I-85 highlighted in red | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by NCDOT | ||||
Length | 234.6 mi [1] (377.6 km) | |||
Existed | 1958–present | |||
NHS | Entire route | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | ![]() | |||
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North end | ![]() | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | North Carolina | |||
Counties | Cleveland, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Rowan, Davidson, Randolph, Guilford, Alamance, Orange, Durham, Granville, Vance, Warren | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 85 (I-85) is part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond, Virginia. In North Carolina, I-85 travels 234.6 miles (377.6 km) through the Piedmont region of the state. I-85 enters North Carolina from South Carolina near Grover, North Carolina and travels eastward to Charlotte. In Charlotte, the highway transitons to a northeast-southwest routing and continues to Greensboro. I-85 transitions to an east-west routing between Greensboro and Durham while running concurrently with I-40 between Greensboro and Hillsborough. In Durham, I-85 transitions back to a northeast-southwest routing, serving the cities of Oxford and Henderson before reaching the Virginia state line near Wise, North Carolina. I-85 serves the Charlotte, Piedmont Triad, and Research Triangle regions of North Carolina, the three most populated in the state. There are three current auxillary Interstates in North Carolina related to I-85, in addition to one proposed auxillary Interstate, and one Business Loop I-85 (BL I-85) designation.
I-85 enters the state from Cherokee County, South Carolina near Grover in Cleveland County. The interstate begins by running northeast, largely parallel to U.S. Route 29 (US 29), bypassing the towns of Grover and Archdale. I-85 meets US 29 approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) northeast of the state line and both highways run concurrently toward Kings Mountain. I-85 runs along the southern and eastern side of Kings Mountain bypassing the downtown area and entering into Gaston County. An interchange with US 74 is located east of Kings Mountain and US 29 diverges to follow US 74 to the east. At the interchange, US 74 breifly runs parallel with I-85 but the two highways do not share the same lanes. North of the US 74 interchange, I-85 turns from a northeast trajectory to an eastward one. The highway travels south of Bessemer City and enters northern Gastonia, where it widens from four to six lanes. It stays at six lanes until it reaches Belmont, where the highway widens again to eight lanes.
The highway crosses the Catawba River as it enters Mecklenburg County, then interchanges with I-485 as it passes north of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. After crossing I-485, it turns northeastward again, bypassing Uptown Charlotte to the west and north. While the route does not enter Uptown, several exits do provide access to the area. An interchange with Interstate 77 north of Uptown provides direct freeway access. The route through Charlotte traverses the northern portion of the city and is more suburban than urban in character, with light industry such as truck terminals, warehouses, small manufacturing facilities, and small office parks lining the highway. It also passes by the University City area and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
North of Charlotte, I-85 interchanges with I-485 a second time as it continues northeastward into Cabarrus County. In Concord, it passes through a dense commercial district and provides access to both Concord Mills shopping mall and Charlotte Motor Speedway, afterwards passing south and east of Kannapolis. As of February 2019, the highway between exit 58 (near Concord) and exit 68 near the Rowan County town of China Grove is being rebuilt and expanded from 4 lanes total (two in each direction) with no shoulders. When complete, the route will have 8 total lanes through to its junction with Business 85 south of Lexington.
Between Exits 96 and 102, the northbound and southbound lanes switch places. The southbound lane crosses over the northbound lane just before the northbound lane passes over a small bridge over Hamby Creek. East of the northbound overpass and southbound underpass with Squire Bowers Road, a pair of rest areas which contain the North Carolina Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park are entered from the right, but are still in the median. Only after the underpasses beneath Johnsontown Road does the northbound lane run over the southbound one returning to its proper location.
Approximately 70 miles (110 km) northeast of the Charlotte area is the Triad area, anchored by the cities of Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point. I-85 bypasses High Point and also largely bypasses Greensboro. Up until February 2004, I-85 went through the heart of Greensboro and joined Interstate 40 near downtown. Today, I-85 is routed along the Greensboro Urban Loop and meets I-40 east of downtown. Its former route is now known as Business 85.
