# Interstate 785

Interstate 785 (I-785) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of North Carolina. As of 2022, it is completed through 6.81 miles (10.96 km) eastern Guilford County, through a concurrency with I-840 along the Greensboro Urban Loop. When completed, it will connect Greensboro to Danville, Virginia, a distance of about 50 miles (80 km).

## Route description

I-785 begins at the interchange of I-40/I-85. Heading north, it connects with US Highway 70 (US 70) before ending at its current northern terminus at US 29. The entire route is in concurrency with I-840.
Future corridor signs of I-785 are marked along US 29 between Greensboro and Danville. The next phase of this project is now funded by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) from its current ending point at exit 14 to US 29/US 158 exit 153 at the northernmost Reidsville city limits. While fully funded, the project is divided into schedule to begin in 2020 with two interchanges located within Guilford and Rockingham counties. In Virginia, State Route 785 (SR 785) is the unsigned interim route number until I-785 is built to Interstate standards.

## History

The designation was approved in 1997 at the request of a coalition of counties in North Carolina and Virginia who saw it as a way of further developing that area's economy. Most of the route will use existing US 29 north of Greensboro; however, for a few miles I-785 will run between US 29 and its parent route, I-85 on the Greensboro Urban Loop, which will also carry the I-840 designation. Construction of this highway was due to begin in 2011. With the upgrade of the Danville Expressway to a four-lane route in 2004, the I-785 route in Virginia is complete (and has been given the interim designation SR 785), but US 29 still needs to be upgraded to Interstate standards in North Carolina between the Greensboro Loop and Reidsville before the route can be signed as an Interstate. At that time, there were no projects scheduled by NCDOT to do so. Given that in the spring of 2006 NCDOT put up mileposts and added numbers to exit signs from Reidsville to the Virginia border reflecting US 29's mileage, an upgrade of this highway to an Interstate apparently was not in their immediate plans.
On July 31, 2013, NCDOT got approval from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to cosign the first section of I-785 with I-840 in eastern Guilford County officially establishing I-785 in North Carolina.
The next section of I-785 opened on December 6, 2017, with hidden concurrency of I-840. With an estimated cost of $119 million (equivalent to $146 million in 2023), the 5.5-mile (8.9 km) section, completing the eastern segment of the Greensboro Urban Loop, goes from US 70 (Burlington Road) to US 29, with an interchange at Huffine Mill Road. On September 13, 2019, a Reidsville Transportation Forum was held where it was announced I-785 is now funded and committed by NCDOT from its current ending point at exit 14 to US 29/US 158 exit 153 at the northernmost Reidsville city limits. Many officials from the North Carolina General Assembly and NCDOT presented at the forum, with the Reidsville Chamber of Commerce sharing quotes from these officials afterward regarding I-785. The construction of I-785 being extended to the city of Reidsville is a reflection of the city's growth as a center of transportation and commerce in the north Greensboro metropolitan area connecting with the Reidsville US 158 corridor.

## Future

Following the Greensboro Urban Loop completion, NCDOT and Greensboro DOT plan to extend Cone Boulevard (SR 2565) toward the McLeansville area and add an interchange. Plans for the interchange have existed since 2004; however, no time table or funding is available at this time, as it is expected to wait for the completion of the Greensboro Urban Loop.
The state has allocated funding as of September 2019 to upgrade US 29 north of I-785 to the US 158/North Carolina Highway 14 (NC 14) junction in Reidsville to interstate standards, necessary for I-785 to be signed northward to Virginia, however construction is scheduled towards the middle of the decade, after the completion of the urban loop, and is estimated at a cost of $89 million. Roadway improvement and interchange upgrades to Summit Avenue (SR 2526) and Reedy Fork Parkway (SR 2790) in Browns Summit is planned to begin in 2020 with a scheduled completion in 2023, known as STIP Number R-4707, with an estimated cost of $44.1 million. NCDOT is currently upgrading exit signage for the current US 29 freeway stretch situated north of NC 14 in Reidsville. I-785 is now funded and committed project by NCDOT from its current ending point at exit 14 to US 29/US 158 exit 153 at the northernmost Reidsville city limits. While fully funded, the project is divided into schedule to begin in 2020 with two interchanges located within Guilford and Rockingham counties.

