Interstate 74 (I-74) is a partially completed part of the Interstate Highway System that is planned to run from Davenport, Iowa, to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In the US state of North Carolina, I-74 currently exists in three distinct segments; from I-77 at the Virginia state line to U.S. Route 52 (US 52) near Mount Airy, from I-40 in Winston-Salem to US 220 near Ellerbe, and from US 74 and US 74 Business (US 74 Bus.) near Maxton to US 74/North Carolina Highway 41 (NC 41) near Lumberton. I-74 has an extensive concurrency with I-73 from Randleman to Ellerbe in the Piedmont. When completed, I-74 will link the cities of Mount Airy, Winston-Salem, High Point, Rockingham, Laurinburg, and Lumberton.

The 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) authorized a new high priority transportation corridor from Michigan to Myrtle Beach, originally to be I-73. Conflicts over the routing of I-73 led to a compromise in 1995 that created a proposed extension of I-74 from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Myrtle Beach. The first section of I-74 was completed on August 27, 1996, between Steeds and Ulah. I-74 replaced North Carolina Highway 752 (NC 752) in 1998 near Mount Airy, and the entirety of the Mount Airy segment was completed by 2000. A segment of the Interstate was opened in 2008 between Maxton and Lumberton, creating the third segment of I-74 in North Carolina. In 2012, I-74 was extended from Ellerbe to Winston-Salem along US 311. The Piedmont segment was extended south in June 2013 and June 2018 in concurrency with I-73 and US 220 to Randleman.

Route description , there are a total of of I-74, broken in three segments across the state: the Mount Airy, Piedmont Triad, and Laurinburg areas.

Mount Airy

The first section of I-74 begins at the Virginia state line (overlapped with I-77 for approximately ). After separation, it goes east and connects to US 52 near Mount Airy, where the first section ends.

Piedmont Triad I-74 will be routed along US 52, where the concurrency begins in southern Mount Airy, and continues in the Pilot Mountain region. The concurrent routes, then traverses the inside the municipalities of King, the outskirts of Tobaccoville, and Rural Hall. While in Rural Hall, I-74 continues along onto the eastern stretch of the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway, with US 52 diverging its concurrency. I-74 continues inside the eastern outskirts of Winston-Salem and the southern outskirts of Walkertown, with six overall lanes. The Interstate widens to eight overall lanes when entering into Kernersville, where it continues in the western outskirts of the town. I-74 is slated to travel south of its current terminus at the junction with Salem Parkway (US 421), where it will continue to travel in, mostly, the western outskirts of Kernersville, before briefly re-entering into Winston-Salem. It is inside the city, where I-74 comes to having a junction with I-40 and coming to the exit with NC 192. As of July 2026, the junction of NC 192 is where I-74 merges onto the existing stretch, while exiting Winston-Salem. It had been under a new accelerated construction plan for the Beltway, right-of-way acquisition began in 2012 and construction started in December 2014. Until construction is completed, the first and second sections of I-74 are connected with US 52 inside downtown Winston-Salem, I-40 in the southern outskirts of Downtown Winston-Salem, and, what will become the junction with I-40 and NC 192. The final section of the eastern Winston-Salem beltway is scheduled to open on September 19th, 2026, three months ahead of schedule.

NC 192 utilizes the previously-second section of I-74, which extended from the upcoming junction with I-40 and NC 192 in southeastern Winston-Salem to High Point. Until January 2019, this stretch of I-74 was concurrent with US 311. After the junction with NC 192, I-74 partially enters into the surroundings of the southern outskirts of Kernersville, before entering into High Point. While in High Point, I-74 directly connects to another section, billed as the High Point East Belt. The Interstate continues inside the eastern outskirts of the overall area of Downtown High Point, before coming to the junction with US 29 and then another junction with I-85. The stretch northwest of the High Point East Belt, was designated, despite the current lack of having shoulders. Signs were installed by August 2014.Construction completed on June 7, 2013, extended the freeway an additional to US 220/I-73 at milemarker 86 in Randleman. The highway was originally slated to be completed by October 2012.

I-74 joins with I-73/US 220 south in Randleman going south to Asheboro. The freeway is already completed but was not allowed to be signed as a full Interstate until the segment through Asheboro was converted to Interstate Highway standards in December 2013. The fourth section of I-74 (and I-73) starts along a bypass of Asheboro where a project to convert US 220 to Interstate standards was completed, and Interstate signs went up in 2012.

