In the mountains: 
U.S. 74 carries four lanes through most of Cherokee County, and is signed with U.S. 64 and U.S. 19. It runs through the Nantahala Gorge with U.S. 19, then expands to four lanes (freeway in parts) through Swain, Jackson, Haywood and Buncombe counties. 
74 hooks up with I-40 at exit 44, then heads south along I-26 to exit 26. East of I-26, U.S. 74 is a four-lane freeway through Henderson, Polk and Rutherford counties. 

In the Piedmont: 
74 carries at least four lanes through Cleveland County and six lanes through the town of Shelby. It's a four-lane freeway between the settlement of Kings Mountain and I-85, then a four-lane surface road through western Gason County and six lanes through Gastonia. 
Wait, back up a bit. The weirdest interchange in the state is the one between I-74 and I-85 exit 10. The eastbound lanes of 74 are in the median of 85 here. More info is at the N.C. Interchange Museum. 
In Mecklenburg County and Charlotte, 74 carries six lanes over Wilkinson Boulevard, then runs over the John Belk Freeway (I-277). Southeast of downtown, 74 runs along the Independence Freeway, which contains three travel lanes and one bus lane in each direction. The freeway turns into East Independence Boulevard, a six-lane surface road, south of the Independence Arena (a.k.a. the old Charlotte Coliseum). Near the boundary between Charlotte and Matthews, Independence Boulevard narrows to four lanes. 
74 is signed as the Andrew Jackson Highway through Union, Anson and Richmond and Scotland counties -- and long ago, there were also "Andrew Jackson Highway" signs in Charlotte. It's a four-lane road, with two separate freeway sections: one to the south of of Rockingham and Hamlet, and another further east around Laurinburg and Maxton. The Laurinburg/Maxton freeway is also signed as Future I-74. 

On the coastal plain: 
74 carries only two lanes through eastern Robeson County (widening is underway). It carries four lanes, or will carry four lanes very soon, between I-95 (exit 14) and the junction with U.S. 76 in Columnbus County. 
U.S. 74, co-signed with U.S. 76, is a freeway around Whiteville, then a four-lane surface road through Columbus and Brunswick counties. 
In Wilmington (New Hanover), U.S. 74 crosses over the Cape Fear River on a drawbridge that also carries U.S. 17 and 76. 74 quickly separates from 17/76, running over 3d Street, Market Street and Eastwood Road. It hooks up with U.S. 76 again on a drawbridge to Wrightsville Beach, then separates once it's on the island. The last mile or so of 74 runs along North Lumina Avenue. 
 

Asheville area 

U.S. 74's original 1927 western terminus was in Asheville, at the junction of Biltmore Avenue (U.S. 25) and modern-day Brook Street (U.S. 25A). Brook Street was then part of Fairview Road. From this point, 74 ran east along Fairview, and along the Old Charlotte Highway. The Old Charlotte Highway is now U.S. 74A. 

During the great renumbering of 1933, 74 was rerouted slightly. Its new western terminus was in the center of Asheville, at Broadway and College Street. From this point, 74 was co-signed with U.S. 70 east along College Street (part of which was then called Poplar Street) through the Beaucatcher Tunnel, then along Tunnel Road, Swannanoa River Road and Fairview Road to the Charlotte Highway -- in other words, along modern U.S. 74A. 

The 70/74 co-signing from downtown through the tunnel was unnecessary, and 74 was eventually cut back to the point on Tunnel Road where modern-day 70 and 74A diverge. Maps are vague as to when this happened, but it was done by 1952. 

74 in Asheville would remain unchanged until 1987. That year, 74 was extended west into Tennessee. From Tunnel Road, 74 was run west through the Beaucatcher Tunnel along College Street, Charlotte Street, I-240, Patton Avenue and Smoky Park Drive to I-40 exit 44. West of Asheville it was given its current routing. Part of 74 replaced old U.S. 19A (more on this below). 

In 1994, 74 received its current routing south of Asheville. From I-40 exit 44, 74 was sent east along 40 and south along I-26, then east over a new freeway toward Rutherford County. This freeway, which leaves I-26 at exit 26, was open as far east as N.C. 108 in 1975 (when I-26 was finished) and as far east as N.C. 9 in 1992. At least one early-1990s map labels the unfinished freeway as N.C. 74. The old 74 through Asheville and through the Bat Cave/Chimney Rock area became U.S. 74A. 

