Interstate 74

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Interstate 74
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length: 428.81 mi[1] (690.10 km)
As of October 31, 2002
West end: I-80 in Davenport, IA
Major
junctions:		 I-80 in Colona, IL
US 34 in Galesburg, IL
I-55 in Bloomington, IL
I-57 in Champaign, IL
I-70 in Indianapolis, IN
I-65 in Indianapolis, IN
I-75 in Cincinnati, OH
I-77 near Mount Airy, NC
East end: US 52 in Mount Airy, NC
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

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 details); also see List of gaps in Interstate Highways.

Contents

[edit] Route description

Lengths
mi[1] km
IA 5.36 8.63
IL 220.34 354.60
IN 171.54 276.07
OH 19.47 31.33
NC 12.10 19.47
Total 428.81 690.10
Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs

[edit] Iowa

In the state of Iowa, Interstate 74 runs south from Interstate 80 for 5.36 miles (8.63 km) before crossing into Illinois on the I-74 Bridge. North of the Mississippi River, I-74 bisects Bettendorf and Davenport.

[edit] Illinois

Murray Baker Bridge over the Illinois River in Peoria, Illinois.
Murray Baker Bridge over the Illinois River in Peoria, Illinois.
Main article: Interstate 74 in Illinois

In the state of Illinois, Interstate 74 runs south from Iowa to Galesburg; from this point it runs southeast through Peoria to the Bloomington-Normal area and Interstate 55. I-74 continues southeast to the Champaign-Urbana area, intersecting with Interstate 57. The interstate then runs east past Danville at the Illinois-Indiana state line. U.S. Route 150 parallels Interstate 74 in Illinois for its entire length, save the last few miles on the eastern end (in Danville, when US 150 turns south on Illinois 1), where it parallels U.S. Route 136.

[edit] Indiana

In the state of Indiana, Interstate 74 runs east from the Illinois state line to the Crawfordsville area before turning southeast. It then runs around the city center of Indianapolis along Interstate 465. It then enters Ohio west of the city of Cincinnati, Ohio.

[edit] Ohio

In the state of Ohio, Interstate 74 runs southeast from the Indiana border to the western segment's current eastern terminus at Interstate 75 just north of downtown Cincinnati. It is also signed with U.S. Route 52 for its entire length.

The unbuilt portion of Interstate 74 in Ohio is expected to be routed along Ohio State Route 32, U.S. Route 23, and U.S. Route 52 for most of its length. However, the routing for the segment through Cincinnati, connecting Interstate 75 to Ohio State Route 32, remains a matter of dispute. A likely scenario has Interstate 74 running with northbound Interstate 75 from Exit 4 to Exit 7, then turning east along short Ohio State Route 562, known as the Norwood Lateral Expressway, for the three miles (5 km) to Interstate 71. However, building a connection between Interstate 71 and the western terminus of Ohio State Route 32 at U.S. Route 50 would pose some difficulty: the most direct route, two-lane Ohio State Route 561, runs through several densely populated neighborhoods.

[edit] I-74/I-275 Bridge accident (May 2008)

On May 20, 2008, a tractor-trailer hauling a locomotive separated while it was traveling the ramp from Westbound I-74 to southbound Interstate 275. After the trailer detatched it crashed into supports for the bridge on I-74 Eastbound going over the ramps between Interstate 275 and I-74 Westbound. As a result, Eastbound I-74 had to be shut down by the Ohio Department of Transportation, and it is expected to remain closed for the next 60 to 90 days.[2] The ramps between I-74 West and I-275 both were shut down for some time as well because of fears the bridge would collapse, but according to ODOT, the North I-275 ramp to I-74 Westbound reopened Wednesday night, May 21. The ramp from I-74 West to I-275 South was partially reopened on Thursday night, May 22 and by May 23, according to WCPO-TV as well as ODOT, crews expected to have two crossovers built so that traffic could use one lane of Westbound I-74 to travel east around the damaged bridge.[3]

[edit] West Virginia

See also: U.S. Route 52 in West Virginia

As of October 2007, Interstate 74 remains unbuilt in the state of West Virginia. It is to be routed mostly along the current path of US 52, known as the Tolsia Highway. WVDOT is currently upgrading the Tolsia Highway to four lanes, but not to interstate standards.

