Interstate 74

Looking southeast from the NC 177 overpass at Future I-74/U.S. 74 south of Hamlet. - 12/21/2008

The future roadways for I-73/74 where the Rockingham Bypass overtakes U.S. 220 north of Rockingham. - 08/14/2021

Interstate 74 was designated in North Carolina during the mid-1990s. Initially the route comprised just the U.S. 220 freeway between Asheboro and Candor in the central part of the state. Additional sections of preexisting freeway were added and signed as Future Interstate 74. This included U.S. 220 north from Asheboro to Randleman and a portion of the Hamlet bypass of U.S. 74. The Mt. Airy bypass fully opened in July 1999 and was signed as the I-74 mainline in 2001. U.S. 52 between the bypass end and Winston-Salem will double as Interstate 74 once upgrades to Interstate standards are completed. Until that time the route is only signed as a Future I-74 Corridor.

New stretches of freeway for Interstate 74 opened at Rockingham (signed as Future I-74) in 2000, between the U.S. 74 Laurinburg bypass and N.C. 41 outside Lumberton in 2008, and between Candor and Ellerbe in January 2008. U.S. 311 between I-40 at Winston-Salem and U.S. 29-70 at High Point was upgraded to a freeway in portions between 1984 and 2004. This stretch of freeway was initially thought to become part of the I-73 corridor before that shifted east to Greensboro.

New construction extended the High Point bypass southeast from U.S. 29 (former Business Loop I-85) to Glenola as both relocated U.S. 311 and new Interstate 74 in November 2010. The preexisting portion northwest to I-40 at Winston-Salem was officially made part of Interstate 74 in March 2013 with the provision that substandard shoulders be expanded to the Interstate minimum of ten feet over a period of time (Winston-Salem Journal, 2013). Work continued on new freeway between Glenola and Randleman from September 2008 to June 7, 2013 at a cost $99.7 million (NCDOT, 2013).

Interstate 74 North Carolina Guides

East

Mount Airy - 11 photos

Winston-Salem to Randleman - 54 photos

Randleman to Biscoe - 8 photos

Rockingham to Hamlet - 22 photos

Laurinburg to Maxton - 34 photos

Lumberton - 36 photos

West

Lumberton - 14 photos

Laurinburg to Hamlet - 28 photos

Hamlet to Rockingham - 24 photos

Rockingham to Star - 64 photos

Steeds to Asheboro - 56 photos

Randleman to Winston-Salem - 55 photos

Mount Airy - 20 photos

South

I-73/74 - Rockingham - 14 photos

A $9.4 million project replaced the at-grade intersection joining U.S. 74/76 with Hallsboro Road with a diamond interchange. Numbered Exit 248, the exchange opened to traffic two months ahead of schedule on June 12, 2020. NCDOT awarded the contract for construction in early 2018, and the scheduled completion was extended to August 2020 due to heavy rains from Hurricane Florence (NCDOT, 2020).

The Rockingham Bypass was completed on January 28, 2025, when 7.2 miles of new roadway opened to traffic between U.S. 74/74 ALT west of Rockingham and I-73/74-U.S. 220 north of Rockingham. Construction on the $146 million project started in 2019 (NCDOT, 2025).

scenes

Union Cross Road (SR 2643) meets Interstate 74 at a diamond interchange along the Winston-Salem city line near Union Cross.

08/06/13

Interstate 74 west travel another 1.5 miles from Union Cross Road before their planned split, where I-74 will turn north onto the proposed Winston-Salem Beltway.

08/06/13

Traffic turns from Union Cross Road (SR 2643) south onto I-74 east for High Point.

08/06/13

Haywood Cemetery Road (SR 1306) west at the entrance ramp for I-73/74-U.S. 220 south to Rockingham.

07/29/25

U.S. 220 separates with I-73/74 south of Haywood Cemetery Road where the Rockingham Bypass begins.

07/29/25

NC 177 northbound at the diamond interchange with I-74/U.S. 74 south of Hamlet.

05/30/07

The westbound on-ramp to I-74/U.S. 74 west from NC 177. Interstate 74 ends five miles westward at U.S. 1 near East Rockingham. U.S. 74 continues to Wadesboro and Monroe.

05/30/07

Future Interstate 74, U.S. 74, and NC 177 shield assembly posted at Exit 316.

05/30/07

Connect with:

Interstate 40

Interstate 73

Interstate 77

Interstate 85

Interstate 95

U.S. 15

U.S. 52

U.S. 74

U.S. 311

Page Updated Thursday December 04, 2025.