I-74 continues concurrently with I-73 and US 220 between I-73 milemarkers 68 and 42 (), the first section marked as I-74 (and I-73) in North Carolina in 1997. It continues south, bypassing the towns of Seagrove, Biscoe, and Candor. Visitor centers (completed in 2010) are located eastbound and westbound at milemarker 61. After exit 41, US 220 leaves the freeway and the route continues as I-73/I-74 for another toward Rockingham. Though this part of I-73/I-74 was completed in 2008 and is up to Interstate standards, it was initially signed as a future Interstate route because it had not been accepted into the Interstate Highway System by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) by the time it was opened, necessitating the posting of future shields. This situation was remedied on July 7, 2011, when the FHWA approved the addition of this segment to the Interstate Highway System. The route was finally signed as I-73 and I-74 in late 2013.

In late 2018, this segment was extended by , from US 220/Haywood Cemetery Road to a partially completed trumpet interchange on US 220 north of Rockingham. A bypass around Rockingham that connected to the US 74 bypass south of the town opened in late-January 2025.

Sandhills The Western Rockingham Bypass, from the US 74/US 74 Bus. interchange to US 220, near Ellerbe, has all right-of-way purchases completed along the proposed route. Construction on a section, along US 220 (south of Ellerbe), began in March 2014; with a contracted amount of $49.8 million (equivalent to $ in ), it was completed in April 2018. The remaining sections of the new bypass were scheduled to start construction by late 2017; however, under reprioritization of construction projects announced in 2014, they were first removed from the list of projects to be started through 2024 then had funding restored with a construction date of 2022 in mid-2016. In January 2017, however, the project, though still funded, was delayed four years due to a low score in prioritizing projects for the 2018–2027 NCDOT State Transportation Improvement Program. On January 9, 2019, it was announced that the North Carolina State Transportation Improvement Program for 2020 to 2029 included connecting I-73 with US 74 six years sooner than planned. A $146.1-million (equivalent to $ in ) contract was awarded for the of four-lane freeway with "substantial completion" by late 2023. The bypass was completed and opened to traffic on January 28, 2025.

Future I-73 ends near the NC 38 exit where it is planned to be routed south into South Carolina. I-74 continues to the end of the freeway. Between Hamlet and Laurinburg is an at-grade expressway that will eventually be converted to Interstate standards. At Laurinburg, I-74 is to use the Laurinburg Bypass that was at the standard North Carolina freeway grade and signed as I-74 in 2008; however, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) had to remove the signage the following year when the FHWA ruled against using them until the freeway was up to Interstate standards.

The third section of I-74 is officially named the American Indian Highway; completed in 2008, this section stretches from Maxton to south of Lumberton, connecting with I-95/US 301. After NC 41, I-74 ends for the final time as the highway continues on as an at-grade expressway signed as US 74/Future I-74 Corridor.

East of I-95

Future I-74 is to continue to follow US 74, going through the city of Whiteville and bypassing the town of Lake Waccamaw. While there are no funded projects to convert the entire highway to Interstate standards, NCDOT is funding several smaller projects to replace intersections with interchanges for several of the remaining cross streets, including for NC 72/NC 130 north of Boardman and replacing other intersections with grade separations, such as with Old US 74 near Evergreen. An interchange at Boardman Road began construction on May 25, 2021, and opened in September 2023. Two intersections at NC 72 and at NC 130 are planned to be converted into a single interchange and that project is scheduled to begin February 2023. A third and fourth project, now combined, will build an interchange at Chauncey Town Road (SR 1735) and an overpass at Old Lake Road (SR 1740). Those projects were contracted on June 21, 2022, for an estimated cost of $44 million. This would almost build a completed freeway to the NC 211 interchange in Bolton with one exception: the at-grade intersection at US 74/Creek Road (SR 2225) will be converted to an overpass in 2025 according to the NCDOT 2020–2029 STIP.

Before the town of Bolton, I-74 will separate from US 74 onto a proposed new freeway that will head southward, toward Shallotte, then go west on the proposed extension of South Carolina Highway 31 (SC 31; Carolina Bays Parkway) into South Carolina. This entire section of I-74 is still under a feasibility study with several possible routing options; it thus may take years before reaching South Carolina.

Alternate names Though the highway is commonly known as I-74 throughout the state, the highway does have other known names it uses locally in areas. American Indian Highway—official name of the section of I-74 in Robeson County (milemarkers 191–213). It is named to honor the large American Indian population in Robeson County. Blue Star Memorial Highway—unofficial North Carolina honorary name of I-74 in Randolph County (dedicated on June 7, 2013). High Point East Belt—road name in Guilford County.

History