Several
special route
In road transportation in the United States, a special route is a road in a numbered highway system that diverts a specific segment of related traffic away from another road. They are featured in many highway systems; most are found in the Int ...
s of
U.S. Route 74
U.S. Route 74 (US 74) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Primarily in North Carolina, it serves as an important highway from the mountains to the ...
exist. In order from west to east they are as follows.
Existing
Asheville–Forest City alternate route
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US 74A) was established in 1994, replaced the old mainline US 74 route when US 74 was moved onto the Solon David Smart Memorial Highway and
I-26. The alignment of US 74A varies greatly from the current parent route. US 74A traverses through downtown
Asheville
Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
, goes through the mountain resort communities of
Chimney Rock and
Lake Lure
Lake Lure is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. In 2020 the town population was 1,634. Lake Lure was incorporated in 1927, and acquired the lake after which it is named in 1965.
History
In 1902, Dr. Lucius B. Morse and ...
, continues to
Ruth
Ruth (or its variants) may refer to:
Places
France
* Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France
Switzerland
* Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny
United States
* Ruth, Alabama
* Ruth, Ar ...
, passes between the towns of
Rutherfordton and
Spindale, and bypasses
Forest City to the south. US 74, joins
I-40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
eastbound west of Asheville, and switches onto I-26 eastbound through
Fletcher
Fletcher may refer to:
People
* Fletcher (occupation), a person who fletches arrows, the origin of the surname
* Fletcher (singer) (born 1994), American actress and singer-songwriter
* Fletcher (surname)
* Fletcher (given name)
Places
United ...
, bypassing most of urban Asheville. Continuing along a southeasterly course, the parent US 74 passes by
Hendersonville and splits from I-26 at
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
; after passing south of Rutherfordton, US 74 meets the eastern terminus of US 74A.
US 74A is concurrent with
US 64 from Ruth in the east through Lake Lure, where
NC 9 joins, and Chimney Rock; the three routes separate in
Bat Cave
The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his persona ...
. NC 9 splits to the north, US 64 to the south; US 74A alone continues west from that point. In Asheville, US 74A has many concurrencies;
US 70 is concurrent with US 74A in east and downtown Asheville and
Interstate 26
Interstate 26 (I-26) is a main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Southeastern United States. Nominally east–west, as indicated by its even number, I-26 runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W (US 11W) and US 23 in ...
,
I-240,
US 19/
US 23 are concurrent with US 74A west of downtown. Near US 74A's western terminus, US 19/US 23 are concurrent with US 74A.
NC 81 overlaps with US 74A for a short segment in southeast Asheville. Between Asheville and
Gerton, US 74A bears the street name Charlotte Highway. East of Gerton, the road is named the Gerton Highway until arriving at Bat Cave. Through towns and cities, the road takes various names including Main Street and Railroad Avenue.
US 74A is overlapped by two North Carolina scenic byways: Drovers Road (Asheville to Bat Cave) and Black Mountain Rag (Bat Cave to Lake Lure).
;;;Major junctions
Rutherfordton–Forest City business loop
![US74Bus near Mooresboro](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/US74Bus_near_Mooresboro.jpg)
U.S. Route 74 Business (US 74 Bus) was established in 1960 as a renumbering of US 74A, it traversed along Washington Street and Charlotte Road in
Rutherfordton. In December 1970, US 74 was extended east through
Spindale,
Forest City, and
Ellenboro when US 74 was placed on new freeway bypass. In 1994, US 74 was moved south onto a new alignment towards
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
, converting the old mainline into US 74A; as a result, US 74 Business was rerouted in
Rutherfordton to go south in concurrency with
US 221 to the US 74 freeway.
Shelby business loop
U.S. Route 74 Business (US 74 Bus) was established in 1960 as a renumbering of US 74A, following Marion Street and Warren Street. In December 1971, the eastern portion of Warren Street was changed, forcing eastbound US 74 Business to be rerouted north on DeKalb Street then onto Marion Street.
Kings Mountain business loop
U.S. Route 74 Business (US 74 Bus) was established in 1984, it was a renumbering of the old mainline US 74 through
Kings Mountain. US 74 Business begins at US 74 west of Kings Mountain. The route is routed along Shelby Road into the town. US 74 Business runs through the downtown of area Kings Mountain before reaching US 74 again on the eastern side of Kings Mountain.
Monroe Expressway
U.S. Route 74 Bypass (US 74 Byp.), also known as the Monroe Expressway, is a toll road that bypass north of
Monroe, between Stallings and east of Wingate.
The highway’s purpose is to improve mobility and capacity along the US 74 corridor. At a cost of approximately $840 million and
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
acquisition already completed, construction was originally to begin in October 2012; however, because of several environmental issues and litigation, the project was delayed until May 2015. On November 27, 2018, the Monroe Expressway opened to traffic.
The Monroe Expressway uses
all-electronic tolling
Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The ma ...
, with tolls payable with valid
transponder
In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend word, blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''.
In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a T ...
(
NC Quick Pass
The North Carolina Turnpike Authority was created in 2002 to speed the implementation of needed transportation improvements by funding some projects with tolls. Governed by a nine-member authority board, it is located within the Department of Tra ...
,
E-ZPass
E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the Eastern United States, Midwestern United States, and Southern United States. The E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG) consists of member agencie ...
,
Peach Pass
Peach Pass is an electronic toll collection system in use in the U.S. state of Georgia, which is currently used primarily for high-occupancy toll lanes and express toll lanes on Interstate 75 (I-75), I-85, and I-575 in metropolitan Atlanta. Pe ...
or
SunPass
SunPass is an electronic toll collection system within the state of Florida, United States. It was created in 1999 by the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT's) Office of Toll Operations, operating now as a division of Florida's Turnpik ...