Interstates 85 and 40 remain joined as they continue eastward to the Triangle region, anchored by the cities of Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh. West of Durham near Hillsborough, the two highways split, with I-40 heading southeast through Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh while I-85 continues eastward through Durham, then northeastward as it exits the city. In between Greensboro and Durham, 85/40 is 8 lanes wide even through the more suburban stretches. Once 85 hits Durham it temporarily widens to 10 lanes. It takes on a more suburban character once it leaves Durham and then heads into rural areas, bypassing Oxford and Henderson before crossing into Mecklenburg County, Virginia.
I-85 in North Carolina feature a few dedicated or memorialized stretches of freeway.
Parts of Interstate 85 were already constructed before federal aid was available in the 1950s, as the state had been constructing sections of the Interstate Highway System since 1949. The Lexington Bypass north of Lexington - which at the time was signed U.S. 29 and U.S. 70 - is now a part of Business I-85. [15] This was part of an 80-mile expressway completed in 1955 between Lexington and Hillsborough. [16]
One planned road was the Salisbury bypass, 15 miles (24 km) long with a $1 million 880-foot (270 m) twin-span bridge over the Yadkin River. Construction on the bridge started in 1955 (this date is shown on a plaque, and most sources have used the date), but the lanes were not as wide as federal standards required, and the road had a sharp curve north of the bridge. Both of these characteristics saved money.
The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 provided for 90 percent federal funding of highways that would become part of the Interstate Highway System, and the N.C. Highway Commission used the funds to build the rest of the highway, which opened as I-85 in 1958. The bridge, finished a year earlier, was " grandfathered" despite not meeting standards. [17]
Another section of I-85 opened to traffic on September 9, 1958 when an 11.3-mile (18.2 km) stretch in Mecklenburg County was opened.
The year 1960 saw several sections of the highway open to traffic: [15]
By 1965, I-85 from the South Carolina border to Charlotte was complete, while it took until 1970 for the section between Charlotte and Durham to be completed. However, the "Temporary 85" designation would remain on the segment between Lexington and Greensboro until 1984 because there were too many access roads. That year, a new six-lane section opened, resulting in the "Temporary 85" designation to be dropped. [18]
Since its completion, many widening projects have been undertaken on I-85, particularly along the stretch of highway between Gastonia and Durham. By 1988, widening I-85 to six lanes from Greensboro to Burlington was being considered. [19] The plan was later changed to eight lanes. [20] The $175 million project began in 1989. With the opening of a 2.3-mile (3.7 km) section in Alamance County on November 23, 1994, 21 miles (34 km) of I-85/I-40 were eight lanes. An additional 14 miles (23 km) were to be ready by 1996, giving the interstate eight lanes all the way to where I-40 turned southward at Hillsborough. [21]
In addition, Interstate 85 was relocated in 2004, south of Greensboro, forming part of the Greensboro Urban Loop, allowing through traffic to bypass that city's downtown area.[ citation needed] Between 2004 and 2008, I-85 was widened to eight lanes around Salisbury. [17]
The I-85 Corridor Improvement Project, located in Rowan County and Davidson County, was a two-phase project to replace the narrow bridge over the Yadkin River and widen the freeway from four to eight lanes. [22] In the first phase, all traffic from the old bridge moved to a new $201 million bridge in August 2012. [17] On March 9, 2013, all eight lanes of the I-85 bridge opened to the public. [23] The project finished eight months ahead of schedule and $44 million under budget. [24]
From May 2010 through April 2014, I-85 was widened from four to eight lanes between exit 49 (near Charlotte Motor Speedway and Concord Mills Mall) and Exit 55. [25]
Following the completion of the widening of I-85 between exits 49 and 55, a new project was started to widen I-85 from exit 55 ( NC 73) in Concord, Cabarrus County northward to exit 68 ( NC 152) in China Grove, Rowan County. Like the prior project, I-85 is being doubled in capacity, expanding from two travel lanes in each direction to four travel lanes in each direction. The project is now complete as of May 2021. The first phase (from Exit 55 to Exit 63) begun in Spring 2014, and the second phase (from Exit 63 to Exit 68) begun in Spring 2017. [26] Construction is scheduled to be completed by December 2017. [27] When finished, that will leave I-85 in North Carolina with at least six lanes of highway between Exits 10 (US 29 north / US 74 – Kings Mountain, Shelby) and 164 (I-40 in Hillsborough).
