Interstate 140 West

U.S. 17 (Market Street) passes above NC 140 west near Kirkland. The Wilmington bypass is the John Jay Burney, Jr. Freeway.

12/31/17

Confirming marker for NC 140 west of Kirkland and Island Creek. Construction for Military Cutoff Road Extension got underway along the ensuing stretch in 2018.

01/19/19

A cloverstack interchange will join NC 140 with the Hampstead Bypass north and Military Cutoff Road Extension south to Market Street. The future 13 mile long freeway for U.S. 17 will extend northeast into Pender County.¹

01/19/19

NC 140 plies across timberland north of Murrayville two miles to a directional cloverleaf interchange (Exit 20) with I-40.

01/19/19

I- 40 travels 420 miles across North Carolina, joining Wilmington with Raleigh, Durham, the Piedmont Triad and Asheville. The freeway splits with U.S. 117 at Murraysville and parallels the highway northward to Burgaw, Wallace and Warsaw.

01/19/19

Travelers destined for Wilmington International Airport (ILM) are directed onto I-40 east and U.S. 117 (N College Road) south for U.S. 74 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway) west. MLK Parkway opened in 2005 as an expressway between central Wilmington and ILM Airport.

12/31/17

A collector distributor roadway separates from the NC 140 mainline for Exit 20B to Raleigh and Exit 20A to Wilmington.

01/19/19

Interstate 40 ventures 92 miles north from Exit 20B to meet I-95 near Benson. Raleigh is 25 miles further.

12/31/17

The initial section of I-140 was designated from the exchange with I-40 west to U.S. 421 across the NE Cape Fear River.

01/19/19

I-40 heads 3.40 miles south to merge with U.S. 117/NC 132 (N College Road). The cross country freeway ends just south of Smith Creek and ahead of the Kings Grant community.

01/19/19

The first shield for Interstate 140 westbound stands beyond the U.S. 117/NC 132 (College Road) overpass. There is no direct access between the Wilmington Bypass and College Road.

12/31/17

NC 133 (Castle Hayne Road) crosses paths with I-140 at Exit 18 in 1.75 miles.

12/31/17

NC 133 (Castle Hayne Road) travels south through Wrightsboro to Hightsville and Wilmington International Airport (ILM).

12/31/17

Westbound at the folded diamond interchange (Exit 18) with NC 133. NC 133 (Castle Hayne Road) heads north 2.42 miles through Skippers Corner to combine with U.S. 117 at Castle Hayne.

01/19/19

Interstate 140 confirming marker posted west of NC 133.

01/19/19

U.S. 17 south previously merged with U.S. 421 south from the temporary west end of I-140 to U.S. 74/76 on Eagle Island.

01/19/19

Interstate 140 curves southwest to cross the Northeast Cape Fear River over the Dan Cameron Bridge. This section of freeway opened to traffic on June 30, 2006.

12/31/17

Until December 19, 2017, I-140 ended at U.S. 421 and the west end of the Dan Cameron Bridge.

12/31/17

The apex of the Dan Cameron Bridge across the NE Cape Fear River tops out at 65 feet. The high-level span measures 7,402.3 feet in length.²

01/19/19

U.S. 421 originates south of Carolina Beach on the Atlantic Coast and travels north through Wilmington, overlapping with U.S. 17/76 across the Cape Fear River. Outside of the Wilmington area, U.S. 421 navigates along a rural route northwest to Wards Corner and Clinton.

01/19/19

Wilmington is home to a number of attractions including the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial, Fort Fisher and its North Carolina Aquarium via U.S. 421 south. U.S. 421 also connects with the State Port at the south end of U.S. 117.

01/19/19

A parclo interchange (Exit 14) joins I-140 with U.S. 421 along an industrial strip of land between the Cape Fear and NE Cape Fear Rivers.

01/19/19

A previous end shield for Interstate 140 appeared along the loop ramp to U.S. 421.

12/31/17

A series of four bridges cross over railroad spurs west of U.S. 421 and south of the Duke Energy Sutton Steam Plant.

01/19/19

The Wilmington Bypass curves southwest onto a long viaduct spanning marshland ahead of the Cape Fear River.

01/19/19

12/31/17

I-140 crests over the Cape Fear River a half mile east of the parclo interchange with Cedar Hill Road (SR 1430).

12/31/17

Cedar Hill Road (SR 1430) arcs northwest from Old Mill Road (SR 1432) to Mt. Misery Road (SR 1426) through the town of Navassa.

01/19/19

Continuing west toward Eastbrook, I-140 bends northward between Cartwheel Branch and a CSX Railroad line.

12/31/17

A parclo interchange (Exit 8) follows with Mt. Misery Road (SR 1426) in one mile.

01/19/19

Shallotte lies 36 miles to the southwest along U.S. 17. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is 68 miles away.

01/19/19

Mt. Misery Road (SR 1426) arcs southwest from Exit 8 to Eastbrook and U.S. 74/76 at Lanvale Road.

01/19/19

Mt. Misery Road straddles the Navassa town line northwest from Interstate 140 to Phoenix.

01/19/19

Interstate 140 makes a sweeping curve southwest to suburban areas of Leland. The freeway crosses over a CSX Railroad line by this confirming marker.

12/31/17

Distance sign posted 34 miles from Shallotte and 64 miles from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

01/19/19

U.S. 74/76 branch northwest from US. 17 at the town of Belville along a freeway to Lanvale Road and Leland. The US highways transition into an at-grade arterial west to meet I-140 at Exit 5.

12/31/17

U.S. 74/76 run alongside a CSX Railroad line west from Exit 5 to Malmo, Maco and the town of Sandy Creek. The two overlap west 43 miles to Whiteville and Chadbourn.

12/31/17

With the CSX Railroad to the immediate south, a folded diamond interchange connects I-140 with U.S. 74/76 at Exit 5. U.S. 74 follows the Future I-74 corridor northwest to Lumberton, Laurinburg and Rockingham.

01/19/19

Heading south from LeLand, Interstate 140 extends another 5.08 miles to U.S. 17 at Bishop.

01/19/19

The southernmost section of I-140 opened to traffic on October 16, 2014 and was posted as NC 140 until 2017. The distance to Shallotte decreased from 34 to 32 miles from the previous distance sign, yet Myrtle Beach remains 64 miles away.

01/19/19

The first in a series of flood relief channels over wetland areas between Spring Hill and Lanvale lies two miles ahead of the I-140 end at Bishop.

01/19/19

Left Exit 1 leads motorists back toward Wilmington along U.S. 17 north through the town of LeLand.

01/19/19

Two lanes default onto U.S. 17 south to Town Creek, Bolivia and Shalotte. NC 87 ties into U.S. 17 just west of I-140 from Maco and Batarora.

01/19/19

An end shield for Interstate 140 stands at the trumpet interchange (Exit 1) with U.S. 17.

01/19/19