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North Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Support Groups - North Carolina SCI brainandspinalcord.org | Interstate 64/Highway 40 Construction -- Siteman Cancer Center St. Louis siteman.wustl.edu | Hair Restoration (Replacement) North Carolina (NC) (Hair Replacement and... locateadoc.com |
Interstate 40 in North Carolina runs 421 miles (678 km) through the state of North Carolina from the Tennessee state line in the west to its eastern terminus in Wilmington. The middle segment of I-40 in the state is sometimes informally known as the "Tobacco Road" since it is the major thoroughfare linking the "Big Four" universities in the Tobacco Road sports rivalry.[2]
[edit] HistoryConstruction on I-40 through North Carolina officially began in 1956 along the Pigeon River in Haywood County. This would be the first section of I-40 to be built anywhere in the country. This section was completed in 1968 and at that time contained the only Interstate Highway tunnels east of the Mississippi River. Construction continued through the 1950s and 1960s, with much of the interstate being constructed in the 1960s. The last portion of I-40 to be completed, between Raleigh and Wilmington was opened on June 29, 1990, by Governor James G. Martin. Much of Martin's election campaign in the mid-1980s was hinged on opening this section for the sake of improving access to the North Carolina State Port at Wilmington.[3] A standard distance sign that once existed near the start of the westbound section of I-40 in Wilmington indicates the distance to Barstow, California as 2,554 miles (4,110 km). However, NCDOT has stated that it will not be replaced after frequent thefts.[4] [edit] Greensboro I-40 relocationOn September 12, 2008, after complaints by local residents and motorists on the confusion between Interstate 40 which had been moved onto the new Greensboro Urban Loop, and Business Interstate 40 (Business 40) through Greensboro, NCDOT officials got permission from the FHWA to restore Interstate 40 back to its original route through the city, decommission Business Interstate 40, which was only established 7 months before in February 2008, and leave I-73 and I-85 as the only interstates signed along the Loop. Exit numbers on the I-40 part of the Loop that ran with I-73 will be replaced with I-73 exit numbers from the I-85/US 220 southern interchange around the loop to the western I-40 interchange. US 421 was officially rerouted to replace most of I-40 around Greensboro. Work on re-signing the Loop and the former Business 40 began on May 8, 2009, with the exception of the eastern I-40/85 interchange whose signs were changed in the fall of 2008.[5][6] The re-signing project was completed on July 1, 2009.[7] [edit] Trouble spots One of the most dangerous portions of I-40 throughout its entirety is the section that travels through the Pigeon River Gorge in Haywood County. Known locally as simply "the gorge", this part of I-40 cuts a path west from Waynesville to the Tennessee state line. This section of the interstate is fairly curvy and tends to become a bit narrow in some places when compared to other portions of the highway. Because much of the road was cut through mountainside, concrete retaining walls have been built on both sides of the road and in the median, cutting down on the width of the breakdown lanes. Coupled with speeding vehicles, the extremely thick fog that tends to plague the area, and little room to maneuver in case of accident, this area has become notorious for its severe and many times fatal accidents. It is reported that a person is 20 times as likely to die on I-40 in Haywood County than they would be to win the Powerball lottery, which equals to be twice the average of any other Interstate Highway in North Carolina.[8] Even some minor accidents have been known to tie up traffic in this area, because there is little room to move accidents off or to the side of the road with the terrain. Speeding semi trucks have been a problem in the gorge and have subsequently led to many accidents. In 2002 and 2003, two state troopers were killed in two separate accidents by speeding trucks that drifted off the road and hit their police car conducting a traffic stop. This led the North Carolina Highway Patrol to crack down on speeding tractor trailers and speeders in general through the area. This portion of the highway is, also, notorious for rockslides and rocks falling onto the highway. The main cause is an engineering flaw, in that sections of the highway have been built on the north side of the Pigeon River, where the rock strata foliate towards the highway. In July 1997 a rockslide near the Tennessee state line closed the road for nearly six months.[9] In 1985, a severe rockslide buried the westbound entrance to one of two tunnels that carry the highway through the gorge. Repair of the slide area and the tunnel required shifting westbound traffic to the eastbound tunnel, while eastbound traffic was diverted onto a temporary viaduct around the tunnels. In October 2009, another rock slide occurred about 3 miles from the Tennessee border. The rock slide blocked both lanes of traffic and was estimated to be 100 feet long and up to 50 feet high. I-40 in this area between exit 20 and the Tennessee state line is closed for the time being and early reports say it will take months to clean up the highway. Main article: Death Valley (North Carolina) Another notorious problem spot is the Death Valley section in Greensboro. This stretch is so named because many people have died while trying to navigate through it. Once co-signed with I-40 here, I-85 has since been relocated to the Greensboro Urban Loop, and its former alignment renamed Business I-85. (I-40 was also relocated to the Urban Loop, but later returned to its former routing through the city.) [edit] Intersections with other Interstates
[edit] Auxiliary routes in North Carolina
[edit] Exit list
[edit] References
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