Interstate | City | Type | Notes | |
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Interstate 85 Business | Lexington, High Point, and Greensboro | Business loop | Expressway grade from Lexington-High Point |
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Interstate 285 | Lexington and Winston-Salem | Connector | Complete concurrency with US 52 |
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Interstate 485 | Charlotte | Beltway | Uses Huntersville, Matthews and Pineville as control cities |
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Interstate 785 | Greensboro and Danville | Spur | Currently a 7-mile (11 km) freeway in eastern Guilford County; to be extended. |
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Interstate 885 | Durham | Connector | Proposed designation along NC 147 and US 70 |
County | Location | mi [1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cleveland | Grover | 0.0 | 0.0 | ![]() ![]() | Continuation from South Carolina | |
| 1.8 | 2.9 | 2 | ![]() | ||
| 3.6 | 5.8 | 4 | ![]() ![]() | South end of US 29 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
| 4.8 | 7.7 | 5 | Dixon School Road | ||
Kings Mountain | 7.6 | 12.2 | 8 | ![]() | ||
Gaston | 10.0 | 16.1 | 10 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | North end of US 29 overlap; signed as exits 10A (north/east) and 10B (west) | |
Bessemer City | 12.8 | 20.6 | 13 | Edgewood Road – Bessemer City | ||
Gastonia | 14.5 | 23.3 | 14 | ![]() | ||
17.0 | 27.4 | 17 | ![]() | Signed as exits 17A (south) and 17B (north) southbound | ||
19.0 | 30.6 | 19 | ![]() | |||
19.7 | 31.7 | 20 | ![]() | |||
20.6 | 33.2 | 21 | Cox Road – Ranlo | |||
Lowell | 22.3 | 35.9 | 22 | Main Street – Cramerton, Lowell | ||
23.2 | 37.3 | 23 | ![]() | |||
Belmont | 25.7 | 41.4 | 26 | Belmont–Mount Holly Road – Belmont, Mount Holly | To Belmont Abbey College | |
26.9 | 43.3 | 27 | ![]() | |||
Mecklenburg | | 29.4 | 47.3 | 29 | Sam Wilson Road | To U.S. National Whitewater Center |
| 30.3 | 48.8 | 30 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Signed southbound as exits 30B (north/inner) and 30A (south/outer) | |
Charlotte | 32.0 | 51.5 | 32 | ![]() | ||
33.2 | 53.4 | 33 | Billy Graham Parkway ( Charlotte Route 4) – Farmers Market | To Billy Graham Library | ||
34.7 | 55.8 | 34 | ![]() | |||
35.4 | 57.0 | 35 | Glenwood Drive | |||
36.2 | 58.3 | 36 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
37.8 | 60.8 | 37 | Beatties Ford Road – Johnson C. Smith University | |||
38.2 | 61.5 | 38 | ![]() ![]() | Hybrid interchange | ||
38.8 | 62.4 | 39 | Statesville Avenue / Statesville Road | |||
40.5 | 65.2 | 40 | Graham Street | |||
41.3 | 66.5 | 41 | Sugar Creek Road ( Charlotte Route 4) | |||
42.3 | 68.1 | 42 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
43.0 | 69.2 | 43 | ![]() ![]() | To Ikea Boulevard | ||
44.5 | 71.6 | 45 | ![]() | Signed as exits 45A (east) and 45B (west) | ||
46.2 | 74.4 | 46 | Mallard Creek Church Road | Signed northbound as exits 46A (east) and 46B (west) | ||
47.5 | 76.4 | 48 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Turbine interchange; I-77 signed southbound | ||
Cabarrus | Concord | 49.2 | 79.2 | 49 | Bruton Smith Boulevard / Concord Mills Boulevard | To Concord Mills and Charlotte Motor Speedway |
51.8 | 83.4 | 52 | Poplar Tent Road | DDI [28] | ||
53.6 | 86.3 | 54 | George W. Liles Parkway / Kannapolis Parkway | |||
55.0 | 88.5 | 55 | ![]() | To Rowan-Cabarrus Community College South Campus; DDI [29] | ||
58.0 | 93.3 | 58 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | South end of US 601 overlap | ||
Kannapolis | 59.9 | 96.4 | 60 | Dale Earnhardt Boulevard / Copperfield Boulevard | Signed as exits 60A and 60B northbound | |
62.5 | 100.6 | 63 | Lane Street – Kannapolis | |||
