Interstate 40

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Interstate 40 crosses nearly the width of North Carolina, joining the metropolitan areas of Asheville, the Piedmont Triad, Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington along a 420.21 mile long course. Entering the state through Pigeon River Gorge, I-40 traverses the Great Smoky Mountains south to U.S. 276 near Lake Junaluska. The freeway turns east, combining with U.S. 74 from Clyde to Interstate 26 at Asheville. I-240 provides an urban loop linking I-40 with Downtown Asheville and the continuation of I-26 north to the Tri-Cities in northeastern Tennessee.

East from Asheville, I-40 continues through a valley between the Great Craggy and Swannanoa Mountains to Black Mountain. Gaining elevation from there, Interstate 40 crosses the Blue Ridge mountains through Swannanoa Gap, a fog prone stretch across Pisgah National Forest. Advancing across the North Carolina Piedmont, I-40 passes south of Marion and Morganton en route to Hickory.

Interstate 77 travels north from Charlotte to meet I-40 outside of Statesville. Multi-year construction at I-40/77 commenced in 2012. Completed in July 2017, the first section of the $89.07 million project widened I-40 to six lanes from Old Mocksville Road to a point east of NC 115, rebuilt the exchange with U.S. 21 into a diverging diamond interchange (DDI) and replaced the loop from I-77 north to I-40 west with a directional ramp. Delayed due to lack of funding, the remainder of work to complete the partial turbine interchange at I-40/77 finally got underway in 2019. Work will be completed at the exchange in Winter 2023.

Interstate 40 enters the Tar Heel State at Waterville through the Pigeon River Gorge. The freeway parallels the river southeast through two tunnels, including this one at Hurricane Mountain. - 09/23/2022

US 70/321 Business at I-40 - Hickory, NC

Interstate 40 east of the U.S. 70/321 Business overpass in Hickory. - 10/23/2015

Trending northward from Statesville, Interstate 40 follows a rural course toward the Piedmont Triad region. Once at Winston-Salem, I-40 shifts onto a bypass south of the city center, with the former route (Business Loop I-40 until 2020) carrying U.S. 421 (Salem Parkway). The commuter freeway connects Winston-Salem with Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) and central Greensboro.

A 30.61 mile overlap with Interstate 85 takes both routes east from Greensboro to Burlington, Mebane and Hillsborough. The two separate ahead of Durham, with I-85 bypassing the city to the north and I-40 turning southeast toward Raleigh. Through Raleigh, I-40 encircles the south side of the capital city. This stretch was formerly co-signed with I-440, which follows the Cliff Benson Beltline on the northern arc around the city.

The eastbound split of I-40/85 near Hillsborough, North Carolina. - 05/31/2021

The remainder of I-40 travels southward, first splitting with U.S. 70 (Future I-42) near Clayton and next meeting Interstate 95 near Benson. Beyond I-95, Interstate 40 navigates through agricultural and timberland, staying rural by the communities of Warsaw, Wallace and Burgaw. The cross-country freeway concludes at U.S. 117 just outside of Wilmington.

Interstate 40 North Carolina Guides

East

Tennessee to Canton - 67 photos

Asheville to Black Mountain - 67 photos

Old Fort to Marion - 57 photos

Morganton to Hildebran - 53 photos

Hickory to Catawba - 40 photos

Statesville to Mocksville - 53 photos

Winston-Salem - 56 photos

Greensboro - 72 photos

I-40/85 - Burlington to Hillsborough - 68 photos

Chapel Hill to Durham - 49 photos

Raleigh - 75 photos

Garner to Newton Grove - 26 photos

Warsaw to Wallace - 24 photos

Burgaw to Wilmington - 34 photos

West

Wilmington to Burgaw - 33 photos

Wallace to Warsaw - 27 photos

Faison to Garner - 42 photos

Raleigh - 43 photos

Durham to Chapel Hill - 22 photos

I-40/85 - Hillsborough to Burlington - 63 photos

Greensboro - 69 photos

Winston-Salem - 35 photos

Statesville to Hickory - 22 photos

Hildebran to Morganton - 49 photos

Marion to Old Fort - 47 photos

Asheville - 51 photos

Canton to Tennessee - 61 photos

Business Routes

Former Business Loop I-40 - Winston Salem - 61 photos

Rock slides are periodically a problem along Interstate 40 by the Pigeon River in western North Carolina. Closures of the freeway occurred on December 21, 2012 near mile marker seven for three days, on January 31, 2012 near Exit 20 for two weeks, and from October 25, 2009 to April 27, 2010 at the Tennessee state line. The catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Helene on September 28, 2024 washed out large sections of the eastbound roadway along I-40 between Exit 447 in Tennessee and Exit 7 and also between Exits 15 and 20. Following an extended closure of the freeway, I-40 reopened to traffic with two lanes and a 35 mile per hour speed limit on March 1, 2025. (NCDOT, 2025)

