I-840 currently exists in two segments that will eventually form a northern bypass around Greensboro. Both sections have a maximum speed limit of. The western segment, a divided six-lane urban freeway, begins at the interchange of I-40/I-73/US 421 and goes north for, concurrent with I-73, to an interchange with Bryan Boulevard, where I-73 exits. The freeway turns east and runs for, intersecting with US 220 and Lawndale Drive and terminating at the latter road. The eastern segment, a divided four-lane rural freeway, is not signed as I-840 and is concurrent with I-785 for its entire length. Instead, supplemental signage indicates it as Future I-840. It begins at US 29 and runs south for, intersecting US 70 before terminating at an interchange with I-40 and I-85.
History
I-840 first appeared in the early 2000s as a proposed routing for the northern half of the Greensboro Urban Loop. In 2002, the first segment opened between US 70 and I-40/I-85; however, it was unsigned and designated as SR 3269; by 2006, Future I-840 signage was added at the US 70 interchange. In December 2007, a second segment opened along its routing between I-40/US 421 and Bryan Boulevard and was signed as Future I-73/I-840. In 2010, NCDOT submitted its official request, to both the AASHTO and the FHWA, to designate the two existing segments of the northern half of the Greensboro Urban Loop as I-840 and the unbuilt portion as Future I-840. AASHTO approved the request on October 29, 2010 followed by FHWA on August 2, 2011. On September 2, 2011, NCDOT certified the route change establishing I-840. Construction on the northern half of the Greensboro Urban Loop resumed in 2013 with the six-lane, segment between Bryan Boulevard and Battleground Avenue, which will be signed as I-840. At a cost of $123 million, it was expected to be completed in early 2018. This section opened on April 19, 2018, four days ahead of schedule. In late 2014, a segment, between US 29 and US 70, also began construction; however, it was signed as I-785 with I-840 as a hidden designation until the completion of the Loop. This section opened in December 2017. The next section to open was between US 220 and Lawndale Drive, which began construction in October 2016 and opened to traffic on December 30, 2019.
Future
The last section of I-840 under construction is the segment between Lawndale Drive and US 29, featuring interchanges with North Elm Street and Yanceyville Street. Construction began in May 2018 and will be opened in two sections. The first, from Lawndale Drive to North Elm Street, is expected to open by the end of 2020, with the remainder to US 29 opening in 2021 or 2022. Upon completion of this last segment, I-840 will be posted along its entire length, including the concurrency with I-785. Long term plans call for two additional interchanges along I-840: Fleming–Lewiston Road and Cone Boulevard. Plans for both interchanges have existed since 2004; however, because both are to be constructed after the I-840's completion, there is no current time table or funding for these two projects at this time.
