page_title: Interstate 40
section_title: North Carolina
hierarchical_section_title: Interstate 40 / Route description / North Carolina
caption_attribution_description: Eastern start of I-40 in Wilmington, North Carolina.
context_page_description: Interstate 40 is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States generally north of I-10, I-20 and I-30 but south of I-70. The western end is at I-15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, behind I-80 and I-90. Much of the western part of I-40, from Oklahoma City to Barstow parallels or overlays the historic US 66, east of Oklahoma City the route generally parallels US 64 and US 70. I-40 runs through or near many major cities including Albuquerque, New Mexico; Amarillo, Texas; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; Nashville, Tennessee; Knoxville, Tennessee; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Raleigh, North Carolina.
context_section_description: In North Carolina, I-40 travels 421 miles (678 km). It enters the state as a winding mountain freeway through the Great Smoky Mountains which frequently closes due to landslides and weather conditions. It enters the state on a mostly north–south alignment, turning to a more east–west alignment upon merging with US 74 at the eastern terminus of the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway. From there the highway passes through Asheville, Hickory, and Statesville before reaching the Piedmont Triad. Just east of the Triad city of Greensboro, North Carolina it merges with I-85 and the two roads split again just west of the Research Triangle area, passing through Durham and Raleigh. From the Triangle to its eastern terminus in Wilmington, it once again takes a more north–south alignment.
  A standard distance sign exists near the start of the westbound section of I-40 in Wilmington that indicates the distance to Barstow, California as 2,554 miles (4,110 km). Although NCDOT has stated it would not be replaced after frequent thefts, as of August 15, 2013, the sign is present. However, between 2013 and 2020, the sign and base have been removed, replaced by a sign proclaiming the stretch as the Michael Jordan Freeway.
caption: Beginning of I-40 west, Wilmington
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS REBEL T3", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2014:02:19 11:23:32", "Image Artist": "FormulaNone", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "Credit me and link for usage...Thank you.", "Image ExifOffset": "348", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9040", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "12624", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/500", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Shutter Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:02:19 11:23:32", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:02:19 11:23:32", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "9", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "55", "EXIF SubSecTime": "61", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "61", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "61", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2400", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1600", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "8720", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "854400/181", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "569600/119", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "Josh Lintz", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "172063060404", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[18, 55, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "0000749fba"}