Rutherford County 

Originally 74 ran through the centers of Rutherfordton, Spindale, Forest City and Ellenboro. This old road, now called Business 74, hooks up with modern mainline 74 near the Rutherford-Cleveland line. Along the Business route are a few roads named "Old U.S. 74". 

By the early 1950s, a short eastern bypass of Rutherfordton was built. 
 

By 1971, part of the freeway in western Rutherford County was finished (Map #2). This new road bypassed Forest City and Spindale to the south. Most of this road (east of the U.S. 221A exit) is still mainline 74. West of the 221A interchange, however, the freeway veered northwest along the current 74A and hit the old 74 (now Business 74) between Rutherfordton and Forest City.  In 1992, the 74 freeway was extended three miles west from Forest City to meet U.S. 221. This short road had no number until the entire freeway to I-26 was finished in 1994, at which time the old 74 freeway from 221A north became part of 74A.

2. 1974 official map

 

A bypass around the center of Shelby was built by 1950. Hard to believe that the current 74 constitutes a bypass, but 'tis true. 

From Kings Mountain, 74 ran northeast into Bessemer City and back southeast to Gastonia during its earliest years. A more direct route due east from Kings Mountain was built around 1934. The direct route was first signed as part of N.C. 7, but in 1936 or early '37, it became part of mainline 74. Part of the old route through Bessemer City was signed as U.S. 74A (and 29A) for a year or two. By 1939 the old route was signed only as extensions of N.C. 161 and 274 rather than as any sort of U.S. highway. 

U.S. 74 between Shelby and Charlotte was widened to at least four lanes during the 1950s. The road carried four lanes between Kings Mountain and Charlotte by 1956, and four lanes between Shelby and Kings Mountain by 1958. 

The freeway bypass to the north of Kings Mountain, along with the funky interchange with I-85, was finished around 1983. 

Charlotte (maps: Today | 1957) 

74's original routing, west to east, was as follows: Wilkinson Boulevard, Dowd Road, Mint Street, Trade Street through downtown, Elizabeth Avenue, Hawthorne Avenue, 7th Street and Monroe Road. (Dowd Road was the original continuation of Wilkinson near where Freedom Drive hits Wilkinson today. Trade and Elizabeth are the same street, as are 7th and Monroe.) 

By 1935, 74 west of Charlotte was routed over West Morehead Street between Wilkinson and Mint Streets, instead of former Dowd Road. 

By 1937, 74 was rerouted away from the very center of Charlotte. From West Morehead it continued over East Morehead, then turned east onto McDowell Street and south onto 7th Street. 

Around 1952, modern "South" and "East" Independence Boulevard was finished, and 74 was signed over it towards Union County. For a few years, 74 would continue to be signed over Morehead Street west of downtown. In the mid-1950s, however, a new western leg of Independence Boulevard was finished (it's now part of Wilkinson), and 74 was moved onto it from Morehead. 

This routing lasted until about 1987. To follow this route today, you'd have to take Wilkinson Boulevard east to where it becomes I-277, then exit south onto Carson Boulvard, then stay on Carson until hitting South Boulevard, then go north on South Boulevard to Stonewall Street, then east onto Stonewall until it becomes South Independence. Confused? Visit the 1957 Charlotte map to see this. 

The John Belk Freeway (I-277) was opened in 1987. By 1988, western Independence was renamed to Wilkinson and Carson boulevards, and 74 was rerouted over the freeway to the point where the Belk and Brookshire freeways meet Independence. 

Independence Boulevard was upgraded from a six-lane surface road to a freeway with bus lanes during the mid-1990s. The freeway was finished to the Independence Arena area by 1996. A good many homes and businesses (yes, there were homes along Independence) were torn down. 

Charlotte to Laurinburg 

Independence Boulevard from Charlotte southeast to Monroe was completed as a four-lane surface road by 1955. It bypassed the older route, which ran over John Street through Matthews and modern SR 1009 through Union County. 