## Exit list

| State | County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
| North Carolina | Guilford | Greensboro | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | I-85 south – Charlotte | Continuation as I-85 |
| North Carolina | Guilford | Greensboro | 0.0 | 0.0 | 21 | I-40 / I-85 north / I-840 ends – Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh | East end of I-840 |
| North Carolina | Guilford | Greensboro | 2.9 | 4.7 | 18 | US 70 (Burlington Road) / To Wendover Avenue | |
| North Carolina | Guilford | Greensboro | 3.8 | 6.1 | 17 | Huffine Mill Road | |
| North Carolina | Guilford | Greensboro | | | 16 | Cone Boulevard | Future interchange (unfunded) |
| North Carolina | Guilford | Greensboro | 7.1 | 11.4 | 14 | I-840 west / US 29 – Greensboro, Danville | West end of I-840; current northern terminus of I-785 |
| North Carolina | Guilford | ​ | | | 136 | Hicone Road | Existing interchange of US 29; rebuilt to interstate standards |
| North Carolina | Guilford | Browns Summit | | | 137 | Reedy Fork Parkway | Existing interchange of US 29; rebuilt to interstate standards |
| North Carolina | Guilford | ​ | | | | NC 150 – Browns Summit | Existing interchanges of US 29 (upgrade to interstate standards, scheduled 8-8-26) |
| North Carolina | Guilford | ​ | | | | Benaja Road | Existing interchanges of US 29 (upgrade to interstate standards, scheduled 8-8-26) |
| North Carolina | Rockingham | ​ | | | 145 | US 29 Bus. north | Existing interchange of US 29; upgraded to interstate standards |
| North Carolina | Rockingham | Reidsville | | | 149 | To US 158 west / NC 87 (Freeway Drive) – Reidsville, Burlington | Already at Interstate Standards |
| North Carolina | Rockingham | Reidsville | | | 150 | Barnes Street – Reidsville Downtown | Existing interchanges of US 29; upgraded to interstate standards |
| North Carolina | Rockingham | ​ | | | 153 | US 158 / NC 14 (Freeway Drive) – Reidsville, Eden, Yanceyville | Existing interchanges of US 29; upgraded to interstate standards |
| North Carolina | Rockingham | ​ | | | 156 | Narrow Gauge Road | Existing interchanges of US 29 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate) |
| North Carolina | Rockingham | ​ | | | 159 | US 29 Bus. south to NC 87 north | Existing interchanges of US 29 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate) |
| North Carolina | Rockingham | Ruffin | | | 161 | Mayfield Road | Existing interchanges of US 29 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate) |
| North Carolina | Caswell | ​ | | | 165 | Law Road | Existing interchanges of US 29 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate) |
| North Carolina | Caswell | ​ | | | 167 | NC 700 (Shady Grove Road) – Eden | Existing interchanges of US 29 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate) |
| North Carolina | Caswell | ​ | | | 169 | US 58 west / US 29 Bus. north – Danville, Martinsville | Existing interchanges of US 29 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate) |
| | | | | | North Carolina–Virginia state line | North Carolina–Virginia state line | North Carolina–Virginia state line |
| Virginia | City of Danville | City of Danville | | | | Corning Drive | Existing interchanges of US 29 / US 58 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate) |
| Virginia | City of Danville | City of Danville | | | | Elizabeth Street Extended | Existing interchanges of US 29 / US 58 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate) |
| Virginia | City of Danville | City of Danville | | | | SR 86 (Main Street) – Yanceyville, Chapel Hill | Existing interchanges of US 29 / US 58 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate) |
| Virginia | City of Danville | City of Danville | | | | Goodyear Boulevard | Existing interchanges of US 29 / US 58 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate) |
| Virginia | City of Danville | City of Danville | | | | River Park Drive – Dan Daniel Memorial Park | Existing interchanges of US 29 / US 58 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate) |
| Virginia | City of Danville | City of Danville | | | | US 58 east / US 360 / US 58 Bus. west – South Boston, Danville | Existing interchanges of US 29 / US 58 (built to interstate standards, signed future due to no connection to interstate) |
| Virginia | City of Danville | City of Danville | | | — | US 29 north – Lynchburg | Continuation as US 29 |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Unopened ||||||||