[edit] Virginia

Main article: Interstate 74 in Virginia

As of October 2006, Interstate 74 remains unbuilt in the state of Virginia north of Interstate 81 and unsigned along its designated path along Interstate 77 south of Wytheville to the North Carolina border.

[edit] North Carolina

Main article: Interstate 74 in North Carolina

In the state of North Carolina, as of December 2007 a western segment of Interstate 74 runs from Interstate 77 to US 52 just south of Mount Airy, again as the southern segment of Interstate 73 and U.S. Route 220 from just north of Asheboro to south of Candor, and finally a more southern segment running from Laurinburg to a temporary end at NC 710 near Pembroke.

The Interstate 74 Bridge over the Mississippi River. Part of the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa, this bridge connects Bettendorf, Iowa with Moline, Illinois.
The Interstate 74 Bridge over the Mississippi River. Part of the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa, this bridge connects Bettendorf, Iowa with Moline, Illinois.

[edit] Future

 This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

[edit] Southeast Extension

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.

Three sections of I-74 in North Carolina are currently under construction. One 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 totally completed by the end of 2008, though a 6-mile (9.7 km) section from Maxton to NC 710 opened on November 30, 2007. With this opening I-74 signage was extended 13 miles (21 km) east along the Laurinburg and Maxton bypasses. [4] Completed January 7, 2008, the U.S. 220 bypass of Ellerbe (with I-73), is 14 miles (23 km) long but signs refer to "Future I-73" and "Future I-74"[5]. The final 4-mile (6.4 km) segment of the U.S. 311 Bypass of High Point, North Carolina, which also will carry I-74 from Business Loop 85 to Interstate 85, started construction in May 2007. The same contract started work on the first 6 miles (9.7 km) of the I-74 freeway between I-85 and U.S. Route 220 (Future I-73), both projects should be complete by 2011. The proposed path of I-74 east of I-95 is further along US 74 to NC 211 near Bolton then south along US 17 to near the South Carolina border. These sections are not currently proposed to be built perhaps for another 20 to 30 years. The N.C. Turnpike Authority–at the request of officials in Brunswick County–are studying whether a toll road could get the section of I-74 in that county built faster.[citation needed]

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. Highway 31). I-74 is then proposed to end south of Myrtle Beach at U.S. Route 17. A spur route, which is expected to be called I-274, is proposed as the western half of the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway (I-74 will run on the eastern half).

Around Laurinburg and Maxton and to the east, the new I-74 runs concurrent with US 74. This is the first time that a U.S. and Interstate highway with the same number have been designated on the same highway.

[edit] 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.[citation needed]

[edit] Major intersections

[edit] Auxiliary routes

v • d • e
Auxiliary routes of Interstate 74

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Route Log and Finder List - Interstate System: Table 1. FHWA. Retrieved on 2007-12-27.
  2. ^ "60-90 Days To Fix Whitewater Township Bridge", WKRC-TV, 2008-05-21. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. 
  3. ^ Relyea, Neil. "Work Crews Open One Lane From W I-74 To S I-275", WCPO-TV, 2008-05-22. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. 
  4. ^ I-74 in NC Progress Page, Segment 16. Retrieved on 2007-12-27.
  5. ^ http://www.duke.edu/~rmalme/i73seg10.html, Retrieved on 2008/05/01.

[edit] External links

edit
Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)		 Interstate Highway marker
4 5 8 10 12 15 16 17 19 20 22 24 25 26 27 29 30
35 37 39 40 43 44 45 49 55 57 59 64 65 66 68 69
70 71 72 73 74 75 76 (W) 76 (E) 77 78 79 80 81 82
83 84 (W) 84 (E) 85 86 (W) 86 (E) 87 88 (W) 88 (E) 89 90
91 93 94 95 96 97 99 (238) H-1 H-2 H-3
Unsigned  A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 PRI-1 PRI-2 PRI-3
Lists  Primary  Main - Intrastate - Suffixed - Future - Gaps
Auxiliary  Main - Future - Unsigned
Other  Standards - Business - Bypassed
Browse numbered routes
< US 71 IA US 75 >
< SR 71 IN SR 75 >
< SR 73 OH I-75 >