Interstate 85 Business (North Carolina)
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| Route information | |
| Length: | 43 mi[1] (69 km) Southern segment: 30 miles (48 km) Northern segment: 11 miles (18 km) |
| Existed: | 1984 – present |
| Major junctions | |
| South end: |     I-85 / US 29 / US 52 / US 70 near Lexington |
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  I-40 / US 29 / US 70 / US 220 in Greensboro |
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| North end: | I-40 / I-85 near McLeansville |
| Location | |
| Counties: | Davidson, Randolph, Guilford |
| Highway system | |
In the U.S. state of North Carolina, Interstate 85 Business (commonly known as "Business 85") is a 43-mile (69 km) business loop of Interstate 85; which serves several cities in the Piedmont Triad.
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[edit] Route description
Business 85 is known widely as having two section that appears split by I-85 in Greensboro; it is actually one continuous route that is simply hidden on the 2-mile (3.2 km) stretch of I-85. For almost the entire route, US 29 and US 70 are cosigned.
[edit] Southern section
Business 85 begins from exit 87 of Interstate 85, just south of Lexington. It travels along US 52 north then splits from it at exit 87. Becoming a semi-limited expressway, it travels through Lexington with a short concurrency with US 64. Once past Lexington, the road becomes a more typical expressway, with at grade intersections with some controlled interchanges throughout the rest of the southern section. Business 85 goes at a northeast direction, parallel to Interstate 85 further south, as it goes through Thomasville and High Point. It makes a unique intersection with I-74/US 311 by having a full interchange, but with at-grade intersections at the ramps. After 30 miles (48 km), Business 85 merges with Interstate 85 in Greensboro.
[edit] Northern section
Business 85 continues again from exit 120A of Interstate 85, in Greensboro. Continuing a northeast direction, it connects with Interstate 40 at a location commonly nicknamed as "Death Valley"; creating a rarely seen concurrency of an interstate highway and a business loop signed together. Overlapped with I-40, it goes east until it meets Interstate 85 for a third time near McLeansville, where it ends. The entire northern section is 6-lane freeway grade; though because it goes through the city of Greensboro, travelers can anticipate typical weekday rush hour slow downs (7:00-9:30 a.m./4:00-6:30 p.m.).
[edit] Exit list
| County | Location | Mile [1] | # | Destinations | Notes |
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| Davidson | 0 | I-85 south / US 29 south / US 52 south / US 70 west – Salisbury, Charlotte |
I-85 Business Begins; southbound exit and northbound entrance South end overlap of US 29/52, west end overlap of US 70 |
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| 1 | 84* |  To I-85 north – Linwood |
To Davidson County Airport | ||
| 2 | 85* | Green Needles Road | |||
| Lexington | 3 | 86* | Salisbury Road – Downtown Lexington | ||
| 4 | 87* | US 52 north – Winston-Salem |
North end of US 52 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 5 | Old US 64 | ||||
| 6 |  US 64 west – Mocksville |
South end of US 64 overlap | |||
| 6.5 |  NC 8 (Winston Road) – Lexington, Winston-Salem |
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| 7 | US 64 east – Asheboro |
North end of US 64 overlap | |||
| Thomasville | 15 | Lexington Avenue – Thomasville | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 17 |  NC 109 (Salem Street) – Thomasville, Winston-Salem |
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| 19 |  NC 68 (National Highway) – Thomasville, West High Point |
To Piedmont Triad International Airport | |||
| Randolph | High Point | 20 | Old Thomasville Road – High Point | ||
| Guildford | 21 | Prospect Street | |||
| 22 | West Green Drive | ||||
| 22.5 | Surrett Drive | ||||
| 23 | Main Street – High Point | ||||
| 24 |   I-74 / US 311 / Brentwood Street – Winston-Salem, Asheboro |
Brentwood Street has a separate exit northbound | |||
| 25 | Baker Road | ||||
| 26 | Kivett Drive – East High Point | ||||
| Greensboro | 29 | Vickery Chapel Road / Guildford College Road – Jamestown | |||
| 30 | I-85 south – Salisbury, Charlotte |
South end of I-85 overlap | |||
| I-85 Business overlaps (unsigned) with Interstate 85 (exits 118 to 120A) | |||||
| 33 | 33 | I-85 south – Salisbury, Charlotte   I-73 north / US 421 north to I-40 west / Groometown Road – Winston-Salem |
North end of I-85 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance I-73/US421/Groometown Road access southbound only |
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| 34 | 34 | Holden Road | |||
| 35 | 35A | US 220 south – Asheboro |
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| 35B | US 220 north to I-40 west Coliseum Area |
No southbound exit | |||
| 35C | Rehobeth Church Road / Vandalia Road | ||||
| 36 | 36 | I-40 west / Randleman Road – Winston-Salem |
West end of I-40 overlap; southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| I-85 Business overlaps with Interstate 40 (exits 219 to 228) | |||||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus • Closed/former • Incomplete access • Unopened |
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Note – Exit numbers listed with (*) are based off US 52.
[edit] History
Before Business 85 was established, the route had already existed as US 29 and US 70. During the 1960s, the route from Lexington to Greensboro was signed as Interstate 85. However, NCDOT was already planning of a new bypass route south of Lexington and even built (what was called then) the "bridge over nothing," what now serves as exit 87. In 1980, this planned bypass finally began construction, at the same time signage changed to Temporary I-85. In 1984, Interstate 85 moved south to its new 6-lane freeway, bypassing the cities of Lexington, Thomasville, and High Point; the former route was then resigned as Interstate 85 Business.[2]
In 2004, Interstate 85 was redirected southeast around Greensboro (what is part of the Greensboro Urban Loop); the old route through Greensboro was then replaced by a 13-mile (21 km) extension of Business 85 (hidden on main I-85). On February 2008, Interstate 40 was rerouted south around Greensboro, it was replaced by an extension of Business 40 from Winston-Salem. Seven months later, Interstate 40 returned to its original routing through Greensboro, making the odd concurrency of an Interstate and Business Loop permanent in Greensboro.
Also in 2004, the High Point East Belt was partially completed to Business 85, creating a temporary routing of US 311 along Business 85 from South Main Street to the new freeway in High Point. This was ended when the East Belt Bypass was completed in November 2010.[3]
[edit] Alternate names
Though the highway is simply known as Business 85 throughout the state, the highway does have other known names it uses locally in areas.
- Preddy Boulevard - Road name of Business 85, from mile marker 33-36; named after the Preddy Brothers (one of which is George Preddy), for their outstanding service in World War II.
[edit] Photo gallery
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Business 85 co-signed with various other highways (2006-09-13).
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I-40 and Business 85 overhead sign in Greensboro (2007-10-12).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 85 Business (North Carolina) |
- ^ a b Google, Inc. Google Maps – I-85 Business in NC (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=I-85+BUS+N&daddr=35.8581797,-80.1897887+to:I-40+E%2FI-85+BUS+N&hl=en&geocode=FRHKIQIdtEU2-w%3BFQMnIwIdpGY4-yndXlmhq5hTiDF4_uvCOyvyTA%3BFdI5JgIdCSRA-w&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=2&sz=15&via=1&sll=36.057738,-79.685683&sspn=0.025916,0.055747&ie=UTF8&ll=35.931873,-79.95369&spn=0.415321,0.891953&z=11. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
- ^ "NCRoads.com: I-85 and I-785". http://members.cox.net/ncroads/interst/ih085.html. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
- ^ "New Highway 311 Bypass Section Opens Monday". http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-story-311-bypass-101121,0,5159858.story?track=rss. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
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