Rowan | Landis | 65.0 | 104.6 | 65 | Old Beatty Ford Road – Landis | Opened November 14, 2019. |
China Grove | 68.0 | 109.4 | 68 | ![]() ![]() | ||
Salisbury | 70.4 | 113.3 | 70 | Webb Road | ||
71.5 | 115.1 | 71 | Peeler Road | |||
72.3 | 116.4 | 72 | Peach Orchard Road | |||
73.7 | 118.6 | 74 | Julian Road | |||
74.5 | 119.9 | 75 | ![]() ![]() | North end of US 601 overlap; to Rowan–Cabarrus CC North Campus | ||
76.0 | 122.3 | 76 | ![]() ![]() | South end of US 52 overlap; formerly signed as exits 76A (south) and 76B (north) | ||
East Spencer | 79.0 | 127.1 | 79 | Andrews Street – Spencer, East Spencer | ||
Spencer | 80.4 | 129.4 | 81 | Long Ferry Road – Spencer | ||
Yadkin River | 82.2 | 132.3 | Yadkin River Veterans Memorial Bridge | |||
Davidson | | 82.7 | 133.1 | 82 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Permanently closed as of April 2010 [22] [30] [31] [32] |
| 83.1 | 133.7 | 83 | ![]() | Permanently closed as of May 2013 [22] [31] [32] | |
| 83.4 | 134.2 | 84 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | South end of US 29 and west end of US 70 overlap | |
| 84.4 | 135.8 | 85 | Clark Road | Permanently closed as of November 2012 [33] | |
| 85.5 | 137.6 | 86 | Belmont Road | ||
| 87.2 | 140.3 | 87 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | North end of US 29/US 52 and east end of US 70 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
| 88.0 | 141.6 | 88 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||
Lexington | 91.1 | 146.6 | 91 | ![]() | ||
93.7 | 150.8 | 94 | Old US 64 | |||
96.0 | 154.5 | 96 | ![]() | |||
Thomasville | 101.5 | 163.3 | 102 | Lake Road | ||
103.4 | 166.4 | 103 | ![]() | |||
Randolph | Trinity | 105.5 | 169.8 | 106 | Finch Farm Road | |
107.5 | 173.0 | 108 | Hopewell Church Road – Trinity | |||
Archdale | 111.0 | 178.6 | 111 | Main Street – Archdale, Downtown High Point | ||
Guilford | 112.7 | 181.4 | 113A | ![]() | ||
113.4 | 182.5 | 113B-C | ![]() | Signed as exits 113B (east) and 113C (west) | ||
Greensboro | 118.1 | 190.1 | 118 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | South end of US 29 and west end of US 70 overlap | |
119.5 | 192.3 | 119 | Groometown Road to Grandover Parkway | Signed as exit 122A southbound | ||
120.0 | 193.1 | 120A | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | North end of US 29 and east end of US 70 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
120.4 | 193.8 | 120B | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Signed as exit 121 southbound; north end of US 421 overlap | ||
121.7 | 195.9 | 122 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; signed as exits 122B (south) and 122C (north) | ||
123.7 | 199.1 | 124 | South Elm–Eugene Street | |||
126.0 | 202.8 | 126 | ![]() ![]() | Signed as exits 126A (US 421 South) and 126B (Greensboro); south end of US 421 overlap | ||
128.2 | 206.3 | 128 | Alamance Church Road | |||
130.2 | 209.5 | 129 | Youngs Mill Road | |||
132.0 | 212.4 | 131 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | West end of I-40 overlap; hidden I-840 west | ||
McLeansville | 133.3 | 214.5 | 132 | Mount Hope Church Road | ||
Whitsett | 136.3 | 219.4 | 135 | Rock Creek Dairy Road | ||
138.6 | 223.1 | 138 | ![]() | |||
Alamance | Burlington | 141.5 | 227.7 | 140 | University Drive – Elon | To Elon University |
142.5 | 229.3 | 141 | Huffman Mill Road | |||
144.2 | 232.1 | 143 | ![]() | |||
146.3 | 235.4 | 145 | ![]() | |||
Graham | 148.0 | 238.2 | 147 | ![]() | ||
149.0 | 239.8 | 148 | ![]() | |||
Haw River | 150.8 | 242.7 | 150 | Jimmie Kerr Road – Haw River, Roxboro | ||
Mebane | 153.2 | 246.6 | 152 | Trollingwood Road | ||
154.0 | 247.8 | 153 | ![]() | |||
155.5 | 250.3 | 154 | Mebane–Oaks Road – Mebane | |||
Orange | | 158.2 | 254.6 | 157 | Buckhorn Road | |