74 was widened to four lanes from Monroe east to Wadesboro in the early 1970s (complete by 1971). Four lanes were open from Wadesboro east to N.C. 145 by 1980, from 145 to Rockingham by 1971, and from Hamlet east to Laurinburg by 1969. Some short stretches of 74, such as around Wadesboro, across the Pee Dee River and between Rockingham and Hamlet (this was part of the pre-2001 U.S. 74), were four-laned by 1964. 

On November 28, 2000, the freeway around the south of Rockingham and Hamlet opened. This road was a godsend for through travelers. The old route through these two towns had featured a few 90-degree turns and speed limits as low as 25 mph. The freeway is 13.1 miles in length and cost $110 million to build.[1] 
 

The Laurinburg-Maxton bypass was built in two stages. The western half, which runs around the south of Laurinburg, was finished by 1967. The eastern half, which bypasses Maxton to the north, was opened in the mid-1980s. 

East of Maxton, 74 originally ran through Pembroke directly into and through Lumberton on modern-day N.C. 711 and 72. Around 1950, a new 74 was opened to the south of Pembroke, and the old 74 was renumbered to 711. This new road originally ended at U.S. 301, however. 74 would run into Lumberton along 301 (or I-95) and south of Lumberton along modern N.C. 72 for many years to come. 

U.S. 74 southeast of I-95 was opened around 1973 (Map #3 below shows this stretch proposed). A short piece immediately east of I-95 has carried four lanes since its opening, but the remainder of the road to the junction with U.S. 76 opened as a two-lane road. Through the late 1990s, this segment of 74 has been undergoing widening. The first four-lane stretch opened near U.S. 76 in mid-1998, and work has progressed east to west. 
 

To the Coast 

From the Lumber River (at the Robeson-Columbus county line) to Chadbourn, 74 originally ran over modern-day Strawberry Boulevard. Its 1927 eastern terminus was in the center of Chadbourn; from there an older routing of U.S. 17 continued east to Wilmington. 

In 1935, 74 was sent to Wilmington. Some 1935 maps show 74 running east from Lumberton over modern N.C. 211 (Map #4 at right; modern 74 was denoted 211). By 1936 74 was sent through Chadbourn and Lake Waccamaw for sure. 

Strawberry Boulevard was bypassed in the mid-1970s, as part of the previously mentioned 74 that extended northwest to I-95. 

U.S. 74 (and U.S. 76) originally ran through the centers of Chadbourn and Whiteville. The freeway bypass of these two towns was built by 1976, and the old road was downgraded to Business status. Part of the old road was, and still is, known as N.C. 130. 

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a new four-lane 74/76 was built between Whiteville and Bolton. This road was completely finished by 1992, and the old road eventually became N.C. 214. 

74 was widened to four lanes from Bolton east to the Columbus/Brunswick line by 1970, and through most of Brunswick County by 1969. The freewayish section of 74 just west of Wilmington was opened around 1976. 

From 1935 to the early 1960s, 74 crossed the Cape Fear river further north than it does now, over the Parsley Street bridge (this bridge now carries U.S. 117). 74 then ran over Parsley Street and south along 3d Street to Market Street. The current bridge, near the U.S.S. North Carolina memorial, was opened by 1969. 

U.S. 74 has run to Wrightsville Beach since at least 1936, and 74 and 76 have ended at opposite ends of the island since the 1940s. 
 

Several upgrades to U.S. 74 are in various stages of construction, in addition to the "Rockinghamlet" bypass which was completed in late 2000. A bypass of Monroe (Union County), which will include a new road extending as far north as the Matthews area, is also underway. Further west, long-range plans call for a freeway bypass of Shelby, and in the very distant future a new four-lane road around (rather then through) the Nantahala Gorge. Don't hold your breath on that last one; it's a few decades away. 

Most of 74, and almost all of it east of Asheville, carries at least four lanes. Eventually all of it will carry four lanes, and much of it will be freeway. Some hypothesize that the coming of Interstate 74 means U.S. 74 will have to be renumbered, but U.S. 74 has only gotten longer and more prominent since its inception in 1927. It's not going away any time soon.