I-785 begins at the interchange of I-40/I-85. Heading north, it connects with US Highway 70 (US 70) before ending at its current northern terminus at US 29. The entire route is in 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 the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) from its current ending point at exit 14 to US 29/US 158 exit 153 at the northernmost Reidsville city limits.[2] While fully funded, the project is divided into schedule to begin in 2020 with two interchanges located within Guilford and Rockingham counties.[3] In Virginia, State Route 785 (SR 785) is the unsigned interim route number until I-785 is built to Interstate standards.
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 (and has been given the interim designation SR 785), 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 NCDOT 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.[4][5]
On July 31, 2013, NCDOT got approval from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to cosign the first section of I-785 with I-840 in eastern Guilford County officially establishing I-785 in North Carolina.[6]
The next section of I-785 opened on December 6, 2017, with hidden concurrency of I-840. With an estimated cost of $119 million (equivalent to $146 million in 2023[7]), the 5.5-mile (8.9 km) section, completing the eastern segment of the Greensboro Urban Loop, goes from US 70 (Burlington Road) to US 29, with an interchange at Huffine Mill Road.[8][9][10][11] On September 13, 2019, a Reidsville Transportation Forum was held where it was announced I-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 northernmost Reidsville city limits.[12] Many officials from the North Carolina General Assembly and NCDOT presented at the forum, with the Reidsville Chamber of Commerce sharing quotes from these officials afterward regarding I-785.[12][13] The construction of I-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 metropolitan area connecting with the Reidsville US 158 corridor.[14]
Future
Following the Greensboro Urban Loop completion, NCDOT and Greensboro DOT plan to extend Cone Boulevard (SR 2565) toward 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[when?], as it is expected to wait for the completion of the Greensboro Urban Loop.[15]
The state has allocated funding as of September 2019 to upgrade US 29 north of I-785 to the US 158/North Carolina Highway 14 (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.[16] Roadway improvement and interchange upgrades to Summit Avenue (SR 2526) and Reedy Fork Parkway (SR 2790) 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.[17] NCDOT is currently upgrading exit signage for the current US 29 freeway stretch situated north of NC 14 in Reidsville. I-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 northernmost Reidsville city limits.[2] While fully funded, the project is divided into schedule to begin in 2020 with two interchanges located within Guilford and Rockingham counties.[3]
^ ab"The City of Reidsville Market Transportation Project Forum". Rockingham Update. September 13, 2019. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2022. Confirmation that Interstate 785 is fully funded and scheduled | Question by Chamber President starts at minute mark 15:33 | Answer by NCDOT Division Engineer starts at minute mark 16:01 AND he refers to it at minute mark 17:31 "it is a committed project" and minute mark 18:49
^"I-785 Box Score". Reidsville Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
^"The City of Reidsville Market Transportation Project Forum". Rockingham Update. September 13, 2019. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2022. Reidsville is the Transportation and Commercial Center of our Region | Question by Chamber President starts at minute mark 29:05 | Reidsville 158 Corridor | Question by Chamber President starts at minute mark 31:39 | Quote by NCDOT Division Engineer comment at minute mark 32:10 | Harrison Street widening project | Being designed to bring people from Wentworth to shop in Reidsville as the commercial market node AND minute mark 31:20 talks about a third of the city's geography is in the Rockingham High School district so the City of Reidsville really has two high schools (and makes up a significant & near majority of RCHS attendance) so it is important for the City to ensure our parents/students can get to this school that is currently only accessible with two lanes country roads (that although they only become congested when school is beginning or ending is the time the City Citizens need it to flow better). The same need applies to the City's third public system high school which is the Rockingham Community College Early High School.