Efland | 161.3 | 259.6 | 160 | Mount Willing Road – Efland | ||
161.9 | 260.6 | 161 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
Hillsborough | 164.0 | 263.9 | 163 | ![]() ![]() | East end of I-40 overlap | |
165.2 | 265.9 | 164 | Old NC 86 – Hillsborough | |||
166.5 | 268.0 | 165 | ![]() | |||
Eno | 170.8 | 274.9 | 170 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | West end of US 70 overlap; to Bennett Place | |
Durham | Durham | 173.3 | 278.9 | 172 | ![]() ![]() | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; to North Carolina Central University |
174.2 | 280.3 | 173 | Cole Mill Road | |||
174.7 | 281.2 | 174A | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | South end of US 15/US 501 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
175.3 | 282.1 | 174B | Hillandale Road | |||
176.0 | 283.2 | 175 | ![]() | To NC School of Science & Math and Duke Homestead | ||
177.2 | 285.2 | 176 | ![]() ![]() | North end of US 501 overlap; signed northbound as exits 176A (Gregson St) and 176B (Roxboro) | ||
178.2 | 286.8 | 177 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | To North Carolina Central University | ||
179.2 | 288.4 | 178 | ![]() ![]() | East end of US 70 overlap | ||
180.6 | 290.6 | 179 | East Club Boulevard | |||
181.3 | 291.8 | 180 | Glenn School Road | |||
Gorman | 183.0 | 294.5 | 182 | Red Mill Road | ||
184.5 | 296.9 | 183 | Redwood Road | |||
Granville | | 186.7 | 300.5 | 186 | ![]() ![]() | North end of US 15 overlap; signed northbound as exits 186A (US 15) and 186B (Butner) |
Butner | 189.7 | 305.3 | 189 | Gate Two Road – Butner | ||
192.0 | 309.0 | 191 | ![]() | |||
| 202.8 | 326.4 | 202 | ![]() | ||
Oxford | 205.1 | 330.1 | 204 | ![]() | ||
207.5 | 333.9 | 206 | ![]() | |||
Vance | | 210.6 | 338.9 | 209 | Poplar Creek Road | To Vance–Granville Community College |
Henderson | 213.0 | 342.8 | 212 | Ruin Creek Road | ||
214.0 | 344.4 | 213 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | West end of US 158 overlap | ||
215.5 | 346.8 | 214 | ![]() | |||
216.4 | 348.3 | 215 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | East end of US 158 overlap | ||
218.0 | 350.8 | 217 | Satterwhite Point Road | To Satterwhite Point | ||
219.0 | 352.4 | 218 | ![]() ![]() | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
Middleburg | 221.0 | 355.7 | 220 | ![]() ![]() | ||
Warren | Manson | 224.5 | 361.3 | 223 | Manson-Drewry Road | |
| 226.8 | 365.0 | 226 | Ridgeway-Drewry Road | ||
| 229.7 | 369.7 | 229 | Oine Road | ||
| 233.8 | 376.3 | 233 | ![]() ![]() | ||
| 234.6 | 377.6 | ![]() ![]() | Continuation into Virginia | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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85 North Carolina Category:Transportation in Charlotte, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Durham, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Greensboro, North Carolina Category:Research Triangle Category:Transportation in Cleveland County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Gaston County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Cabarrus County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Rowan County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Davidson County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Randolph County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Guilford County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Alamance County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Orange County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Durham County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Granville County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Vance County, North Carolina Category:Transportation in Warren County, North Carolina Category:Jeff Gordon