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U.S. Highway 74 East - Polk & Rutherford Counties
05/04/04 photos taken by Carter Buchanan. 05/30/05 photos taken by Alex Nitzman.
| U.S. Highway 74 East |
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U.S. 74 departs a long overlap with Interstate 26 east for its own freeway near Columbus. North Carolina 108 travels Mills Street through Columbus to cross U.S. 74 at Exit 163. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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U.S. 74 joins Rutherfordton, Forest City, and Shelby with Interstate 26 to the west and Interstate 85 to the east. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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A second mileage sign highlights the distances to the Interstate 85 destinations of Gastonia and Charlotte. U.S. 74 provides a direct route to the mountains from North Carolina's largest city. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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Exit 163 departs U.S. 74 east for North Carolina 108 outside Columbus. The state highway continues north five miles to Mill Spring and overall 19 miles to Rutherfordton. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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U.S. 74 winds eastward through hilly forests from Exit 163. Photos taken 05/30/05. |
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Traveling the U.S. 74 freeway eastbound in Polk County near the Exit 167 diamond interchange with North Carolina 9. North Carolina 9 is part of a multi-state route with South Carolina 9 between Spartanburg, South Carolina and Black Mountain. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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One-half mile guide sign for Exit 167 and North Carolina 9. The state route enters the state 8.3 miles to the south en route to Kross Keys and Beulah at junction U.S. 74. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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Exit 167 serves New Prospect, South Carolina to the south and Mill Spring, Lake Lure, and Chimney Rock (via U.S. 74A west) to the north. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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U.S. 74 eastbound at the North Carolina 9 off-ramp. North Carolina 9 enters Mill Spring two miles to the west at junction North Carolina 108. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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Eastbound reassurance shield and companion set of mileage signs posted after the Exit 167 on-ramp to U.S. 74. Photos taken 05/30/05. |
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One mile west of the Pea Ridge Road partial-cloverleaf interchange (Exit 170) on U.S. 74 east. Pea Ridge Road serves rural environs of eastern Polk County between Pea Ridge and Cox Store. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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Exit 170 is the last Polk County interchange of U.S. 74 eastbound. The freeway crosses the Green River, Rutherford County line, and the Broad River between Exits 170 (Pea Ridge Road) and 173 (Union Road). Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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Greenery abounds at the Exit 170 off-ramp to Pea Ridge Road on U.S. 74 eastbound. Pea Ridge Road travels 2.3 miles east to Cox Store and 3.8 miles north to its end at North Carolina 108 west of Pea Ridge itself. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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U.S. 74 eastbound reassurance shield on the three mile drive between Pea Ridge and Union Roads. The four-lane freeway is quite scenic on its trek from Interstate 26 east to Mooresboro. Photos taken 05/30/05. |
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Nearing the Rutherford County line on U.S. 74 eastbound at the one-mile guide sign for Union Road (Exit 173). Union Road travels 2.7 miles north from its beginning at SR 2005 to the village of Union. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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One half mile out from the Union Road diamond interchange on U.S. 74 eastbound. Like Pea Ridge Road to the west, Union Road also travels north from U.S. 74 to junction North Carolina 108. Union Road ends five miles to the north at the state highway. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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Entering Rutherford County ahead of the Exit 173 off-ramp on U.S. 74 east. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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Exit 108 departs U.S. 74 east for Union Road. Sandy Plains Road leads west from Union Road to North Carolina 9 at Kross Keys. Coxe Road continues the road northeast to U.S. 221 at south Rutherfordton. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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U.S. 74 next spans the Broad River after Union Road. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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U.S. 221 meets U.S. 74 at the next exit. The highway tallies 731 miles between Perry, Florida and Lynchburg, Virginia. