Interstate 85 Business (North Carolina)

Interstate 85 Business
Route of Business 85 highlighted in red
Route information
Length:	43.5 mi[1] (70.0 km)
Existed:	1984 – present
Major junctions
South end:	I‑85 / US 29 / US 52 / US 70 near Lexington
	I‑74 / US 311 in High Point I‑73 / I‑85 / US 421 in Greensboro I‑40 / US 29 / US 70 / US 220 in Greensboro
North end:	I‑40 / I‑85 near McLeansville
Location
Counties:	Davidson, Randolph, Guilford
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business North Carolina Highway System Interstate U.S. State Scenic

In the U.S. state of North Carolina, Interstate 85 Business (commonly known as Business 85) is a 43.5-mile-long (70.0 km) business loop of Interstate 85; which serves several cities in the Piedmont Triad.

Route description

Business 85 is known widely as having two sections 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.

Southern section

Business 85 begins from exit 87 of I-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 I-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 I-85 in Greensboro.

Northern section

I-40 and I-85 Business overhead sign in Greensboro

Business 85 continues again from exit 120A of I-85, in Greensboro. Continuing a northeast direction, it connects with I-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 I-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.).

Dedicated and memorial names

I-85 Business features one dedicated stretch of freeway.

• Preddy Boulevard – Official North Carolina name of I-85 Business, from mile marker 33-36, in Greensboro. It is named after the Preddy Brothers (one of which is George Preddy), for their outstanding service in World War II.^[2]

History

Map the various routing changes in Greensboro between 2004 and 2008.

Established in 1984, I-85 Business was a replacement of Temp I-85, from Lexington to Greensboro, when Interstate 85 was completed on an east parallel routing. It also had a complete concurrency with US 29/US 70. In 2005, I-85 was redirected southeast around Greensboro along the Greensboro Urban Loop; its old route through Greensboro became an extension of I-85 Business. With an hidden overlap along I-85 between exits 118-120A, it continues to north then east through Greensboro, with a shared concurrency with I-40 (which briefly became I-40 Business, from February-September, 2008).

Temporary Interstate 85

Interstate 85 Temporary
Location:	Lexington-Greensboro, NC
Length:	30.8 mi[3] (49.6 km)
Existed:	1961–1984

Temporary Interstate 85 (Temp I-85) was established by 1961 as a temporary designation that directed travelers along US 29/US 70, from the Yadkin River to Greensboro.^[4] In 1977, a flyover bridge was completed (dubbed "bridge over nothing," it later became part of I-85 exit 87), truncating Temp I-85 south-end near Lexington.^[5][6] In 1984, I-85 was completed on new primary routing between Lexington and Greensboro; Temp I-85 was replaced by I-85 Business.

Exit list

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Davidson	Lexington	0.0	0.0	—	I‑85 south / US 29 south / US 52 south / US 70 west – Salisbury, Charlotte	Continuation as I-85/US 29/US 52/US 70; southbound exit and northbound entrance
		1.0	1.6	84	NC 47 east to I‑85 north – Linwood	To Davidson County Airport
		1.9	3.1	85	Green Needles Road
		3.1	5.0	86	Salisbury Road – Downtown Lexington
		4.4	7.1	87	US 52 north – Winston-Salem	North end of US 52 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
		5.1	8.2		Old US 64
		5.6	9.0		US 64 west – Mocksville	West end of US 64 overlap
		6.6	10.6		NC 8 (Winston Road) – Lexington, Winston-Salem
		7.3	11.7		US 64 east – Asheboro	East end of US 64 overlap
	Thomasville	14.7	23.7		Lexington Avenue – Thomasville	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		17.1	27.5		NC 109 (Salem Street) – Thomasville, Winston-Salem
		18.7	30.1		NC 68 (National Highway) – Thomasville, West High Point	To Piedmont Triad International Airport
Randolph	High Point	20.0	32.2		Old Thomasville Road – High Point
Guilford		20.7	33.3		Prospect Street
		21.6	34.8		West Green Drive
		22.4	36.0		Surrett Drive
		23.1	37.2		Main Street – High Point
		24.5	39.4		I‑74 / US 311 / Brentwood Street – Winston-Salem, Asheboro	Brentwood Street has a separate exit northbound; three-level diamond interchange
		25.5	41.0		Baker Road
		26.6	42.8		Kivett Drive – East High Point
	Greensboro	29.2	47.0		Vickery Chapel Road / Guildford College Road – Jamestown
		30.7	49.4	118	I‑85 south – Salisbury, Charlotte	South end of I-85 overlap
		31.7	51.0	119	Groometown Road to Grandover Parkway	Southbound exit incorporated with exit 33
		32.6	52.5	120A 33	I‑85 north / US 421 south to I‑40 east – Durham, Sanford 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
		33.5	53.9	34	Holden Road
		34.3	55.2	35 A-B	A: US 220 south to I‑73 south – Asheboro B: US 220 north to I‑40 west – Coliseum Area	No southbound exit 35B
		34.9	56.2	35C	Rehobeth Church Road / Vandalia Road
		35.8	57.6	219	I‑40 west / US 220 south – Winston-Salem	West end of I-40 overlap; no northbound exit
		36.0	57.9	220	Randleman Road	Left southbound entrance
		36.6	58.9	221	South Elm-Eugene Street – Downtown Greensboro
		37.8	60.8	222	Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
		38.1	61.3	223	US 29 north / US 70 east / US 220 north – Reidsville	North end of US 29/US 220 and east end of US 70 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
		40.1	64.5	224	To US 29 north / US 220 north / East Lee Street	To Bennett College, UNC Greensboro, A&T University and Greensboro College
		42.5	68.4	226	McConnell Road
		42.9	69.0	227	I‑85 south to US 70 – Charlotte	Hidden north I-785 and west I-840
		43.5	70.0	—	I‑40 east / I‑85 north – Raleigh, Durham	Continuation as I-40/I-85
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

1. Google (January 28, 2011). "I-85 Business in NC" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
2. "North Carolina Memorial Highways and other Named Facilities" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. July 15, 2004. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
3. Google (April 17, 2014). "Temporary Interstate 85" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
4. 1970 North Carolina Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Cartography by NCDOT. North Carolina Department of Transportation. 1970. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
5. "Uglybridges.com: US29&70/I-85 BUS LP over I-85". Retrieved April 17, 2014.
6. 1979-80 North Carolina Transportation Map & Guide to Points of Interest (PDF) (Map). Cartography by NCDOT. North Carolina Department of Transportation. 1979. Retrieved April 17, 2014.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Media related to Interstate 85 Business (North Carolina) at Wikimedia Commons
• NCRoads.com: I-85 Business
• NCRoads.com: I-85 Temp