List of unused highways in North Carolina

An unused highway may reference a highway or highway ramp that was partially or fully constructed but was unused^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]} or later closed.^[10][11][12] An unused ramp can be referred to as a stub ramp,^[13] stub street,^[2][14][15] stub-out,^[2] or simply stub.^[16][17] The following is a list:

North Carolina

Bryson City

• Dubbed "The Road To Nowhere", the road that was intended to replace flooded Highway 288 became too costly and construction ceased on February 2, 1944. Much of the 7.2 miles (11.6 km) of road leading west from Bryson City can be driven, but barriers prevent vehicle traffic beyond the Forney Ridge tunnel. In February 2010 the US Department of Interior settled with Swain County for $52 million for failing to complete the project.

Charlotte

• I-485 will be completed as of Spring 2015, although some former stub ramps may still exist.^[18]

• Two stubs of Galloway Rd. exist on either side of I-85 south of the I-485 interchange near Concord Mills. The western stub extends quite a way past the active roadway while the eastern stub is much shorter. ^[19]

• An unused portion of Statesville Rd exists near the I-77 and I-485 interchange near Huntersville. The road is connected to the current Statesville Rd. alignment, although there is no destinations on the road. ^[20]

• With the opening of Interstate 277, there are residual bridges and pavement present along the former alignment of U.S. Route 74 (Independence Boulevard). Parts of this road are now known as Wilkinson Boulevard, the John Belk Freeway (part of Interstate 277), Carson Boulevard, Stonewall Street, South Street and Charlottetowne Avenue. A bridge that once carried six lanes of traffic is now a single-lane ramp from eastbound U.S. 74/Wilkinson Boulevard to southbound Interstate 77. Another multi-lane, old bridge was used as an exit for Carson Boulevard. A sign of former Independence Boulevard is visible at Stonewall Street as South Boulevard transitions into Caldwell Street and Brevard Street, although this interchange is currently being reconstructed. Independence Boulevard once had an interchange at South Boulevard, but this was removed during construction of I-277, where a replacement interchange was built. Independence Boulevard currently exists as a freeway/at-grade expressway serving the eastern areas of Charlotte, as well as the suburbs of Matthews and Indian Trail.^[21]

• A now-closed stub ramp exists as a former on-ramp from North Graham Street to Interstate 277 north in Uptown. It was closed after 1998 when the North Carolina Department of Transportation rebuilt and relocated the CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern rail lines.^[22][23] The old alignment can be seen here.

Durham

• Grading still exists adjacent to Interstate 85 at the northern terminus of NC 147 for what was previously an exit for U.S. Route 70 Business / Hillsborough Road. Removed in the early 1990s, this was a directional interchange that featured a brief overlap/end of U.S. 70 Business with I-85. Two bridges on northbound I-85 were removed; one crossed over an onramp from westbound U.S. 70 Business to southbound I-85 that entered to the left of the southbound lanes, and the other crossed over an offramp from the left side of southbound I-85 to westbound U.S. 70 Business. Here is the old configuration. Part of the original alignment of the southbound lanes is used by the new onramp from northbound NC 147. U.S. 70 Business/Hillsborough Road now runs alongside the interstate as a frontage road in the right-of-way of the former off-ramp.

• Grading also exists on NC 147 for a connection to U.S. Route 70 / Miami Boulevard. Heading from Durham toward Research Triangle Park, the road curves after Exit 10 (Briggs Avenue). The bridges over Ellis Road are wide enough to handle three lanes of traffic, but are only marked for two. The southbound bridge is aligned for a left-hand exit to the "East End Connector" to U.S. 70, and the northbound bridge is designed to handle the traffic to NC 147 north from the on-ramp. After the Ellis Road bridge, the right-of-way widens. The southbound lane is higher than the northbound lane, and the road is graded to accept a left-hand entry ramp to NC 147 south from the connector that would pass over the northbound lane without regrading or reconstruction.

Gastonia

• Ramp stubs mark what was once a temporary endpoint of Interstate 85. The ramps shuttled I-85 traffic to and from U.S. Route 29 and U.S. Route 74 (Franklin Boulevard). The bridge that carried the I-85 offramp is now an overpass for Aberdeen Boulevard, a connector street that runs between Franklin Boulevard and Cox Road.^[24] Viewable at

Greensboro

• Interstate 840 is a planned 40-mile (64 km) (estimated) east-west route forming the northern half of an urban loop around Greensboro. It is currently only signed (albeit with a FUTURE sign) and constructed for 2 miles (3 km) and ends at U.S. Route 70 on the east end of the loop.^[25][26] There are mainline stubs on both the east- and westbound lanes for the future extension around the north side to the west side of the city to exit 212, where Interstate 40 will branch into Business Interstate 40 upon completion of the Greensboro Urban Loop,^[26] though the I-840 loop is not scheduled to be completed for quite some time. Interstate 785 is also supposed to be concurrently routed with I-840 on the east end.^[25]

• Interstate 840 is also being constructed through the western side of the city and will have a short concurrency with Interstate 73 as part of the Greensboro Urban Loop construction. Stubs, grading, and unfinished ramps can be seen at the Bryan Boulevard interchange, where I-73 will head west and I-840 will continue north.^[25] Construction is not to take place until 2013.^[26]

Raleigh

• Interstate 540 was intended to be a full beltway around the city (based on mile markers^[27] and signage that was removed^[28]) and was known as the Outer Loop so as not to be confused with Interstate 440. The North Carolina General Assembly in 2005 approved the creation of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, whose first project was the Western Wake Expressway, which was the portion of I-540 south of Interstate 40. In early 2006, the authority reversed the designation and decided that they wanted the entire stretch of I-540 south of I-40 to be a toll road. This led to the removal of I-540 insignia and the posting of NC 540 insignia. With this change, the North Carolina Department of Transportation would not have the money to build the beltway as a free highway until 2032.^[29] As a result of all of this, many stubs of pavement exist at I-540's eastern terminus and at NC 540's western terminus.
• Three interchanges along the Interstate 440 beltway are no longer a full cloverleaf configuration. They include Exit 4 (Wade Avenue) , Exit 7 (Glenwood Avenue), and Exit 13 (New Bern Avenue) . Grading is still clearly visible.

Sanford

• North of town, U.S. Route 421 ends at an interchange with U.S. Route 501/U.S. Route 1. The main lanes continue for about 1/2 mile, and a full clover-leaf interchange has been constructed.

Wilmington

• As of October 2014, Google satellite imagery shows stub ramps at the northbound on-ramps and southbound off-ramps, as well as mainline stubs, of I-140 at the interchange with U.S. 74/U.S. 76 near Leland. A short mainline stub exists on southbound I-140 at it's interchange with U.S. 421 north of the city. Grading has begun for mainline and ramps between the two interchanges with stub ramps possible. The remaining sections of I-140 are completed. ^[30]

Winston-Salem

• There are 5 stub ramps around the interchange of U.S. 311 and Interstate 40 east of Waughtown. ^[31]

• A stub ramp exists as part of Metropolitan Dr. and E. 2nd St. near Research Parkway near Downtown. Another is located on the other end of Metropolitan Dr., north of E. 5th St. on U.S. 52/U.S.311. Both ramps used to be part of Exit 110A which was closed in 2012. ^[32]

• Construction at Exit 59 on I-74 near Union Cross may lead to new stub ramps as the existing ramps are reconfigured. ^[33]

See also

• List of ghost towns in North Carolina

References