Interstate 42
I-42 highlighted in red; future segments in blue; unbuilt future segments in orange
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length	31.5 mi[1][2] (50.7 km)
Existed	September 16, 2024[3]–present
Tourist routes	Clayton Bypass Scenic Byway
NHS	Entire route
Western segment
Length	9.8 mi[1] (15.8 km)
West end	I-40 / NC 540 near Garner
East end	US 70 / US 70 Bus. near Clayton
Eastern segment
Length	21.7 mi[2] (34.9 km)
West end	US 70 in Goldsboro
Major intersections	I-795 in Goldsboro US 117 in Goldsboro US 13 in Goldsboro
East end	US 70 in La Grange
Location
Country	United States
States	North Carolina
Counties	NC: Wake, Johnston, Wayne, Lenoir
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future
← NC 41 NC → NC 42

Interstate 42 (I-42) is a partially completed Interstate Highway in the US state of North Carolina, currently existing in two separate segments in the eastern part of the state, totaling up to 31.5 miles (50.7 km). Both segments are entirely concurrent with US 70. The completed and signed segments of I-42 currently run from I-40 eastwards along the 9.8-mile (15.8 km) Clayton Bypass to an interchange with Business US 70 southeast of Clayton. The Interstate resumes again along the Goldsboro Bypass, running for 21.7 miles (34.9 km) north of Goldsboro, ending again at US 70. The Interstate eventually will run from I-40 to Morehead City, where it will terminate along the Northern Carteret Bypass, north of Beaufort. I-42 also overlaps the Clayton Bypass Scenic Byway, from I-40 to US 70 Bus.^[4]

The Clayton Bypass is a four-lane freeway that is 9.8 miles (15.8 km) in length south of Clayton. Starting west of Clayton at a turbine interchange with I-40 and I-540 on the Wake–Johnston county line, it continues southeast and connects with NC 42 and Ranch Road, before reaching an interchange with US 70/US 70 Bus., where US 70 merges into the through traffic. Mile markers along the route are based on I-42 and the speed limit is 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) throughout.

The Goldsboro Bypass is a four-lane freeway that is 21.7 miles (34.9 km) in length north of Goldsboro, connecting with US 70 at both ends. Starting west of Goldsboro, it splits off from US 70, which continues on towards Goldsboro. In a northeasterly direction, it connects with NC 581, I-795 and US 117, where it turns southeasterly. After connecting with Wayne Memorial Drive, US 13, and Parkstown Road, it merges back as the through traffic with US 70 near La Grange. Mile markers along the route are based on I-42 and the speed limit is 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) throughout. The bypass serves both as a strategic transportation corridor for North Carolina and part of the Strategic Highway Network (STRAHNET).^[5]

A multi-county project, also known as the "US 70 Corridor" or "Super 70", is a collection of several projects along US 70 to improve passenger and freight movement eventually leading to the establishment of Interstate 42 (I-42),^[6] which is the US Department of Transportation's High Priority Corridor #82.^[7] The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), signed by then President Barack Obama on December 14, 2015, added the US 70 corridor between Garner and Morehead City to the Interstate system as a future Interstate. Justification for the designation included better connections with Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, the North Carolina Global Transpark, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and the Port of Morehead City with the rest of state and the eastern seaboard.^{[8][9][10][11]} With no specified number codified in the act, the Regional Transportation Alliance (RTA) expected this corridor to be called Interstate 46 (I-46) or another suitable designation, and the US Highway 70 Corridor Commission recommended Interstate 50 (I-50).^[12][13] On March 30, 2016, Governor Pat McCrory and various officials unveiled "Future Interstate" signage along the corridor.^[14]

For the Spring 2016 AASHTO Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering, NCDOT proposed Interstate 36 (I-36) for this route since there were no other routes with that number in the state.^[15] However, on May 24, 2016, AASHTO assigned Interstate 42 for the route.^[16] The entire project has a budgeted cost (as of late 2018) of about $1.3 billion, and about 29 miles still without a budget. Some projects like the Clayton and Goldsboro bypasses are completed, while others have yet to be scheduled.^[17][18]