I-40 east at Dry Gap Ridge Tunnel in North Carolina

Interstate 40 eastbound at the tunnel through Dry Gap Ridge in Pigeon River Gorge, North Carolina. - 01/16/2019

Interstate 40 represents one of the original four interstates approved for the state of North Carolina in 1956. The first section, beginning with the stretch opened in 1957 between U.S. 421 in Greensboro and NC 66 at Kernersville, traveled 219 miles east from Tennessee to overlap with Interstate 85 in Greensboro. Built between 1949-50, the pre-existing freeway along U.S. 421 from Winston-Salem eastward was also included in the alignment of I-40. The 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act authorized construction on Interstate 40 first through Pigeon River Gorge in Haywood County in 1958. Work followed on a 34.3 mile long section of freeway through Burke and Catawba Counties in 1959.

By 1966, 119.4 miles of Interstate 40 were open to traffic, followed by the opening of the 22 mile Pigeon River Gorge alignment leading west to Tennessee in 1968, which was the most expensive project in North Carolina history at the time. These completions preceded the 1968 request to the Bureau of Public Roads for additional Interstate mileage within North Carolina. The approved request extended I-40 from Greensboro east to Raleigh and Interstate 95. Work followed soon thereafter with a section of new freeway opening in the Raleigh area by December 1971.

A third extension of Interstate 40 followed in April 1978 with an approval for a new freeway from I-95 near Raleigh to Wilmington. I-40 would not be completed east to I-95 until 1989 however, but opening of the entire alignment to Wilmington would follow shortly afterward on June 29, 1990.

When the Greensboro bypass (Painter Boulevard) was completed on the southwest side of the city, Interstate 40 was relocated from a route across the city onto the bypass. Also established on February 21, 2008 was Business Loop I-40 along the former alignment of I-40 across Greensboro. I-40 was subsequently returned to its original alignment in September 2008. Business Loop I-40 was eliminated and U.S. 421 was also realigned to accompany I-85 west and I-73 north.

scenes

The westbound entrance ramp for Interstate 40 from Cold Springs Road at Exit 7 in Pisgah National Forest.
03/14/22

National Forest Service Road 288 (Harmon Den Road) east at the diamond interchange (Exit 7) with Interstate 40 at Harmon Den.
01/16/19

NC 209 (Crabtree Road) meets Interstate 40 at a parclo interchange (Exit 24) north of Lake Junaluska.
01/16/19

NC 209 (Crabtree Road) runs north from I-40 to Messer Mountain, Fines Creek and Hot springs.
01/16/19

An I-40 trailblazer directs motorists southward from a truck stop along NC 209 to the nearby exchange with the freeway.
01/16/19

The Scenic Byway along NC 209 (Crabtree Road) concludes southbound at the parclo interchange (Exit 24) with Interstate 40.
01/16/19

Interstate 40 continues east from NC 209 to Clyde, Canton and Asheville.
01/16/19

Wiggins Road links U.S. 19/23 (Smokey Park Highway) with adjacent Interstate 40 via a diamond interchange (Exit 37) midway between Canton and Candler Heights.
12/31/13

Wiggins Road (SR 1200) north at the westbound entrance ramp for I-40/U.S. 74 at Exit 37.
10/26/15

Gashes Creek Road connects U.S. 74A and the east end of Interstate 240 with the eastbound on-ramp for I-40.
05/26/21

Porter Cove Road lowers from Swannanoa Mountains to meet Interstate 40 at a diamond interchange in east Asheville. The road connects the freeway (Exit 55) with adjacent U.S. 70.
05/26/21

I-40 continues west from Porter Cove Road to split with Interstate 240 for Asheville. Porter Cove Road north passes over a Norfolk Southern Railroad line before ending at U.S. 70 (Tunnel Road) near Jones Mountain.
05/26/21

Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard (SR 1007) heads south along a commercial strip from 11th Avenue SE (SR 1465) to a parclo interchange (Exit 125) with Interstate 40 in the city of Hickory.
10/23/15

