Interstate 85 Business (North Carolina)
Interstate 85 Business in the U.S. state of North Carolina was a 29.8-mile-long (48.0 km) business loop of Interstate 85 (I-85) which served several cities in the Piedmont Triad. At its peak, the highway, which was commonly referred to by locals as Business 85, was 43.3 miles (69.7 km) long.
I-40/I-85 Bus overhead sign
Interstate 85 in North Carolina
Interstate 85 (I-85) is an Interstate Highway that runs from Montgomery, Alabama, to Petersburg, Virginia. In North Carolina, I-85 travels 231.23 miles (372.13 km) from the South Carolina state line near Grover to the Virginia state line near Wise. Despite being signed north–south, I-85 physically travels in a southwest–northeast direction across the state. The major landscapes traversed by I-85 include urban and rural pockets of the Piedmont region, with views of Kings Pinnacle seen from its southernmost stretch. The Interstate Highway connects the three most populous metropolitan areas of North Carolina: the Charlotte metropolitan area, Piedmont Triad, and Research Triangle, as well as nine of the 20 largest municipalities in the state. Outside of North Carolina, I-85 connects the state with Richmond, Virginia, to the north and Upstate South Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia, to the south. I-85 parallels several US Highways including US Highway 29 (US 29) between South Carolina and Greensboro, US 70 between Greensboro and Durham, US 15 between Durham and Oxford, and US 1 between Henderson and Virginia.
I-85 northbound at the exit for US 29/NC 49 in Charlotte
I-85 southbound in Concord near the I-485 interchange
I-85 southbound at exit 113 for I-74 and NC 62
I-85 northbound passing through Durham