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| Interstate 26 40 miles | |||
| The Road: | Starts at I-40 exit
46A. Crosses the South Carolina line in Polk
County.
Nationally, I-26 ends in Charleston, South Carolina. |
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| Interchanges: | Funky 3-level interchange (link)
with I-40 and I-240.
Blows off the BRP. Or rather, the BRP blows 26 off. Don't forget which road is really boss in WNC. Cloverleaf with U.S. 64 (exit 18). Trumpet with the U.S. 25 connector (Exit 23). Weird "2-exits-in-1" interchange with U.S. 74 and N.C. 108. Heading southbound (eastbound), Exit 35 starts to the right, then has a left-hand off-ramp for 74 before ending at N.C. 108. Heading westbound (northbound), Exit 36 starts to the right and ends at 108. There's no direct access between westbound 26 and eastbound 74; instead, one must travel a brief stretch of 108. Westbound 74 has direct connections to westbound 26 and to 108, but not to eastbound 26. |
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| Multilane Segments: | Hillclimb lane where the Interstate ascends the Blue Ridge between Tryon and Hendersonville. | ||
| History: | North Carolina's late-bloomer Interstate.
Not a bit of it was opened until the mid-to-late 1960s. By 1969, however,
it was open from I-40 south to today's N.C. 225 (miles 0-23) near Hendersonville,
and from about N.C. 108 south to the S.C. line (then, exit 35 southward).
Presumably, the 108 interchange started life as a plain old diamond.
By 1973, a short stretch from the 26/25 connector to Exit 28 was finished. By late 1975, I-26 was finished entirely between Asheville and the S.C. line, save for a short stertch near Tryon which didn't open until 1976. When the 26/40/240 interchange was built, the western three miles of today's I-240 were finished as well. While one 1979 map shows I-26 extended north of I-40 along today's 240 and ending at Patton Avenue (I-240 exit 3), this probably never happened; I-26 has almost certainly never been signed north of I-240. Yet. The U.S. 74 freeway interchange (exit 36) was also finished by 1979. |
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| Comments: | Work is underway to extend I-26 north
of Asheville to the Tennessee line. Once the entire project is complete,
26 will follow the existing U.S. 23 and I-181 freeways to join up with
I-81 north of Johnson City. There's more info about this project at JL's
I-26 Construction site.
Once the freeway north of Asheville is finished, plans call for I-26 to be routed northwest of Asheville and I-240 along a new freeway, which will meet the existing U.S. 19/23 freeway several miles north of I-240 exit 4A. The 19/23 freeway will be improved to Interstate standards once the new I-26 north of there is finished. (I once suggested that I-26 be signed along 240 and the 19/23 freeway now, in preparation for the opening of the new road. JL informs me that this cannot be done by order of the Federal Highway Administration, because 19/23 is not Interstate-grade.) Spectacular scenery south of Hendersonville. Elevations range from just under 1000 feet at the state line to about 2000 feet near the U.S. 25 connector. The hillclimb up to Hendersonville sports some sweeping views, and has much less traffic than the hilly portions of I-40. It's the author's vote for the most scenic stretch of Interstate in North Carolina. Between H'Ville and Asheville, I-26 runs through a relatively flat part of WNC, and its elevation stays around 2100 feet. The present and future alignment of I-26 is primarily north-south, belying its even-number designation. There's not much that can be done about this, given that other Interstates have taken all the higher odd numbers, including, nowadays, I-73. |
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I-40 | 140 and 240
| 440, 540, 640 | I-73
| I-74 | I-77 | I-277
| I-85 | I-485 | I-95
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