In October 2021, AASHTO approved two segments of I-42, the 10-mile (16 km) Clayton Bypass and the 21.7-mile (34.9 km) Goldsboro Bypass; this was followed by the Federal Highway Administration subsequent approval in March 2022.^[19][20] In May 2022, AASHTO also approved the elimination of US 70 Bypass, clearing the way for NCDOT to fully redesignate the route.^[21] Signage for the route was expected to be put up later in 2022, but took a few years to take place, with signage going up in the later part of 2024. In July 2023, NCDOT announced that they were proposing to renumber NC 42 to NC 36 (which was the number originally suggested for the new interstate before 42 was chosen) between NC 50 and U.S. Route 70 Business (US 70 Bus) in Clayton in order to avoid confusing motorist when the Clayton bypass is designated as I-42.^[15][22] Once I-42 is fully completed on the Clayton Bypass and the project with nearby NC 540 is completed, US 70 will be rerouted onto its old routing through Clayton, which is currently designated as US 70 Bus.^[23][24] NCDOT requested public input on this proposal at an open house on October 12, 2023.^[25][26] US 70 has also been upgraded to interstate highway standards between Dover and New Bern, but this cannot be signed as I-42 until the Kinston Bypass is completed as this segment is not connected to the Interstate highway system. I-42 signage began being installed on September 16, 2024, on the Goldsboro Bypass, marking its establishment. Additionally, signage for I-42 has been installed on overhead signs at its western terminus, although the signing of the Clayton Bypass itself is not expected until 2025.^[3] I-42 is expected to be completed in its entirety by 2032 and will include the installation of broadband fiber along the entire route.^[27][28]

On June 9, 2008, the Clayton Bypass opened, redirecting US 70 onto I-40 between exits 306 to 309 and then on a new 10.7-mile (17.2 km) four-lane freeway bypass south of Clayton.^[29][30] Planning for the bypass began in 1991, but construction did not start until 2005 because of several delays regarding the dwarf wedgemussel, an endangered species, habitat in the area. Originally scheduled for completion in June 2009, a severe drought in 2007–2008 allowed construction to proceed more rapidly than anticipated.^[31][32] NCDOT was given the approval by AASHTO to officially designate US 70 along the bypass on May 6, 2008, with the former alignment becoming an extension of US 70 Bus.^[33] Compared to the former alignment through Clayton, the bypass is estimated to cut fifteen minutes of travel time for drivers traveling between Raleigh and eastern North Carolina.^[34][35]

North Carolina Highway 44
Location	Goldsboro
Length	9.8 mi[2] (15.8 km)
Existed	December 16, 2011[36]–May 27, 2016[37]

U.S. Highway 70 Bypass
Location	Goldsboro–La Grange
Length	21.7 mi[2] (34.9 km)
Existed	May 27, 2016[37]–September 16, 2024[3]

Construction started on the 3.9-mile (6.3 km) central section of the Goldsboro Bypass on October 9, 2008; its contract was awarded to Barnhill Contracting Co. of Tarboro.^[38] At a cost of $65.5 million (equivalent to $87.6 million in 2023^[39]), it features three interchanges connecting I-795, US 117 and Wayne Memorial Drive (SR 1556).^[40] On December 16, 2011, the central section became the first segment of the Goldsboro Bypass to open; signed as NC 44.^[41]

In 2012, both eastern and western sections of the bypass began construction. The 12.5-mile (20.1 km) eastern section's contract was awarded to Barnhill Contracting Co. in February, at a cost of $104.4 million (equivalent to $137 million in 2023^[39]). The 5.9-mile (9.5 km) western section's contract was awarded to S.T. Wooten in July, at a cost of $62.4 million (equivalent to $81.9 million in 2023^[39]).^[2] On September 25, 2015, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved the establishment of US 70 Byp., dependent on the completion of the Goldsboro Bypass.^[5][42] On October 17, 2015, the western section became the second segment to open; connecting US 70 and I-795, with an interchange at NC 581.^[43][44][45]