) or
Bill by mail, which uses
automatic license plate recognition
Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR; see also #Other names, other names below) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing close ...
. Tolls are collected per gantry, seven in total, which are located between each exit along the bypass. As of July 24, 2018, the total trip rate is $2.54 with valid transponder and $3.92 via bill by mail.
Rockingham–Hamlet business loop
U.S. Route 74 Business (US 74 Bus) was established in 2003 as a renumbering of the mainline US 74 through Rockingham and Hamlet.
Laurinburg–Maxton business loop
U.S. Route 74 Business (US 74 Bus) was established in 1967 as a renumbering of mainline US 74 through
Laurinburg
Laurinburg is a city in and the county seat of Scotland County, North Carolina, United States. Located in southern North Carolina near the South Carolina border, Laurinburg is southwest of Fayetteville and is home to St. Andrews University. ...
. In 1984, it was extended east replacing mainline US 74 through
Maxton.
Maxton–Lumberton alternate route
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US 74 Alt) was established in 2007 when mainline US 74 and I-74 were realigned to a new freeway south of the old route, between
Maxton to near
Lumberton.
The route, just south of the banks of the
Lumber River
The Lumber River, sometimes referred to as the Lumbee River, is a river in south-central North Carolina in the flat Coastal Plain. European settlers first called the river Drowning Creek, which is the name of its headwater. The waterway known as ...
, goes through mostly farmland. In between, NC 710 connect travelers to
Pembroke, where the
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP or UNC Pembroke) is a public university in Pembroke, North Carolina. UNC Pembroke is a master's level degree-granting university and part of the University of North Carolina system. Its history i ...
is located. Highway signs along the route are signed as "Alternate" or "ALT" above US 74; as opposed to US 74A, which is used in Western North Carolina.
Chadbourn–Whiteville business loop
U.S. Route 74 Business (US 74 Bus) was established in 1975 to replace the old mainline US 74 through
Chadbourn and
Whiteville. The route is mostly in concurrency with
US 76 Business.
Future
Shelby Bypass
U.S. Route 74 Bypass (US 74 Byp.) is the future designation of the Shelby Bypass; currently being constructed in phases. The designation, listed on
NCDOT documents, has not been submitted/approved by
AASHTO.
As of July 2020, the segment from the exit with U.S. Route 74 to the current interchange of NC 226 (Polkville Road) has been open and further extensions of the route will be coming soon. The segment from NC 226 (Polkville Road) to NC 150 (Cherryville Road) is already on construction and will be subject to open to traffic in 2022. The last segment of the bypass will extend west of Stony Point Road to U.S. Route 74 Business in
Kings Mountain which is subject to open in 2024.
Former
Rutherfordton alternate route
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US 74A) was established in 1948 or 1949, it followed the original US 74 route through
Rutherfordton, as the mainline US 74 was placed on a new bypass route through
Ruth
Ruth (or its variants) may refer to:
Places
France
* Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France
Switzerland
* Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny
United States
* Ruth, Alabama
* Ruth, Ar ...
. Traversing along Washington Street and Charlotte Road, it was renumbered US 74 Business in 1960.
Shelby alternate route
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US 74A) was established in 1936 as a new primary routing using Marion Street through
Shelby; paralleling mainline US 74, which was on Warren Street. Around 1949, US 74 was moved onto new bypass south of
Shelby; US 74A was thus extended on both directions. As part of this development, US 74A was split west on Marion Street and east on Warren Street. In 1960 it was renumbered to US 74 Business.
Bessemer City alternate route
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US 74A) was established in 1937, this alternate route, along with
US 29A, followed the old routing from
Kings Mountain to
Gastonia, via
Bessemer City. A year later, it was renumbered as
NC 161 and
NC 274.
Monroe alternate route 1
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US 74A) was established between 1945–49, it was set up as an inner bypass of downtown
Monroe, via Jefferson Street. It was decommissioned in 1952 when US 74 moved out of the downtown area, converting the old route, along Charlotte Avenue and Franklin Street, into the second alternate route.
Monroe alternate route 2
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US 74A) was established in 1952, it replaced the old mainline US 74 through downtown
Monroe, via Franklin Street and Charlotte Avenue. In 1953, it was rerouted along Skyway Drive when US 74 was completely realigned onto new bypass routing between
Matthews
Matthews may refer to:
People
* Matthews (surname)
Places
* Matthews Island, Antarctica
* Matthews Range, Kenya
* Mount Matthews, New Zealand
United States
* Matthews, Georgia
* Matthews, Indiana
* Matthews, Maryland
* Matthews, Missouri
* Mat ...
and
Monroe. In 1954, it was decommissioned.
Rockingham alternate route
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US 74A) was established between 1951–53, after US 74 was rerouted south of downtown
Rockingham. The alternate route followed the old alignment along Washington Street and Rockingham Road. In 1957 it was decommissioned.
Leland alternate route
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US 74A) was established in 1936, it replaced mainline US 74 through an intersection in
Leland, while the mainline was moved just off to the right on Village Road. At , it was the shortest alternate route. It was unsigned throughout its existence, but was marked on state and county maps up until 1975, when NCDOT downgraded it to secondary road status.
Wrightsville Beach alternate route
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US 74A) was established by 1938 as new primary routing, it went from Causeway Drive south along Waynick Boulevard, ending on the south-end of
Wrightsville Beach; making it a spur route of US 74. By 1940, it was replaced by an extension of
US 76.
References
External links
*{{commons category-inline, U.S. Route 74
*74
*74
U.S. Route 74