 Interstate 74 | |
|---|---|
 I-74 highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 541.62 mi[1] (871.65 km) As of June 27, 2023 |
| NHS | Entire route |
| Original segment | |
| West end |  I-80 inDavenport, IA |
| Major intersections | |
| East end |   I-75 /US 52 inCincinnati, OH |
| Mount Airy segment | |
| West end |  I-77 at theVirginia state line nearPine Ridge, NC |
| East end | US 52 inMount Airy, NC |
| Central North Carolina segment | |
| West end |  I-40 inWinston-Salem, NC |
| Major intersections | |
| East end |   US 74 Bus. nearHamlet, NC |
| Eastern North Carolina segment | |
| West end |  US 74 Alt. /US 74 Bus. inMaxton, NC |
| Major intersections |   I-95 /US 301 inLumberton, NC |
| South end | US 74 near Lumberton, NC |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| States | Iowa,Illinois,Indiana,Ohio;North Carolina |
| Highway system | |
Interstate 74 (I-74) is anInterstate Highway in theMidwestern andSoutheastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange withI-80 inDavenport, Iowa; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange withI-75 inCincinnati, Ohio. The major cities that I-74 connects to includeDavenport, Iowa;Peoria,Bloomington, andChampaign, Illinois;Indianapolis, Indiana; and Cincinnati, Ohio. I-74 also exists as several disconnected sections of highways inNorth Carolina.
| mi[1] | km | |
|---|---|---|
| IA | 5.36 | 8.63 |
| IL | 220.34 | 354.60 |
| IN | 171.54 | 276.07 |
| OH | 19.47 | 31.33 |
| WV | ||
| VA | ||
| NC | 124.91 | 201.02 |
| SC | ||
| Total | 541.62 | 871.65 |
In the state ofIowa, I-74 runs south fromI-80 for 5.36 miles (8.63 km) before crossing intoIllinois on theI-74 Bridge. North of theMississippi River, I-74 bisectsBettendorf andDavenport.
In the state of Illinois, I-74 runs south fromMoline toGalesburg; from this point, it runs southeast throughPeoria to theBloomington–Normal area andI-55. I-74 continues southeasterly to theChampaign–Urbana metropolitan area, intersectingI-57. The Interstate then runs east pastDanville at the Illinois–Indiana state line.U.S. Route 150 (US 150) parallels I-74 in Illinois for its entire length, save the last few miles on the eastern end (in Danville, when US 150 turns south onIllinois Route 1 [IL 1]), where it parallelsUS 136.
In the state of Indiana, I-74 runs east from the Illinois state line to theCrawfordsville area before turning southeasterly. It then runs around the city center ofIndianapolis alongI-69 andI-465. Once I-74 reaches the southeast side of Indianapolis, it diverges from I-69 and I-465 and continues to the southeast. It then entersOhio atHarrison.
In the state of Ohio, I-74 runs southeast from the Indiana border to the western segment's current eastern terminus atI-75 just north ofDowntown Cincinnati. It is also signed withUS 52 for its entire length. While planned to continue throughWest Virginia andVirginia to the I-74 section in North Carolina, the route remains unsigned orunbuilt pastCincinnati. At this point, I-74 would follow US 52 or more likely followState Route 32 (SR 32), east from Cincinnati.
In the state ofNorth Carolina, as of January 2025[update], I-74 exists in several segments, starting with a concurrency withI-77 at the Virginia border. This includes the most western portion from I-77 to US 52 just south ofMount Airy, a segment first opened to traffic as a bypass ofHigh Point then extended west toI-40 east ofWinston-Salem and east toI-73 nearRandleman, then another along the southern segment of I–73 andUS 220 from just north ofAsheboro to northwest ofRockingham, and finally a more eastern segment that runs fromLaurinburg to an end atNC 41 nearLumberton.[citation needed] One of the latest segments to be signed, from I-40 to High Point, occurred after the federal government approved signing this section as I-74 in mid-2013, despite the highway not being up to currentInterstate Highway standards. It was uncertain why theFederal Highway Administration (FHWA) made an exception, but this might have been the result of a misinterpretation when a state highway administrator asked for Interstate designation for another section and "Future Interstate" for the section already completed that did not meet standards.[2] The Rockingham bypass was completed and opened to traffic on January 28, 2025.[3]
Long-range plans call for I-74 to continue east and south of Cincinnati to North Carolina using SR 32 from Cincinnati toPiketon, Ohio, and then the proposed I-73 fromPortsmouth, Ohio, throughWest Virginia (along parts of currentUS 52 andWV Route 108) to I-77. It would then follow I-77 throughVirginia into North Carolina, where I-74 splits fromI-77 near the Virginia state line and runs eastward to northwest US 52, which it will eventually follow toWinston-Salem, then throughHigh Point to I-73. I-73 and I-74overlap toRockingham.[citation needed]
In 1996, theAmerican Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved the signing of highways as I-74 along its proposed path east (south) of I-81 inWytheville, Virginia, where those highways meet Interstate Highway standards. North Carolina started putting up I-74 signs along its roadways in 1997. As of December 2008[update], I-74 is proposed to follow the path of I-77 through the state of Virginia but remains unsigned from the West Virginia border to the North Carolina border.[citation needed]
The 1991 plan to buildI-73 soon included an extension of I-74 from where it ended inHamilton County to I-73 atPortsmouth, Ohio, possibly alongSR 32.[4]
In November 1991,Congress passed the $151-billion (equivalent to $309 billion in 2024[5])Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) that included theI-73/74 North-South Corridor and made I-73 a priority and included an extension of I-74 from Hamilton County to I-73 at Portsmouth.[6]
On August 31, 1992, theOhio Turnpike Commission passed a resolution to study making the extension of I-74 a toll road. Congress had authorized paying for 80 percent of the cost, but the state would have to pay the remainder of the $56 million (equivalent to $112 million in 2024[5]).[7]
The Ohio Turnpike Commission proposed that the extension run along SR 32;[8] while RepresentativeJim Bunning ofKentucky wanted the road to begin in the west as part of a greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky bypass, returning to Ohio nearMaysville, Kentucky.[9]
As of October 2009[update], I-74 remains unbuilt in the state ofWest Virginia. TheWest Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) is currently upgrading theTolsia Highway to four lanes but not to Interstate Highway standards.
