Interstate 73 in Virginia
Encyclopedia
Interstate 73 is an interstate currently in North Carolina
with a proposed extension from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
to Grayling, Michigan
passing through the states of South Carolina
, North Carolina
, Virginia
, West Virginia
, Ohio
, and Michigan
.
. U.S. 220 is currently a rural four-lane highway with many safety issues. As such, Virginia has decided to have I-73 immediately diverge from U.S. 220 upon entering the state from North Carolina and travel around the east side of Martinsville
, with U.S. 220 as a freeway around the west side of Martinsville. The two will meet briefly south of Rocky Mount. I-73 will continue its northbound journey paralleling US 220 to the east until they converge south of Roanoke. At that point, I-73 and U.S. 220 will run concurrent to Interstate 581
, which I-73 will follow to I-81. I-73 Location Study
If I-73 is extended northward, from Roanoke, it will turn southwest on I-81, running concurrent to east of Blacksburg
, and then using the Smart Road to Blacksburg. The rest of the way to West Virginia will be an upgrade of U.S. 460
, Corridor Q of the Appalachian Development Highway System
.
Interestingly, I-73/81 will be the second wrong-way concurrency in Virginia on I-81, the first being I-77
in Wytheville
to the south. (A future section of I-74
is planned to overlap I-77 for its entire distance in Virginia, including the section shared with I-81.)
worked on reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Act, the Bluefield-to-Huntington Highway Association wanted an interstate highway, which would be called Interstate 73, to run from Detroit
to Charleston, South Carolina
. In West Virginia
, the highway would run alongside U.S. Highway 52
, which was only two lanes but was still being used to transport coal
from mines to barges on the Ohio River
. The influential Robert Byrd
, at the time West Virginia's senior senator, chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee, but even Byrd said funding for such a highway would be hard to find. In North Carolina, Marc Bush of the Greensboro Area Chamber of Commerce admitted the plan would benefit his area, but said it was not a priority.
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) defined High Priority Corridor 5, the "I-73/74 North-South Corridor
" from Charleston, South Carolina
, through Winston-Salem, North Carolina
, to Portsmouth, Ohio
, to Cincinnati, Ohio
, and Detroit, Michigan
." This would provide for a single corridor from Charleston, splitting at Portsmouth, with I-74 turning west to its current east end in Cincinnati, and I-73 continuing north to Detroit.
In North Carolina, any new construction would require more money than the state had available, but Walter C. Sprouse Jr., executive director of the Randolph County
Economic Development Corporation pointed out that most of the route of I-73 included roads already scheduled for improvements which would make them good enough for interstate designation. A connector between Interstate 77
and U.S. 52 at Mt. Airy
was planned, and U.S. 52 from Mt. Airy to Winston-Salem and U.S. 311 from Winston-Salem to High Point
were four-lane divided highways. A U.S. 311 bypass of High Point was planned, which would eventually connect to U.S. 220 at Randleman. I-73 would follow U.S. 220 to Rockingham. Another possibility was following Interstate 40
from Winston-Salem to Greensboro. In Winston-Salem, congestion on U.S. 52 was expected to be a problem. The route through High Point was approved in May 1993.
However, by November of that year, an organization called Job Link, made up of business leaders from northern North Carolina and southern Virginia, wanted a major highway to connect Roanoke
with the Greensboro area. It could be I-73, the group said, but did not have to be. In April 1995, John Warner
, who chaired the Senate
subcommittee which would select the route of I-73, announced his support for the Job Link proposal. This distressed Winston-Salem officials who were counting on I-73, though Greensboro had never publicly sought the road. But an aide to U. S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth
said the 1991 law authorizing I-73 required the road to go through Winston-Salem. Faircloth got around this requirement, though, by asking Warner to call the highway to Winston-Salem Interstate 74. In May, Warner announced plans to propose legislation that made the plan for two interstates official.