The eastern or last section of the Goldsboro Bypass was opened on May 27, 2016; from Wayne Memorial Drive (SR 1556) to US 70, with interchanges at US 13 and Parkstown Road (SR 1714).^[2] The section opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony and all signage that formally delineate NC 44 would be changed to US 70 Byp. after the event.^[37]

On June 5, 2021, a 5-mile (8.0 km) section was dedicated to former Goldsboro Mayor Chuck Allen.^[46]

In September 2024, signage on I-42 began to replace US 70 Bypass signage along the bypass, indicating again another route change to the Goldsboro bypass. It is expected to take a few months until all signage of US 70 Bypass is replaced entirely by I-42.^[47]

A 5-mile (8.0 km) section of US 70 at Wilson's Mills, connecting to the Clayton Bypass in the west will be upgraded to a freeway for an estimated $31 million.^[48] The plan calls for US 70 to be carried on a bridge over Wilson Mills Road while a bridge will carry Swift Creek Road over US 70.^[49] Interchanges will be made at both roads and a connector road paralleling US 70 between the two roads will also be built. Construction was planned to begin in 2020 and finish around 2022.^[48] However, COVID-19 funding issues postponed the awarding of the construction contract from September 2020 to March 2021. Construction officially began on May 12, 2021, and is expected to be completed by the middle of Fall 2024. The Swift Creek Road exit was partially opened to traffic in Spring 2024.^[50][51]

Improvements are in the planning stages for the 13.8-mile (22.2 km) segment of US 70 between Wilson's Mills and Princeton. Some of this section is already a freeway but will require improvements to bring it up to interstate standards and add an interchange with I-95. Adding the interchange will require shifting I-95, which is going to be widened in this area, 2,000 feet (610 m) east to incorporate the new changes.^[52] This proposed project is still in the study phase and not currently budgeted nor does it have a timeline for completion.^[53] I-95 and US 70 Business Route (exit 95) is being reconstructed though.^[54]

The existing Princeton Bypass eastward to the Goldsboro Bypass will be improved to interstate standards, which is estimated to cost $170 million.^[55][56][57] The 6.7-mile (10.8 km) project for the upgrade of US 70 will be done in two parts: the first will be in the Princeton area between US 70A to North Pearl Street/Edwards Roads (construction is scheduled to start in 2025) with second part starting there and ending at the Goldsboro Bypass (construction is scheduled to start in 2028). Currently, project funding has been suspended by NCDOT due to agency's budget issues. The agency is currently working with state legislators to find alternative sources of revenue.^[57]

The Kinston Bypass is a project that has been in the planning stages since the 1990s. The project was put on hold until 2007 when NCDOT revitalized the project. While several northern bypasses were planned, in January 2014, the northern bypasses were removed in favor of a southern alternative, but the project was defunded in 2014 with the release of the 2015–2024 State Transportation Improvement Plan, and studies were suspended.^[58] In June 2022, NCDOT announced that they had chosen Alternative 1SB for the Kinston Bypass. This alternative would be approximately 21 miles (34 km) of a four-lane, median divided freeway accessible via ramps at 10 interchanges.^[59] Part of the project will also build service roads along the freeway as well as approximately 6.5 miles (10.5 km) of new roadway that will be south of the current US 70 alignment in the Kinston area.^[60] When complete, the bypass would improve regional mobility, connectivity, and capacity for US 70, reducing traffic congestion and delays that exist along US 70 between La Grange and Dover.^[61] The westernmost section, which is approximately 2.8 miles (4.5 km) and includes the interchange at Jim Sutton Road/Willie Measley Road, was included in NCDOT 2018-2027 State Transportation Improvement, which allowed preliminary engineering activities to resume.^[62] The four remaining sections east of this section were reinserted into 2024-2033 STIP Projects Map. However, as of 2023, no funding has been set aside for the project, which is expected to cost $716.2 million.^[61] Additionally, the easternmost interchange between US 70/Future I-42 and Caswell Station Road/Wyse Fork Road east of Kinston currently faces local opposition due to it impacting part of the land where the Battle of Wyse Fork was fought on.^[63][64]

