detail regarding how they would treat existing 73/74/220.

They're going to work on I-73/74/US 220. I think they want to reconstruct the Business US 64/NC 49 interchange first (includes new bridges). The current bridges there are narrow with no shoulders and needed to be replaced at some point.

[tolbs17]

Don't be surprised if they change that into something else.

These are more recent documents, and the I-40 and I-74 interchange remains a 3-level stack. Although the ramp from I-74 west to I-40 east has been modified so it doesn't directly join the flyover coming from I-74 east to I-40 east.

And I feel like the modified concept has made the interchange even bigger.

https://xfer.services.ncdot.gov/pdea/PermApps/R-2247%20and%20U-2579%20WSNB/U-2579AB%20Phased%20Modification%20December%202%202020.pdf

https://xfer.services.ncdot.gov/pdea/PermApps/R-2247%20and%20U-2579%20WSNB/U-2579%20AA%20Forsyth%20August%2025%202021.pdf

[tolbs17]

More discussion about why that interchange is a 3 level stack, they moved Winston-Salem off the old Business 40 routing. I wonder if they are trying to keep as much traffic off the old routing as possible so that's why they did that. And having a control city on both signs can cause confusion.

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.0970378,-80.0116406,3a,46.3y,299.72h,99.26t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sSaVqQsCs2cRYo-ULVTAxEA!2e0!5s20210801T000000!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e1

[bob7374]

NCDOT has released plans for the next segment of the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway from US 421/Salem Parkway to I-40, the contract to be let in December. The sign plans include those for the final segment from I-40 to the current I-74 freeway, the part west of the future Beltway interchange to become NC 192. Here's one of the I-40 exit sign plans:


Here's a plan for the NC 192 exit:


They also include plans for new I-40 signs, the signs for the Beltway indicate it will be signed as I-74 when the segment opens:


More plan images can be found at:
https://malmeroads.net/i7374nc/i74seg4.html#signplans

The plans for the contract are at:
https://xfer.services.ncdot.gov/dsplan/2021%20Highway%20Letting/12-21-21/Plans%20and%20Proposals/FORSYTH_34839.3.GV5_U-2579AB_C204633/Standard%20PDF%20Files/?fbclid=IwAR0sgtVWzfw1dOPYrb-yelHz0bn95VB30u7ABzP-6c0bWqVKDP4uaMkdakE

[wdcrft63]

Wytheville?? Not Mount Airy??

[tolbs17]

Wytheville?? Not Mount Airy??

Would make more sense in North Carolina for now until I-74 gets signed in Virginia which is currently not right now.

Mount Airy is also bigger.

[tolbs17]

When looking at the signage plans, it looks like all of the Northern Beltway will remain 65 mph even when all of it is complete.

[rickmastfan67]

Wytheville?? Not Mount Airy??

Would make more sense in North Carolina for now until I-74 gets signed in Virginia which is currently not right now.

Mount Airy is also bigger.

They probably chose Wytheville due to I-74 being officially approved up to there along I-77 up to I-81.  Virginia just refuses to sign it.

[ARMOURERERIC]

When is the next section expected to open?

[tolbs17]

When is the next section expected to open?

When looking at the construction, I say late 2022 or early to mid 2023.

[ahj2000]

Wytheville?? Not Mount Airy??

Would make more sense in North Carolina for now until I-74 gets signed in Virginia which is currently not right now.

Mount Airy is also bigger.

They probably chose Wytheville due to I-74 being officially approved up to there along I-77 up to I-81.  Virginia just refuses to sign it.

Would take 0 road work too. Would just be 77 through the whole state. Maybe with BGS replacement eventually...though after 25 or so years of approval I doubt it's any time soon.

[GreenLanternCorps]

When is the next section expected to open?

When looking at the construction, I say late 2022 or early to mid 2023.

That would be the section from US 52 to US 311?

[tolbs17]

When is the next section expected to open?

When looking at the construction, I say late 2022 or early to mid 2023.

That would be the section from US 52 to US 311?

Yes

[ARMOURERERIC]

I was under the impression that there was to be an interim opening to NC 66/University Pkwy before opening to US 52.

[bob7374]

When is the next section expected to open?

When looking at the construction, I say late 2022 or early to mid 2023.

That would be the section from US 52 to US 311?