The National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 added a branch from Toledo, Ohio
to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
via the U.S. Route 223
and U.S. Route 127
corridors. (At the time, US 127 north of Lansing was part of US 27
.) It also gave details for the alignments in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. I-73 and I-74 were to split near Bluefield, West Virginia
, joining again between Randleman, North Carolina
and Rockingham, North Carolina
; both would end at Charleston. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
(AASHTO) approved the sections of I-73 and I-74 south of Interstate 81
in Virginia (with I-74 ending at I-73 near Myrtle Beach) on July 25, 1996, allowing for them to be marked once built to Interstate standards and connected to other Interstate routes. The final major change came with the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
of 1998 (TEA-21), when both routes were truncated to Georgetown, South Carolina
.
North Carolina took the lead in signing highways as I-73 following AASHTO's approval in 1997 and since has approved construction projects to build new sections of the Interstate Highway. Currently two new sections of what will be I-73 are being completed, the southwestern part of the Greensboro Urban Loop around Greensboro, North Carolina
(referred to above) and the US 220 Bypass of Ellerbe, south of Asheboro, North Carolina
. The only other progress in building I-73 can be seen in Virginia and South Carolina. In 2005 Virginia completed an environmental impact statement for its recommended route for I-73 from I-81 in Roanoke to the North Carolina border. The Federal Highway Administration approved the EIS report in April 2007. Virginia can now go ahead and draw up plans to construct the highway and proceed to build it once funds are obtained. South Carolina also has shown recent interest in building its section of I-73 with a corridor selected for the route from I-95 to Myrtle Beach in 2006 and a final decision on how the highway should be routed north of I-95 to the NC border in July 2007. In January 2006 the South Carolina state legislature introduced bills to construct Interstate 73 as a toll highway. It is hoped a guaranteed stream of revenue will allow it to build its section of I-73 within 10 years. The FHWA approved South Carolina's proposal on August 10, 2007.
Ohio and Michigan both abandoned further environmental studies on their portions of I-73. It is important to note that most of the I-73 corridor in both of these states follows existing freeways or highways scheduled to be upgraded to freeways under plans that predate I-73.
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
with a proposed extension from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
to Grayling, Michigan
Grayling, Michigan
Grayling is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Crawford County. The population was 1,952 at the 2000 census. Grayling takes its name from the Grayling fish that was once prevalent in its lakes and streams....
passing through the states of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
Route description
In Virginia, I-73 will continue north from the state line parallel to the U.S. 220 corridor all the way to RoanokeRoanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
. U.S. 220 is currently a rural four-lane highway with many safety issues. As such, Virginia has decided to have I-73 immediately diverge from U.S. 220 upon entering the state from North Carolina and travel around the east side of Martinsville
Martinsville, Virginia
Martinsville is an independent city which is surrounded by Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,821 in 2010. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes...
, with U.S. 220 as a freeway around the west side of Martinsville. The two will meet briefly south of Rocky Mount. I-73 will continue its northbound journey paralleling US 220 to the east until they converge south of Roanoke. At that point, I-73 and U.S. 220 will run concurrent to Interstate 581
Interstate 581
Interstate 581 is a spur off Interstate 81 into Roanoke, Virginia, United States, completely overlapping U.S. Route 220.-Route description:...
, which I-73 will follow to I-81. I-73 Location Study
If I-73 is extended northward, from Roanoke, it will turn southwest on I-81, running concurrent to east of Blacksburg
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
, and then using the Smart Road to Blacksburg. The rest of the way to West Virginia will be an upgrade of U.S. 460
U.S. Route 460
U.S. Route 460 is a spur of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles from Norfolk, Virginia at U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky at U.S. Route 60. It passes through the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky...
, Corridor Q of the Appalachian Development Highway System
Appalachian Development Highway System
The Appalachian Development Highway System is part of the Appalachian Regional Commission in the United States. See: .-History:...
.