In James City, a 5.1-mile (8.2 km) segment of the US 70 improvement project will upgrade the existing highway to freeway standards by elevating it over existing surface streets as a six-lane, median divided freeway, improving the frontage roads, removing 49 businesses and 17 homes, converting the five intersections along this segment to interchanges with all but one of them being dogbones (the other will be a parclo), and eliminating a railroad crossing just south of exit 417.^[65][66] The project, which is projected to cost $66 million, will connect to the existing US 70 freeway in New Bern. Construction was scheduled to begin in early 2020 and be complete in early 2024.^[67] However, the design-build project did not start until January 2021 and its completion was delayed by a year to the end of 2024.^[68] Construction on the project finally began in Spring 2022^[69] and as of February 2023, the project is about 1⁄3 completed.^[70] However, its completion has been delayed again, this time to middle of 2025.^[69]

Between James City and Havelock, a 6.4-mile (10.3 km) section of US 70 will be converted to interstate standards.^[71] The final cost of the project is estimated to be $275.161 million with $147 million coming from a federal grant the state received in 2018.^[72][73] This segment will be a four-lane, median divided freeway accessible via ramps at three interchanges.^[72] With the release of the 2020 draft STIP, it was revealed that NCDOT was attempting to start construction in 2020, but this was delayed several times due to design and funding issues before a $242.35 million design-build contract for construction was finally awarded to Balfour Beatty in February 2023. Right-of-way acquisition will begin in Fall 2023 with construction beginning in Spring 2024. Completion is set for Summer 2028.^{[72][70][74][75]}

The Havelock Bypass is a planned 10.1-mile (16.3 km) four-lane freeway intended to improve existing sections of US 70 and a bypass west of Havelock, through the Croatan National Forest. The routing through Havelock would become US 70 Bus. Draft and environmental studies began in September 2011 and were completed in January 2016. Property acquisition started in 2016, with construction expected to begin in February 2019 and be completed in 2022 at an estimated cost of $173 million.^[76] However, construction did not officially begin until August 2019 and with its completion set for May 2024;^[70][77] it was later changed to late-Summer 2024.^[78] Since that time, the completion has been pushed out to Fall 2025 due to weather delays, although the US 70 east overpass at the east end of the bypass was opened to traffic on June 20, 2024.^[79][80] According to Balfour Beatty, the project includes the construction of 15 bridges, which will require around 4.43 million cubic meters of borrow material and 288,000 tonnes of asphalt.^[81]

The Newport River Bridge will be reconfigured from two-lanes to four-lanes.^[82][83]

According to the Comprehensive Transportation Plans from Carteret and Craven counties, I-42 is proposed to be routed on a new alignment which will be called the Northern Carteret Bypass. It will pass north of Morehead City before curving back south and terminating at US 70 north of Beaufort.^[84] This was further confirmed when the ECC (Eastern Carolina Council) noted that I-42 would likely be built to bypass Morehead City to the north due to the inability to build it through the city itself. However, no funding has been provided for this bypass as of 2024.^[70]