Yes

The project to build the Beltway from I-40 to the I-74 (former US 311) freeway (U-2579AA) is currently due to be let on Oct. 18, 2022* according to the 30 Month Tentative Letting List, p. 2:
https://connect.ncdot.gov/letting/12%20Month%20Tentative%20Letting%20Library/36%20MONTH%20CENTRAL%20STIP%20LET%20LIST%20(OCTOBER%202021%20-%20SEPTEMBER%202024).pdf

Therefore, construction could start as early as late November 2022 with a probable completion date some time in 2025.

*The other major project due to be let that date is the final segment of the Fayetteville Outer Loop, I-295.

[wdcrft63]

Wytheville?? Not Mount Airy??

Would make more sense in North Carolina for now until I-74 gets signed in Virginia which is currently not right now.

Mount Airy is also bigger.

They probably chose Wytheville due to I-74 being officially approved up to there along I-77 up to I-81.  Virginia just refuses to sign it.

Would take 0 road work too. Would just be 77 through the whole state. Maybe with BGS replacement eventually...though after 25 or so years of approval I doubt it's any time soon.

Wytheville is, of course, at the junction of I-77 and I-81, so it is pretty well known to long-distance travelers. Mount Airy is, of course, the junction of I-74 and I-77. The populations are comparable: about 8000 at Wytheville and 10000 in Mount Airy. But (1) Mount Airy is closer, (2) I'll bet more people entering the interchange will know where Mount Airy is, and (3) it's a North Carolina town, for Pete's sake.

[Roadsguy]

I was under the impression that there was to be an interim opening to NC 66/University Pkwy before opening to US 52.

That was the original plan, but I guess someone at NCDOT realized at the last minute that building the beltway almost to US 52 and dumping into local roads at the last minute would be a really bad idea, because they said at some point that a connector to US 52 to the north will open at the same time as the NC 66-US 311 segment. Presumably, this will come in the form of completing at least part of the new I-74 mainline alignment early, serving as a replacement for the preexisting two-lane connector that is essentially being upgraded into the beltway.

[tolbs17]

I was under the impression that there was to be an interim opening to NC 66/University Pkwy before opening to US 52.

That was the original plan, but I guess someone at NCDOT realized at the last minute that building the beltway almost to US 52 and dumping into local roads at the last minute would be a really bad idea, because they said at some point that a connector to US 52 to the north will open at the same time as the NC 66-US 311 segment. Presumably, this will come in the form of completing at least part of the new I-74 mainline alignment early, serving as a replacement for the preexisting two-lane connector that is essentially being upgraded into the beltway.

Then someone needs to fix the exit list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston-Salem_Northern_Beltway

[Dirt Roads]

Wytheville is, of course, at the junction of I-77 and I-81, so it is pretty well known to long-distance travelers. Mount Airy is, of course, the junction of I-74 and I-77. The populations are comparable: about 8000 at Wytheville and 10000 in Mount Airy. But (1) Mount Airy is closer, (2) I'll bet more people entering the interchange will know where Mount Airy is, and (3) it's a North Carolina town, for Pete's sake.

Mt. Airy is a control city on US-52, but whether or not NCDOT thinks it belongs as a control city on I-74 is subject to debate.  Historically, NCDOT has felt that Mt. Airy is too far removed from I-77 and as such, you get the tiny control city of Elkin instead.  I-74 gets much closer to Mt. Airy and actually has two nice methods of access from the [south], but still no good means of access from I-77 southbound (as well as I-74 eastbound).  If you can get there going northbound, but you are already too far past going southbound to make it worth the time to backtrack into the town, does it really qualify as a control city? 

Personally, I think that Mt. Airy is of such significant regional importance that the neither distance away from I-77 nor the backtrack needed from I-74 [southbound] should keep it from being a control city on either highway.  Mt. Airy now has more than 10,000 residents, and the population of Surry County is 71,359.  Not as big as Stateville/Iredell County, but the fact that it is near a major junction of two interstates should be sufficient (better than Fort Chiswell).

[Henry]

The I-74/I-77 concurrency is really useless, since there won't be a freeway route to carry it back to Cincinnati (at least in any of our lifetimes). If it were up to me, I'd keep Mt. Airy on the signs.

Wytheville is, of course, at the junction of I-77 and I-81, so it is pretty well known to long-distance travelers. Mount Airy is, of course, the junction of I-74 and I-77. The populations are comparable: about 8000 at Wytheville and 10000 in Mount Airy. But (1) Mount Airy is closer, (2) I'll bet more people entering the interchange will know where Mount Airy is, and (3) it's a North Carolina town, for Pete's sake.