It was estimated that improving US 52 to Interstate standards in West Virginia would cost $2 billion (equivalent to $4.09 billion in 2024[5]).[10] Still, by 1994, improvements to US 52 were planned, and future plans called for I-73 to follow that route. The I-74 extension seemed more certain.[11]
A section of I-74 in North Carolina is currently under construction. This is the eastern half of theWinston-Salem Northern Beltway.
The proposed path of I-74 east of I-95 in North Carolina is still being debated. The current plan takes the route alongUS 74 toNC 211 nearBolton then south alongUS 17 to near theSouth Carolina border. These sections are not currently proposed to be built perhaps for another 20 to 30 years. TheNorth Carolina 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.[12][self-published source]
Starting west ofRockingham and fromLaurinburg toMaxton and to the east, I-74 runs concurrent with US 74. This was the first time that aU.S. Route and Interstate Highway with the same number have been designated on the same highway.[13][self-published source] A similar situation occurred more recently in June 2015 whenWisconsin started routingI-41 along the route ofUS 41.
On February 11, 2005, theNorth Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) andSouth Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) 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 ofSouth Carolina Highway 31 (SC 31). SC 31 is being used a temporaily placeholder designation until the I-74 from North Carolina connect the South Carolina proposed route. I-74 is then proposed to end south ofMyrtle Beach atSC 707. In the 1990s, both I-73 and I-74 were to end atGeorgetown but funding cannot allow for the possible extensions to Georgetown or Charleston.[citation needed] In November 2019, both NCDOT and SCDOT released maps of where I-74 could go to from South Carolina to North Carolina.[citation needed]
I-80 inDavenport
US 6 on the Davenport–Bettendorf city line. The highways travel concurrently toMoline, Illinois.
US 67 in Bettendorf
I-280 /US 6 in Moline. I-74/I-280 travels concurrently toColona.I-80 /I-280 in Colona
US 34 inGalesburg
US 150 east ofKnoxville
I-474 west ofPeoriaUS 150 in Peoria
US 24 /US 150 inEast PeoriaI-474 in East Peoria
I-155 inMortonUS 150 north-northwest ofYuton
I-39 in Normal, Illinois
I-55 /US 51 northwest ofNormal. I-55/I-74 travels concurrently toBloomington. I-74/US 51 travels concurrently to south of Bloomington.US 150 in Bloomington
US 136 south-southeast ofLe Roy
I-57 inChampaign
US 45 inUrbanaUS 150 east-northeast ofOakwoodUS 150 inTilton
US 41 inVeedersburg
US 231 inCrawfordsville
I-465 /US 136 on theIndianapolis–Speedway line. I-74/I-465 travels concurrently into Indianapolis proper.
US 36 in Indianapolis. The highways travel concurrently through Indianapolis.
US 40 in Indianapolis. The highways travel concurrently through Indianapolis.
I-70 in Indianapolis
I-69 in Indianapolis. I-69/I-74 travel concurrently until I-74 leaves I-465.
US 31 in Indianapolis. The highways travel concurrently through Indianapolis.
I-65 in Indianapolis
I-69 /I-465 /US 31 /US 36 /US 40 /US 421 in Indianapolis. I-74/US 421 travels concurrently to northwest ofGreensburg.US 52 west-northwest ofWest Harrison. The highways travel concurrently toCincinnati, Ohio.
I-275 west-northwest ofMiamitown. The highways travel concurrently to northwest ofDent.
US 27 in Cincinnati
US 27 /US 127 in CincinnatiI-75 /US 52 in CincinnatiI-77 at theVirginia state line north-northwest ofPine Ridge. The highways travel concurrently to west-southwest of Pine Ridge.
US 601 inWhite PlainsUS 52 east of White PlainsI-40 inWinston-Salem
US 29 inHigh Point
I-85 east-northeast ofArchdale
I-73 /US 220 inRandleman. I-73/I-74 travels concurrently to northwest ofRockingham. I-74/US 220 travels concurrently toEmery.US 74 /US 74 Bus. northwest of RockinghamUS 74 /US 74 Alt. /US 74 Bus. southeast ofMaxton. I-74/US 74 travels concurrently toLumberton.I-95 /US 301 west-southwest of LumbertonUS 74 in Lumberton
I-274: A partially completed bypass ofWinston-Salem, North Carolina, planned to follow the western half of the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway.I-474: A southwestern bypass loop ofPeoria, Illinois.
Geographic data related toInterstate 74 atOpenStreetMap PrimaryInterstate Highways | |
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| Signed | |
| Unsigned | |
| Lists | |
| Other | |
Routes initalics are no longer a part of the system. Major Interstates are highlighted. | |
