Interstate 785

Interstate 785 marker

Interstate 785
I-785 highlighted in red; Future I-785 in blue
Route information
Auxiliary route of I‑85
Maintained by NCDOT
Length 7.00 mi[1][2] (11.27 km)
Existed 2013 – present
Major junctions
South end I-40 / I-85 / I-85 Bus. in Greensboro, NC
 
North end US 29 in Greensboro
Location
States North Carolina
Counties NC: Guilford
Highway system
← NC 772NCI-795 →

Interstate 785 (I-785) is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Currently traversing 7 miles (11 km) in eastern Guilford County, in concurrency with I-840; when completed, it will connect Greensboro to Danville, Virginia.

Route description

I-785 begins at the interchange of I-40/I-85/I-85 Business. Heading north, it connects with U.S. Route 70 (US 70) before ending at its current northern terminus at US 29. The entire route is in a hidden concurrency with I-840.

Future corridor signs of I-785 are marked along US 29 between Greensboro and Danville. In Virginia, SR 785 is the unsigned interim route number until I-785 is built to interstate standards.

History

The designation was approved in 1997 at the request of a coalition of counties in North Carolina and Virginia who saw it as a way of further developing that area's economy. Most of the route will use existing US 29 north of Greensboro; however, for a few miles I-785 will run between US 29 and its parent route, I-85 on the Greensboro Urban Loop, which will also carry the I-840 designation. Construction of this highway was due to begin in 2011. With the upgrade of the Danville Expressway to a four-lane route in 2004, the I-785 route in Virginia is complete (and has been given the interim designation SR 785), but US 29 still needs to be upgraded to Interstate standards in North Carolina between the Greensboro Loop and Reidsville before the route can be signed as an Interstate. Currently, there are no projects scheduled by the North Carolina Department of Transportation to do so. Given that in the spring of 2006 NCDOT put up mileposts and added numbers to exit signs from Reidsville to the Virginia border reflecting US 29's mileage, an upgrade of this highway to an interstate does not seem to be in their immediate plans.[3][4]

On July 31, 2013, NCDOT got approval from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to co-sign the first section of I-785 with I-840 in eastern Guilford County officially establishing I-785 in North Carolina.[5]

Future

In Greensboro, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of the eastern loop of the Greensboro Urban Loop from US 70 to US 29, with an interchange at Huffine Mill Road, is complete.[6] This section was planned to be a concurrency of I-840 and I-785, though when it opened on December 6, 2017, it was signed as I-785.[7] [8] The estimated cost of the project was $119 million.[9][10]

After the Greensboro Urban Loop is completed, NCDOT and Greensboro DOT plan to add an interchange for Cone Boulevard (SR 2565). Plans for the interchange have existed since 2004; however, no time table or funding is available at this time.[11] Nor is there funding available to upgrade US 29 north of I-785 to US 158 in Reidsville to interstate standards, necessary for I-785 to be signed northward to Virginia. Roadway improvement and interchange upgrades to Summit Avenue (SR 2526)/Reedy Fork Parkway (SR 2790) is planned to begin in 2020 with a scheduled completion in 2023, known as STIP Number R-4707, with an estimated cost of $44.1 million[12]. NCDOT is currently upgrading exit signage for the current US 29 freeway north of Reidsville, but adding US 29 milepost exit numbers to the signs, indicating this section's designation as I-785 is years away.[13]

Exit list

StateCountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
North CarolinaGuilfordGreensboro0.00.0— I-85 south – CharlotteContinuation as I-85
21 I-40 / I-85 north / I-85 Bus. south – Greensboro, Durham, RaleighEast end of I-840 hidden overlap
2.54.018 US 70 (Burlington Road) / To Wendover Avenue
3.55.617Huffine Mill Road
16Cone BoulevardFuture interchange (unfunded)[11]
7.011.314 US 29 – Greensboro, DanvilleWest end of I-840 hidden overlap; current northern terminus of I-785
​136Hicone RoadExisting interchange of US 29 (upgrade to interstate standards, funded)[9]
​Summit Avenue / Reedy Fork ParkwayExisting interchanges of US 29 (upgrade to interstate standards, unfunded)
​ NC 150 – Browns Summit
​Benaja Road
Rockingham​
US 29 Bus. north
Reidsville149 To US 158 west / NC 87 (Freeway Drive) – Reidsville, BurlingtonExisting interchanges of US 29 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate)
150Barnes Street – Reidsville Downtown
​153 US 158 / NC 14 (Freeway Drive) – Reidsville, Eden, Yanceyville
​156Narrow Gauge Road
​159
US 29 Bus. south to NC 87 north
Ruffin161Mayfield Road
Caswell​165Law Road
​167 NC 700 (Shady Grove Road) – Eden
​169
US 58 west / US 29 Bus. north – Danville, Martinsville
 North Carolina – Virginia state line
VirginiaCity of DanvilleCorning DriveExisting interchanges of US 29 / US 58 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate)
Elizabeth Street Extended
SR 86 (Main Street) – Yanceyville, Chapel Hill
Goodyear Boulevard
River Park Drive – Dan Daniel Memorial Park

US 58 east / US 360 / US 58 Bus. west – South Boston, Danville
— US 29 north – LynchburgContinuation as US 29
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. 1 2 Google (August 28, 2013). "Interstate 785" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  2. ↑ "I-840 Route Change (2011-09-02)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. September 2, 2011. p. 13. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  3. ↑ "NCRoads.com: I-785". Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  4. ↑ "I-785@Interstate-Guide.com". Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  5. ↑ "I-785 Route Change (2013-07-31)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. July 31, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  6. ↑ NCDOT Construction Progress Report, Contract Number C203399-Greensboro Eastern Loop, information downloaded on 8/21/2015 from https://apps.dot.state.nc.us/traffictravel/progloc/ProgLocSearch.aspx
  7. ↑ "Eastern Section of Greensboro Urban Loop Opens Tonight to Traffic a Year Ahead of Schedule". Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  8. ↑ Information from sign plans for Contract Number C203399, downloaded from: https://xfer.services.ncdot.gov/dsplan/2014%20Highway%20Letting/06-17-14/Plans%20and%20Proposals/Guilford%20U-2525B%20C203399/Roadway/Part%20IV/Signing.pdf
  9. 1 2 "NCDOT: Greensboro Urban Loop". Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  10. ↑ "NCDOT: Greensboro Eastern Loop Hearing Map" (PDF). Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  11. 1 2 "Cone Boulevard Extension/Eastern Urban Loop Interchange" (PDF). Greensboro DOT & North Carolina DOT. August 17, 2004. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Transportation Project Update Greensboro Metropolitan Planning Organization Area" (PDF). Greensboro DOT & North Carolina DOT. Fall 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  13. ↑ Exit numbers from US 158 northward from project plans for Project DG00147, downloaded from https://connect.ncdot.gov/letting/Division%207%20Letting/09-18-2014/DG00147Plans1.pdf, 8/22/2015.
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