Mt. Airy is a control city on US-52, but whether or not NCDOT thinks it belongs as a control city on I-74 is subject to debate.  Historically, NCDOT has felt that Mt. Airy is too far removed from I-77 and as such, you get the tiny control city of Elkin instead.  I-74 gets much closer to Mt. Airy and actually has two nice methods of access from the [south], but still no good means of access from I-77 southbound (as well as I-74 eastbound).  If you can get there going northbound, but you are already too far past going southbound to make it worth the time to backtrack into the town, does it really qualify as a control city? 

Personally, I think that Mt. Airy is of such significant regional importance that the neither distance away from I-77 nor the backtrack needed from I-74 [southbound] should keep it from being a control city on either highway.  Mt. Airy now has more than 10,000 residents, and the population of Surry County is 71,359.  Not as big as Stateville/Iredell County, but the fact that it is near a major junction of two interstates should be sufficient (better than Fort Chiswell).

Not to mention, Mt. Airy and Pilot Mountain have inspired the classic sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, renamed to Mayberry and Mt. Pilot, respectively. There even is a Mayberry theme in downtown Mt. Airy, with the courthouse and jail, plus the Andy Griffith Museum and the house where he lived in his childhood years.

[ARMOURERERIC]

Plus, NC Dot just signed Kings Mountain for the SB control city on the new signs at 85/321 in Gastonia.

[Jmiles32]

Wytheville?? Not Mount Airy??

Would make more sense in North Carolina for now until I-74 gets signed in Virginia which is currently not right now.

Mount Airy is also bigger.

They probably chose Wytheville due to I-74 being officially approved up to there along I-77 up to I-81.  Virginia just refuses to sign it.

Would take 0 road work too. Would just be 77 through the whole state. Maybe with BGS replacement eventually...though after 25 or so years of approval I doubt it's any time soon.

Wytheville is, of course, at the junction of I-77 and I-81, so it is pretty well known to long-distance travelers. Mount Airy is, of course, the junction of I-74 and I-77. The populations are comparable: about 8000 at Wytheville and 10000 in Mount Airy. But (1) Mount Airy is closer, (2) I'll bet more people entering the interchange will know where Mount Airy is, and (3) it's a North Carolina town, for Pete's sake.

Man Virginia really owes NCDOT some favors. This is now the third North Carolina interstate that has a Virginia town as a control city despite the fact that it will likely never extend past the Virginia border (Interstate 73 with Martinsville and Interstate 785 with Danville being the other two). Hell it'll definitely happen with future I-87 too. Makes no sense to me that the same state that has Benson and Dunn as control cities on I-95 skips over the much more logical Mt. Airy. Furthermore, when looking back at previous signage designs for the Winston-Salem Beltway, it seems like Mt. Airy was originally the westbound I-74 control city. Wonder what the reasoning was to change it to the further and smaller Wytheville. Some might say its because Wytheville is near where I-77 meets I-81 but I would argue that that same logic could apply to Mt. Airy, which is where I-74 meets I-77.

Regarding the I-77/I-74 concurrency that at ends at the border, I could actually see some merit in extending that concurrency up to I-81 (but no further) once I-74 is fully complete to Winston-Salem. IMO Winston-Salem should be an additional control city at that interchange already since a lot of southbound traffic headed to Winston Salam and points south/east currently breaks off at the I-77/I-74 split. I mean clearly NCDOT thinks that a lot of northbound traffic from Winston-Salem is headed to Wytheville. Overall, a sign that says I-77/I-74 "Charlotte, Winston-Salem" at the eastern end of the I-81/I-77 concurrency seems like it would be more helpful than just I-77 "Charlotte".

[plain]

Actually (and ironically) the only thing holding VA back from upgrading the Danville Bypass to I-785 is NCDOT, because US 29.

[bob7374]

I was under the impression that there was to be an interim opening to NC 66/University Pkwy before opening to US 52.

That was the original plan, but I guess someone at NCDOT realized at the last minute that building the beltway almost to US 52 and dumping into local roads at the last minute would be a really bad idea, because they said at some point that a connector to US 52 to the north will open at the same time as the NC 66-US 311 segment. Presumably, this will come in the form of completing at least part of the new I-74 mainline alignment early, serving as a replacement for the preexisting two-lane connector that is essentially being upgraded into the beltway.

Then someone needs to fix the exit list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston-Salem_Northern_Beltway

The listing has been revised. Given the delay in the completion of the US 311 to NC 66 University Pkwy segment from this past Sept. to next October, the US 52 interchange is now tentatively scheduled to be completed first (Sept. 2022). If the schedule holds then, there would be no need for a temporary connection.