I-785 begins at the interchange of I-40/I-85. Heading north, it connects with U.S. Route 70 before ending at its current northern terminus at US 29. The entire route is in a hidden 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 NCDOT from its current ending point at Exit 14 to US 29/US 158 Exit 153 at the northern most ReidsvilleCity 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, 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, 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 the North Carolina Department of Transportation 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 to co-sign 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, the section, completing the eastern segment of the Greensboro Urban Loop, goes from US 70 to US 29, with an interchange at Huffine Mill Road. On September 13th 2019, a Reidsville Transportation Forum was held where it was announced Interstate 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 northern most Reidsville City Limits. Many officials from the State of NC General Assembly and DOT presented at the forum, with the Reidsville Chamber of Commerce sharing quotes from these officials afterwards regarding Interstate 785.. The construction of Interstate 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 Metro area connecting with the Reidsville Route 158 Corridor.
Future
Once the entire Greensboro Urban Loop is completed, NCDOT and Greensboro DOT plan to extend Cone Boulevard towards 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 now allocated funding as of September 2019 to upgrade US 29 north of I-785 to the US 158/ 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 and Reedy Fork Parkway 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. Interstate 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 northern most 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.
