Editing Interstate 73 (section)

==History==
In 1979, K.A. Ammar, a businessman from [[Bluefield, West Virginia]], started the Bluefield-to-Huntington Highway Association in order to widen [[U.S. Route 52|US&nbsp;52]], a very dangerous two-lane road used to transport [[coal]] from mines to barges on the [[Ohio River]]. With coal employment in decline and the desire to bring in other businesses, Ammar worked to get the road improved. In 1989, [[Bluefield State College]] Professor John Sage learned of plans to add more Interstate Highways. Ammar and Sage came up with the idea for a road that would be called I-73, to run from [[Detroit, Michigan]], to [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. Ammar and others promoted the idea to the people of [[Portsmouth, Ohio]], and [[Myrtle Beach, South Carolina]].<ref>{{cite news |first = Tony |last = Bartelme |title = Birth of an Interstate: How a Savvy Group of West Virginians Dreamed up I-73 |work = [[Post and Courier]] |location = Charleston, South Carolina |date = September 14, 1997 |page = A1 |issn = 1061-5105 }}</ref>

In 1991, as [[United States Congress|Congress]] worked on reauthorization of the [[Surface Transportation Act]], the people from West Virginia worked to get I-73 approved; the highway would run alongside US&nbsp;52. 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.<ref>{{cite news |first = Jack |last = Scism |title = New Interstates Likely Impossible Dream |work = News & Record |location = Greensboro, North Carolina |date = June 9, 1991 |page = E1 |issn = 0747-1858 }}</ref>

The [[Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991]] (ISTEA) defined '''High Priority Corridor&nbsp;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 [[Interstate 74|I-74]] turning west to its current east end in Cincinnati, and I-73 continuing north to Detroit.<ref>{{cite web |first1 = Stefan |last1 = Natzke |first2 = Mike |last2 = Neathery |first3 = Kevin |last3 = Adderly |date = June 18, 2012 |title = High Priority Corridors |url = https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/high_priority_corridors/ |work = National Highway System |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |access-date = August 26, 2012 }}</ref>

[[File:I73-I74Begin-Ellerbe.jpg|thumb|right|200px|I-73/I-74 beginning near Ellerbe, North Carolina in 2014]]
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, North Carolina|Randolph County]] Economic Development Corporation, pointed out that most of the route of I-73 included roads already scheduled for improvements that would make them good enough for interstate designation. A connector between [[Interstate 77|I-77]] and US&nbsp;52 at [[Mount Airy, North Carolina|Mount Airy]] was planned, and US&nbsp;52 from Mount Airy to Winston-Salem and [[U.S. Route 311|US&nbsp;311]] from Winston-Salem to [[High Point, North Carolina|High Point]] were four-lane divided highways. A US&nbsp;311 bypass of High Point was planned, which would eventually connect to US&nbsp;220 at [[Randleman, North Carolina|Randleman]]. I-73 would follow US&nbsp;220 to [[Rockingham, North Carolina|Rockingham]]. Another possibility was following [[Interstate 40|I-40]] from Winston-Salem to Greensboro. Congestion on US 52 in Winston-Salem was anticipated to be an issue.<ref>{{cite news |first = Jack |last = Scism |title = Coming Soon—to a Highway Near You—I-73 |work = News & Record |location = Greensboro, North Carolina |date = January 3, 1993 |page = E1 |issn = 0747-1858 }}</ref> The route through High Point was approved in May 1993.<ref>{{cite news |first = Kelly |last = Thompson |title = Interstate to Run Through Triad Detroit to Charleston, SC |work = News & Record |location = Greensboro, North Carolina |date = May 15, 1993 |page = B2 |issn = 0747-1858 }}</ref>

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, Virginia|Roanoke]] with the Greensboro area. It could be I-73, the group said, but did not have to be.<ref>{{cite news |first = Helen |last = Lounsbury |title = Road to Roanoke Vital, Group Says Lobbying for New Interstate |work = News & Record |location = Greensboro, North Carolina |date = November 11, 1993 |page = B3 |issn = 0747-1858 }}</ref> In April 1995, [[John Warner]], who chaired the [[United States Senate|Senate]] subcommittee that 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 US Senator [[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 I-74.<ref>{{cite news |first = Justin |last = Catanoso |title = New Proposal for I-73 Stirs Triad Rivalry |work = News & Record |location = Greensboro, North Carolina |date = April 14, 1995 |page = B1 |issn = 0747-1858 }}</ref> In May, Warner announced plans to propose legislation that made the plan for two Interstates official.<ref>{{cite news |first = Justin |last = Catanoso |title = New Interstates May Cross Triad |work = News & Record |location = Greensboro, North Carolina |date = May 2, 1995 |page = A1 |issn = 0747-1858 }}</ref>

The [[National Highway System (United States)|National Highway System]] Designation Act of 1995 added a branch from [[Toledo, Ohio]], to [[Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan]], via the [[U.S. Route 223|US&nbsp;223]] and [[U.S. Route 127 in Michigan|US&nbsp;127]] corridors. (At the time, US&nbsp;127 north of [[Lansing, Michigan|Lansing]] was part of [[U.S. Route 27 in Michigan|US&nbsp;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, joining again between Randleman and Rockingham; 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|I-81]] in Virginia (with I-74 to end 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 Highways. 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 and since has finished and approved construction projects to build new sections of the Interstate Highway. {{As of|2018}}, the route is signed along {{convert|101.1|mi|km}} of freeway from the intersection of US&nbsp;220 and [[North Carolina Highway 68|NC&nbsp;68]] north of Greensboro to {{Convert|3|mi|km|spell=in}} south of [[Ellerbe, North Carolina|Ellerbe]] and an additional {{convert|9|mi|km|spell=in}} is complete but not signed south of Rockingham. The only other progress in building I-73 can be seen in Virginia and South Carolina. In 2005, Virginia completed an [[environmental impact statement]] (EIS) for its recommended route for I-73 from I-81 in Roanoke to the North Carolina border. The [[Federal Highway Administration]] (FHWA) approved the EIS report in April 2007. Virginia can now go ahead to 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 North Carolina border in July 2007. In January 2006, the South Carolina state legislature introduced bills to construct I-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&nbsp;years. The FHWA approved South Carolina's proposal on August 10, 2007.<ref>{{cite news |last = Fuller |first = Kerry Marshall |title = Tolling on I-73 Gains Federal Approval |work = [[The Sun News]] |location = Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |date = August 11, 2007 |page = A1 }}</ref>

On January 9, 2019, it was announced that the [[North Carolina Department of Transportation]]'s (NCDOT) State Transportation Improvement Program for 2020 to 2029 included connecting I-73 with [[U.S. Route 74 in North Carolina|US&nbsp;74]] six years sooner than planned.<ref>{{cite news |title = Bypass project accelerated: Bypass project around Rockingham accelerated from 2026 to 2020 |last = Stone |first = Gavin |work = Richmond County Daily Journal |location = Rockingham, North Carolina |date = January 9, 2019 }}</ref> A $146.1-million contract was awarded for the {{Convert|7.2|mi|km}} of four-lane freeway with "substantial completion" by late 2023.<ref>{{cite news |title = NCDOT awards contract for Rockingham bypass |work = Richmond County Daily Journal |location = Rockingham, North Carolina |date = November 6, 2019 }}</ref>{{Update after|2023}}

Ohio and Michigan both abandoned further environmental studies on their portions of I-73. 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.