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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U.S. 221 intersects the U.S. 74 freeway at Exit 178 six miles to the south of the Rutherford County seat of Rutherfordton (pop. 4,131). The federal highway provides the main route between Rutherfordton and the city of Spartanburg, South Carolina 28 miles to the south. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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A diamond interchange composes the junction between U.S. 74 and 221 at Exit 178. U.S. 221 travels Main Street through Forest Hills and downtown Rutherfordton where the highway meets North Carolina 108 & U.S. 74 Business (Charlotte Road). Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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U.S. 74 eastbound as it nears Exit 181 with U.S. 74 Alternate. U.S. 74 Alternate spurs northwest from U.S. 74 as a full freeway to Spindale (pop. 4,022) and Rutherfordton while providing a direct link to the U.S. 64 corridor. The alternate route continues northwest with U.S. 64 to Lake Lure (pop. 1,027), Chimney Rock (pop. 175), and Bat Cave before ending at junction Interstate 40 & 240 at Asheville (pop. 68,889). Photo taken 05/04/04. |
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Exits 181 and 182 both serve the nearby town of Forest City (pop. 7,549) to the north. Use U.S. 74 Alternate west to Oakland Road or U.S. 221 Alternate (Broadway Street) for Forest City. Bethany Church Road passes over the U.S. 74 freeway ahead. Photo taken 05/04/04. |
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The 0.50-mile guide sign for Exit 181 (U.S. 74 Alternate) resides at the Doggett Road over crossing on U.S. 74 eastbound. U.S. 74 Alternate west merges with U.S. 64 west eight miles to the north at the village of Ruth (pop. 329). Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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U.S. 74 eastbound at the westbound beginning of U.S. 74 Alternate (Exit 181) at Forest City. U.S. 74 Alternate exists as a full freeway between here and Rutherfordton / Spindale six miles to the northwest. U.S. 221 Alternate cross paths with U.S. 74 within the next mile. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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Eastbound at the folded diamond interchange with U.S. 221 Alternate (Broadway Street) in Forest City. The federal route parallels U.S. 221 to the east between Spindale, Forest City, Alexander Mills, Caroleen, Henrietta, Cliffside and Chesnee, South Carolina. Exit 182 serves the Forest City Historic District. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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Leaving Alexander Mills, U.S. 74 continues east 20 miles to Shelby and 42 to Gastonia via Interstate 85 north. Photos taken 05/30/05. |
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U.S. 74 eastbound departs the Forest City area at the Exit 183 diamond interchange with Old Caroleen Road. The 4.7 mile highway travels between Arlington Street in Forest City to U.S. 221 Alternate at Caroleen itself. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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Exit numbers of U.S. 74 discontinue east of U.S. 221 Alternate (Exit 182) at present. Therefore the interchange with Old Caroleen Road is unnumbered. Use Old Caroleen Road north to connect with U.S. 74 Business (Main Street) and the Bostic Sunshine Road to Bostic (pop. 328) itself. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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Ellenboro Henrietta Road interchanges with U.S. 74 four miles east of Old Caroleen Road. Pictured here is the one-mile guide sign for the diamond interchange including the control points of Henrietta, Caroleen, and Ellenboro. The abandoned CSX Railroad line passes over the freeway ahead. Photo taken 05/04/04. |
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Another abandoned branch of the CSX Railroad passes over U.S. 74 ahead of the would be Exit 187 off-ramp onto Ellenboro Henrietta Road. The rural highway travels 2.7 miles south to junction U.S. 221A at Avondale near both Caroleen and Henrietta. Northward the highway ends at Henrietta Street in Ellenboro (pop. 479) three blocks west of U.S. 74 Business (Main Street). Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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North Carolina 120 stems 0.75 miles south of U.S. 74 Business to junction U.S. 74 at Exit 189. The state highway continues another four miles southward to its end at U.S. 221 Alternate in Cliffside. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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The aforementioned community of Cliffside is given an auxiliary guide sign for the Exit 189 diamond interchange. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
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At present the last freeway interchange of U.S. 74 eastbound exists at North Carolina 120. The highway transitions into an at-grade highway at Mooresboro (pop. 314) in 2.5 miles. Photo taken 05/30/05. |
Page Updated March 19, 2009.
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