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Interstate 74 (abbreviated I-74) is an interstate highway in the Midwestern and southeastern United States. Its western end is at an intersection with Interstate 80 in Davenport, Iowa; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an intersection with Interstate 75 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It also exists as several other disconnected sections of highways in North Carolina (see below); also see List of gaps in Interstate Highways.

Number of Miles

Mileskmstate
4 6 Iowa
221 358 Illinois
172 279 Indiana
18 29 Ohio
40 64 North Carolina
455 728 Total

Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

Intersections with other interstates

Spur Routes


I-74 in the Southeast

Long-range plans call for I-74 to continue east and south of Cincinnati to North Carolina using OH 32 from Cincinnati to Piketon, Ohio and then the proposed I-73 from Portsmouth through West Virginia (along current U.S. Route 52) to I-77. It would then follow I-77 through Virginia into North Carolina where it would connect to highways already signed as I-74. In 1996 AASHTO approved the signing of highways as I-74 along its proposed path east (south) of I-81 in Wytheville, Virginia where those highways meet interstate standards. North Carolina started putting up I-74 signs along its roadways in 1997.

There are two sections of highways totalling 40 miles (64 km) currently signed as I-74 in North Carolina and 3 sections as Future I-74 totalling 36 miles (58 km) (these highways have route shields with the word FUTURE in them instead of INTERSTATE as listed on standard interstate signs). The two interstate sections are from I-77 Exit 101 to U.S. Highway 52 near Mt. Airy (12 miles) (there are also I-74 signs along the 5 miles of Interstate 77 between the Virginia border and Exit 101) and the U.S. Route 220 freeway from Business U.S. 220/NC 134 to Candor (with I-73) (23 miles). Future I-74 sections include the U.S. Highway 220 freeway from the U.S. Route 311 interchange north of Asheboro to the Alt. US 220/NC 134 interchange listed above (with Future I-73) (12 miles), the U.S. Route 74 Rockingham Bypass (10 miles) and the US 74 Laurinburg-Maxton Bypass (14 miles).

Two sections of I-74 in North Carolina are currently under construction. One is the U.S. 220 bypass of Ellerbe (with I-73), which is 14 miles long and is scheduled to be complete by the middle of 2007. The other is the U.S. Route 74 freeway under construction from the end of the Laurinburg-Maxton Bypass to Interstate 95 (19 miles) which is to be completed by the end of 2008. An extension of the U.S. 311 Bypass of High Point, North Carolina, which also will carry I-74 from Business Loop 85 to Interstate 85, is due to start construction in mid-2006. Sections of I-74 east of I-95 are not currently proposed to be built perhaps for another 20 to 30 years. The proposed path is further along US 74 to NC 211 near Bolton to US 17 near the South Carolina border. Officials in Brunswick County support the use of tolls to get this section of I-74 built faster. *

On February 11, 2005, the North and South Carolina Departments of Transportation came to an agreement over where I-74 (and I-73) would cross the border between the two states. It was decided that I-74 would cross the line as a northern extension of the Carolina Bays Parkway (S.C. Route 31). I-74 is then proposed to end south of Myrtle Beach at U.S. Route 17. Before ending, it is proposed to produce a spur into Myrtle Beach, called Interstate 174. Another spur route, which is expected to be called I-274, is proposed as the western half of the Northern Beltway loop around Winston-Salem, North Carolina (I-74 will run on the eastern half).

East of Rockingham, North Carolina, Future I-74 runs concurrent with US 74. When the highway is signed as Interstate 74, it will be the first time that a U.S. and Interstate highway with the same number would be designated on the same road. (In Wisconsin, part of U.S. Route 41 between Milwaukee and Green Bay has been proposed as Future Interstate 41.)

I-74 in the Midwest

As for the original Midwest portion of I-74, in April 2002, the Upgrade 74 project began. This multi-year project will see the complete renovation of I-74 through East Peoria, Illinois and Peoria, Illinois, most notably to widen the interstate to three lanes through the cities, to remove or correct many blind or hairpin exits and entrances to the highway, and to replace bridges crossing the highway. The biggest stage of this project has recently been completed: The Murray Baker Bridge, over which I-74 crosses the Illinois River, was closed while being partially dismantled and reconstructed. From April 2 to October 15, 2005, I-74 was disconnected between Peoria and East Peoria.

Fans of the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals joke that I-74 marks the "Demilitarized Zone" between Cubs and Cardinals "territories", the baseball rivalry equivalent of the 38th parallel between North and South Korea.

Proposed I-74 Midwest extension

There is still some dispute over which routes will connect the existing stretches of I-74. Ohio has proposed that the stretch should run through the city of Cincinnati and from there either along State Route 32 or U.S. Route 52; while Kentucky officials want the road to begin in the west as part of a greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky bypass, then running along the AA Highway from near Brooksville, Kentucky until it joins I-64 near Ashland, Kentucky.

See also

External links

References

  • AA Roads - Interstate 74, http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-074.html
  • AA Roads - Interstate 174 South Carolina, http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-174_sc.html
  • I-74 in NC Progress Page, http://www.duke.edu/~rmalme/prog74.html, accessed 9/20/05.
  • 2005 Rand McNally road atlas

Interstate Highway System | Interstate Highways in Illinois | Interstate Highways in Indiana | Interstate Highways in Iowa | Interstate Highways in North Carolina | Interstate Highways in Ohio | Bloomington-Normal, Illinois | Interstate Highways in South Carolina

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Interstate 74".

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