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 or later closed. An unused ramp can be referred to as a stub ramp, stub street, stub-out, or simply stub. The following is a list:

North Carolina

Charlotte

• Currently, stub ramps exist on Interstate 485 as a result of construction done to complete I-485 as a complete beltway. The beltway is currently complete from the North Carolina State Route 16/Brookshire Boulevard interchange in the northwest to Interstate 85 in the northeast. Although the highway is actually completed to Oakdale Road, the interchange there will not be built until the surrounding areas have been fully developed, so all traffic heading north on I-485 (the Inner Loop) towards North Carolina 16/Brookshire Boulevard (exit 16) must exit there. The next section of I-485 is to open in Spring 2008 and will extend the designation to North Carolina State Route 115/Old Statesville Road north of Charlotte, crossing over Interstate 77 along the way. Old stubs can be seen at the western I-85/I-485 interchange in an older map and are currently in use. Grading can be seen along the entire route until I-77 and North Carolina 115/Old Statesville Road. 19 Stubs and grading also exist at the eastern I-85/I-485. 20 The beltway is not scheduled to be completed until 2012 or 2013.

• 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 6 lanes of traffic is now a single lane ramp from eastbound U.S. 74/Wilkinson Boulevard to southbound Interstate 77. 21 Another multi-lane, old bridge was used as an exit for Carson Boulevard. 22 A sign of former Independence Boulevard is visible at Stonewall Street as South Street transitions into Caldwell Street and Brevard Street. 23 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.

• A now closed, stub ramp exists as a former on-ramp from North Graham Street to Interstate 277 north in Uptown. 24 It was closed after 1998 when the North Carolina Department Of Transportation rebuilt and relocated CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern rail lines. 25 The old alignment can be seen here.

• Two stub ramp exist at exit 61 on Interstate 485 in the Ballantyne area of south Charlotte. U.S. Route 521 northbound was to have a flyover to head west on I-485 (the Inner Loop). One stub is on the on-ramp from U.S. 521 north to go east on I-485 (the Outer Loop) 26 and the other (complete with striping) is on the on-ramp from U.S. 521/Johnson Road to head west on I-485 (the Inner Loop). 27

Winston-Salem

• There are long stubs where U.S. Route 311 intersects Business Interstate 85, U.S. Route 29, and U.S. Route 70. U.S. 311, as a bypass around High Point, is slated to eventually be Interstate 74 and construction was to begin May 2007 to extend this bypass to Interstate 85. 28 There are also stub ramps and ramp grading all around the interchange of U.S. 311 and Interstate 40. It was originally where I-74 was to come in from the north and utilize the High Point bypass but now in Long term plans to connect to U.S. Route 158 where it intersects with U.S. Route 421. 29 30,

Greensboro

• Interstate 840 is a planned 40 mile (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 and ends at U.S. Route 70 on the east end of the loop. 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, 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. 31

• Stubs can be seen at the Interstate 85/Business Interstate 85/U.S. Route 29/U.S. Route 70 interchange, where the new route of Interstate 40 (and eventually Interstate 73) is being built as part of the Greensboro Urban Loop. It is scheduled to be completed in November, 2007. 32

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. Viewable at 33

Wilmington

• Interstate 140 is planned to be 27 miles long. Currently, only 11.5 miles are open to traffic. At the west end, from which I-140 to extend to U.S. Route 17 near Spring Hill, are mainline pavement stubs. Work on the next section from U.S. Route 421 to U.S. Route 74/76, approximately 7 miles, is currently not scheduled to start until 2009, but there are many environmental issues, including another river crossing, surrounding construction of this section which could delay it. The final section, approximately 5 miles from U.S. 74/76 to U.S. 17 near its intersection with North Carolina State Route 87 is currently not funded and work will not begin until after 2013. 34

Raleigh

• Interstate 540 was intended to be a full beltway around the city (based on mile markers and signage that was removed) 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, who's 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 ensignia and the posting of NC 540 ensignia. With this change, The The North Carolina Department of Transportation would not have the money to build the beltway as a free highway until 2032. As a result of all of this, many stubs of pavement exist at I-540's eastern terminus 35 and at NC 540's western terminus. 36 There is also grading at the huge Davis Drive exit on NC 540 for an extension of NC 147 (The Durham Freeway), likely to be another toll road. 37

See also

• List of unused highways in the United States
• List of unused highways
• list of ghost towns