Interestingly, I-73/81 will be the second wrong-way concurrency in Virginia on I-81, the first being I-77
Interstate 77 in Virginia
In the U.S. state of Virginia, Interstate 77 is a north–south along the U.S. Route 52 corridor, serving Hillsville, Wytheville, and Bland...
in Wytheville
Wytheville, Virginia
Wytheville is a town in Wythe County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,211 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wythe County. The town is home to a Chautauqua Festival, held the third weekend in June every year since 1985...
to the south. (A future section of I-74
Interstate 74
Interstate 74 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an intersection with Interstate 80 in Davenport, Iowa; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an intersection with Interstate 75 in Cincinnati, Ohio...
is planned to overlap I-77 for its entire distance in Virginia, including the section shared with I-81.)
History
In 1991, as CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
worked on reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Act, the Bluefield-to-Huntington Highway Association wanted an interstate highway, which would be called Interstate 73, to run from Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
to Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. In West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, the highway would run alongside U.S. Highway 52
U.S. Route 52
U.S. Route 52 is a United States highway that runs across the northern, eastern and southeastern regions of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S...
, which was only two lanes but was still being used to transport coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
from mines to barges on the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. The influential Robert Byrd
Robert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959 and as a U.S. Senator from 1959 to 2010...
, at the time West Virginia's senior senator, chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee, but even Byrd said funding for such a highway would be hard to find. In North Carolina, Marc Bush of the Greensboro Area Chamber of Commerce admitted the plan would benefit his area, but said it was not a priority.
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) defined High Priority Corridor 5, the "I-73/74 North-South Corridor
I-73/74 North-South Corridor
The I-73/74 North–South Corridor is a High Priority Corridor on the National Highway System in the United States. It is defined by federal law to run from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to Detroit, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan....
" from Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, through Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
, to Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Scioto County. The municipality is located on the northern banks of the Ohio River and east of the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census.-Foundation:...
, to Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, and Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
." This would provide for a single corridor from Charleston, splitting at Portsmouth, with I-74 turning west to its current east end in Cincinnati, and I-73 continuing north to Detroit.
In North Carolina, any new construction would require more money than the state had available, but Walter C. Sprouse Jr., executive director of the Randolph County
Randolph County, North Carolina
-Notable people:*Naomi Wise, murder victim*Richard Petty - Nascar driver.*Lee Petty - Nascar pioneer. Richard Petty's father.*Kyle Petty - Nascar driver. Son of Richard Petty*Adam Petty - Nascar driver. Kyle Petty's son...
Economic Development Corporation pointed out that most of the route of I-73 included roads already scheduled for improvements which would make them good enough for interstate designation. A connector between Interstate 77
Interstate 77
Interstate 77 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the old U.S...
and U.S. 52 at Mt. Airy
Mount Airy, North Carolina
Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,388.-History:Mount Airy was settled in the 1750s as a stagecoach stop on the road between Winston-Salem and Galax, Virginia. It was named for a nearby plantation...
was planned, and U.S. 52 from Mt. Airy to Winston-Salem and U.S. 311 from Winston-Salem to High Point
High Point, North Carolina
High Point is a city located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina. As of 2010 the city had a total population of 104,371, according to the US Census Bureau. High Point is currently the eighth-largest municipality in North Carolina....
were four-lane divided highways. A U.S. 311 bypass of High Point was planned, which would eventually connect to U.S. 220 at Randleman. I-73 would follow U.S. 220 to Rockingham. Another possibility was following Interstate 40
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 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...
from Winston-Salem to Greensboro. In Winston-Salem, congestion on U.S. 52 was expected to be a problem. The route through High Point was approved in May 1993.
However, by November of that year, an organization called Job Link, made up of business leaders from northern North Carolina and southern Virginia, wanted a major highway to connect Roanoke
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
with the Greensboro area. It could be I-73, the group said, but did not have to be. In April 1995, John Warner
John Warner
John William Warner, KBE is an American Republican politician who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Senator from Virginia from January 2, 1979, to January 3, 2009...
, who chaired the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
subcommittee which would select the route of I-73, announced his support for the Job Link proposal. This distressed Winston-Salem officials who were counting on I-73, though Greensboro had never publicly sought the road. But an aide to U. S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth
Lauch Faircloth
Duncan McLauchlin "Lauch" Faircloth , served one term as a Republican U.S. Senator from North Carolina.Before his Senate service, Faircloth was a prominent and wealthy hog farmer...
said the 1991 law authorizing I-73 required the road to go through Winston-Salem. Faircloth got around this requirement, though, by asking Warner to call the highway to Winston-Salem Interstate 74. In May, Warner announced plans to propose legislation that made the plan for two interstates official.
