Two sections of U.S. 70 in Eastern North Carolina join the interstate highway system
.jpg "Two sections of U.S. 70 in Eastern North Carolina have been designated as Interstate 42.")
For the second time in six months, Eastern North Carolina has a new interstate highway.
The Federal Highway Administration gave its blessing to designating two sections of U.S. 70 as Interstate 42. The two segments are the 10-mile bypass around Clayton in Johnston County and the 22-mile Goldsboro bypass in Wayne and Lenoir counties.
The bridges, exit and entrance ramps and shoulders of these two stretches of U.S. 70 were built to federal interstate standards. The N.C. Department of Transportation plans to eventually upgrade the rest of U.S. 70 between I-40 and Morehead City so the entire road can become I-42.
“This new Interstate shows our long-term commitment to having a high mobility corridor connecting our military bases, the Morehead City port and the communities along the corridor with the national Interstate System,” Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette said in a written statement.
I-42 is one of several new interstate highways gradually taking shape across North Carolina. In November, the federal government designated 37 miles of U.S. 264 between Wilson and Greenville as Interstate 587, after NCDOT repaved and widened the shoulders on a section of the highway to bring it up to interstate standards.
Economic developers say the interstate designation is important because some companies won’t consider locating in a place without interstate access.
The Federal Highway Administration and The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials conditionally gave North Carolina permission to designate U.S. 70 between Raleigh and Morehead City as future I-42.
NCDOT has not yet decided when it will put up the familiar red and blue shields for I-42 and redo the mile markers to reflect the interstate’s length.
Another new interstate highway in the works in Eastern North Carolina is I-87, which will one day run from Raleigh to the Hampton Roads region of Virginia over what are now U.S. 64 and U.S. 17. For now, I-87 goes from the Beltline only as far east as Wendell Boulevard.
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 3:41 PM.