County	Location	mi[1][85]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Wake	​	0.00	0.00	1	I-40 / NC 540 Toll west (Triangle Expressway) – Wilmington, Raleigh	Western terminus of I-42
Johnston	​	3.8	6.1	2	NC 42 – Clayton	Future NC 36
	​	6.6	10.6	5	Ranch Road
	​	9.8	15.8	8	US 70 west / US 70 Bus. east – Smithfield, Clayton
				Route transition from I-42 to Future I-42
	Wilson's Mills			11	Swift Creek Road	Existing interchange of US 70
				12	Wilson's Mills Road	Future interchange (funded, under construction; completion Summer 2025)[86]
	​			15	Buffalo Road	Existing interchanges of US 70
	​			16	US 70 east – Goldsboro
	Selma			17	I-95 – Benson, Wilson	Proposed interchange (unfunded)
	​			18	US 70 west – Raleigh	Existing interchanges of US 70
	​			19	US 70 Bus. west – Smithfield
	​			20	Stevens Chapel Road/Davis Mill Road
	​			24	US 70A west – Pine Level	Future interchange (Princeton project, unfunded)[87]
Wayne	Goldsboro	34	55	Route transition from Future I-42 to I-42
				34	US 70 east – Goldsboro	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		34.6	55.7	35	NC 581
		39.3	63.2	39A	I-795 south to US 117 south – Goldsboro, Wilmington	Signed as exit 39A (south) and 39B (north)
				39B	I-795 north – Wilson
		40.1	64.5	40	US 117 – Goldsboro
	​	42.4	68.2	42	Wayne Memorial Drive
	​	44.6	71.8	45	US 13 – Goldsboro, Greenville
	​	47.7	76.8	48	Parkstown Road
Lenoir	La Grange	53.7	86.4	53	US 70 west – La Grange
		54.3	87.4	—	US 70 east – Kinston, New Bern	Continuation as US 70 east
				Route transition from I-42 to Future I-42
				56	NC 903 – La Grange	Existing interchange of US 70
					Willie Measley/Jim Sutton Road	Future interchanges (Kinston bypass project, unfunded)[88]
					Albert Sugg Road/Barwick Station Road
	Kinston				NC 148
					US 70 Bus. east to US 258 – Kinston
					NC 11 / NC 55 – Pink Hill, Mount Olive
					US 258 (South Queen Street) – Snow Hill, Kinston
					NC 58 (Trenton Highway) – Trenton
					US 258 north – Snow Hill
					US 70 Bus. east / US 258 Bus. south – Kinston
					NC 11 / NC 55 (Old Pink Hill Road) – Pink Hill, Mount Olive
					US 258 south / US 70 Bus. west / US 258 Bus. north / NC 58 north – Richlands, Kinston
					NC 58 south – Trenton
					US 70 Bus. west to US 258 – Kinston
					Wyse Fork Road/Caswell Station Road
Jones	​				Dover Road (Old US Route 70) - Dover
Craven	​			84	NC 41 south (Trenton Road) – Cove City, Trenton	Existing interchanges of US 70
	​			90	Tuscarora Rhems Road – Tuscarora
	​			93	Clark Road
	​			94	US 17 south – Jacksonville
	​			95	NC 43 north – Greenville, Vanceboro
	New Bern			97	Glenburnie Road – Craven Community College
				98	US 17 Bus. – New Bern, Jacksonville
				100	NC 55 west / Pembroke Road – Trent Woods
	Trent River			Freedom Memorial Bridge
	James City			101A-B	US 17 north / NC 55 east / E. Front Street – New Bern, Washington, Bayboro	Existing interchange of US 70
					Williams Road	Future interchanges (James City project, funded, under construction; completion mid-2026)[89]
					Airport Road
					Grantham Road
					Taberna Way
					Thurman Road
					Camp Kiro Road	Future interchanges (East Havelock bypass project, funded, under construction; completion Summer 2028)[72]
	Croatan				Fisher Avenue/Fisher Road
	Neuse Forest				Stately Pines Road
	Havelock			93	US 70 Bus. east	Future interchanges (Havelock bypass project, funded, under construction; completion Fall 2025)[90]
				98	Lake Road
				101	US 70 Bus. west
Carteret	​				NC 101 – Havelock, Beaufort	Proposed interchanges (unfunded)
	​				Laurel Road
	​				To US 70 east – Otway
	Beaufort				US 70 – Morehead City, Otway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access       Route transition       Unopened

• Media related to Interstate 42 at Wikimedia Commons