The National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 added a branch from Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
via the U.S. Route 223
U.S. Route 223
US Route 223 or US Highway 223 is a diagonal US Highway lying in the US states of Michigan and Ohio. The southern most section is completely concurrent with the US 23 freeway, including all of the Ohio segment. It connects US 23 in the south near Toledo, Ohio with US 127 and...
and U.S. Route 127
U.S. Route 127
U.S. Route 127 is a long north–south United States highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 near Grayling, Michigan...
corridors. (At the time, US 127 north of Lansing was part of US 27
U.S. Route 27
U.S. Route 27 is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 in Fort Wayne, Indiana...
.) It also gave details for the alignments in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. I-73 and I-74 were to split near Bluefield, West Virginia
Bluefield, West Virginia
Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 10,447 at the 2010 census. It is also the core city of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342.-Geography & Climate:...
, joining again between Randleman, North Carolina
Randleman, North Carolina
Randleman is a city in Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,557 at the 2000 census. It is the home of NASCAR's Petty family, the Richard Petty Museum, and the Victory Junction Gang Camp.-Geography:...
and Rockingham, North Carolina
Rockingham, North Carolina
Rockingham is a city in Richmond County, North Carolina, United States named after the Marquis of Rockingham. The population was 9,672 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Richmond County...
; both would end at Charleston. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
AASHTO, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols and guidelines which are used in highway design and construction throughout the United States...
(AASHTO) approved the sections of I-73 and I-74 south of Interstate 81
Interstate 81
Interstate 81 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island at the Canadian border, where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Highway 401, the main freeway...
in Virginia (with I-74 ending at I-73 near Myrtle Beach) on July 25, 1996, allowing for them to be marked once built to Interstate standards and connected to other Interstate routes. The final major change came with the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century was enacted June 9, 1998, as Public Law 105-178. TEA-21 authorized the Federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit for the 6-year period 1998-2003...
of 1998 (TEA-21), when both routes were truncated to Georgetown, South Carolina
Georgetown, South Carolina
Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, in the Low Country. Located on Winyah Bay at the confluence of the Great Pee Dee River, Waccamaw River, and Sampit River, Georgetown is the second largest seaport in South Carolina,...
.
North Carolina took the lead in signing highways as I-73 following AASHTO's approval in 1997 and since has approved construction projects to build new sections of the Interstate Highway. Currently two new sections of what will be I-73 are being completed, the southwestern part of the Greensboro Urban Loop around Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
(referred to above) and the US 220 Bypass of Ellerbe, south of Asheboro, North Carolina
Asheboro, North Carolina
Asheboro is a city in Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 21,672 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randolph County, and is the home of the state-owned North Carolina Zoo.-Geography:...
. The only other progress in building I-73 can be seen in Virginia and South Carolina. In 2005 Virginia completed an environmental impact statement for its recommended route for I-73 from I-81 in Roanoke to the North Carolina border. The Federal Highway Administration approved the EIS report in April 2007. Virginia can now go ahead and draw up plans to construct the highway and proceed to build it once funds are obtained. South Carolina also has shown recent interest in building its section of I-73 with a corridor selected for the route from I-95 to Myrtle Beach in 2006 and a final decision on how the highway should be routed north of I-95 to the NC border in July 2007. In January 2006 the South Carolina state legislature introduced bills to construct Interstate 73 as a toll highway. It is hoped a guaranteed stream of revenue will allow it to build its section of I-73 within 10 years. The FHWA approved South Carolina's proposal on August 10, 2007.
Ohio and Michigan both abandoned further environmental studies on their portions of I-73. It is important to note that most of the I-73 corridor in both of these states follows existing freeways or highways scheduled to be upgraded to freeways under plans that predate I-73.