The westbound entrance ramp to I-40 for Morganton and Statesville departs from Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard (SR 1007) south next.
10/23/15

A loop ramp joins Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard (SR 1007) south with Interstate 40 east to Conover and Statesville.
10/24/15

Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard extends 0.20 miles north from 8th Street Drive SE (SR 1146) and U.S. 70/321 Business to Interstate 40 at Exit 125.
10/24/15

Interstate 40 runs across south Hickory, meeting U.S. 321 west of the exchange with Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard en route to Asheville.
10/24/15

An Interstate 40 trailblazer directs drivers along Union Cross Road (SR 2643) south onto the eastbound freeway for Greensboro. A $30.3 million project expands 4.2 miles of SR 2643 from Sedge Garden Road to south of I-74². Work started on April 16, 2012 and ran through November 15, 2015.
08/06/13

Included in the widening of Union Cross Road at Interstate 40 was the reconstruction of Exit 201 into a diverging diamond (DDI).
08/06/13

Regional Road heads south from the Friendship area of west Greensboro to Interstate 40 and NC 68 at Albert Pick Road. Albert Pick Road constitutes a south side frontage road for I-40, joining Regional Road with the parclo interchange at NC 68.
07/24/04

Albert Pick Road westbound at NC 68 and the eastbound on-ramp to Interstate 40. NC 68 joins the High Point area with Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI).
07/24/04

S Elm-Eugene Street at the diamond interchange with I-40/U.S. 29-220. Elm and Eugene Street travel separately from Downtown Greensboro and merge north of Sussmans Street. The combined name applies to the arterial leading southward to Randleman Road.
07/24/04

A rare state-named shield for Interstate 40 along S Elm-Eugene Street northbound at Exit 220.
07/24/04

McConnell Road (SR 3000) turns south across Interstate 40 through a parclo interchange (Exit 226) near eastern reaches of Greensboro.
08/16/21

Business Loop I-85 overlaps with Interstate 40 east to I-85 near Stewarts Mill.
12/15/16

I-40 converges with I-785 north, I-840 west and I-85 to the immediate east of McConnell Road.
12/15/16

The Alamance County Rest Area along I-40/85 eastbound outside Burlington.
08/18/21

University Drive (SR 1126) north at the six-ramp parclo interchange (Exit 140) with I-40/85 in southwest Burlington.
08/18/21

A loop ramp joins University Drive north with I-40/85 west to Whitsett, Sedalia and Greensboro.
08/18/21

Huffman Mill Road (SR 1158) east at the diamond interchange (Exit 140) with I-40/85 in Burlington.
08/16/21

Original trailblazer for I-40 posted along NC 54 east at Fayetteville Road (SR 1118) adjacent to the SPUI at Exit 276.
01/17/19

Page Road (SR 1973) west at Interstate 40 (Exit 282) in southeastern Durham.
12/15/16

Airport Boulevard (SR 3015) north at I-40 (Exit 284) outside Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU).
12/15/16

Davis Drive (SR 1999) meets Interstate 40 at Exit 280 within Research Triangle Park (RTP).
12/16/22

The westbound entrance ramp from Davis Drive (SR 1999) north forms an auxiliary lane to Interstate 885 (Durham Freeway) north into Durham.
12/16/22

Original shields for I-40 along Jones Sausage Road north at Exit 303.
02/16/19

Jones Sausage Road (SR 5220) north at Interstate 40 in the town of Garner.
05/31/21

Interstate 40 heads north from Jones Sausage Road (SR 5220) at Exit 303 into the city of Raleigh.
05/31/21

NC 210 meets Interstate 40 at Exit 319 just east of McGee Crossroads in Johnston County.
02/15/19

NC 210 travels west from Smithfield to Interstate 40 between Benson and Raleigh.
02/15/19

I-40 heads south from NC 210 to I-95 near Benson and Wilmington. NC 210 continues west along a commercialized stretch toward McGee Crossroads and NC 50.
02/15/19

Holly Shelter Road westbound at the eastbound on-ramp to Interstate 40. A folded diamond interchange joins the two roadways east of Castle Hayne at Exit 414.
11/11/06

References:

Interstate 40 Fact Sheet, ~~http://www.ncdot.org/public/50thanniv/ ncinterstates/download/factsI40.pdf~~ NCDOT.
~~http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/ UnionCrossRoad/~~

I-40 Set to Reopen on March 1 in Pigeon River Gorge. North Carolina Department of Transportation. (2025, February 11). https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2025/2025-02-11-i-40-gorge-open.aspx