U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US74A) was established in 1994, replaced the old mainline US74 route when US74 was moved onto the Solon David Smart Memorial Highway and I-26. The alignment of US74A varies greatly from the current parent route. US74A traverses through downtown Asheville, goes through the mountain resort communities of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure, continues to Ruth, passes between the towns of Rutherfordton and Spindale, and bypasses Forest City to the south. US74, joins I-40 eastbound west of Asheville, and switches onto I-26 eastbound through Fletcher, bypassing most of urban Asheville. Continuing along a southeasterly course, the parent US74 passes by Hendersonville and splits from I-26 at Columbus; after passing south of Rutherfordton, US74 meets the eastern terminus of US74A.[2]
US74A is concurrent with US64 from Ruth in the east through Lake Lure, where NC9 joins, and Chimney Rock; the three routes separate in Bat Cave. NC9 splits to the north, US64 to the south; US74A alone continues west from that point. In Asheville, US74A has many concurrencies; US70 is concurrent with US74A in east and downtown Asheville and Interstate 26, I-240, US19/US23 are concurrent with US74A west of downtown. Near US74A's western terminus, US19/US23 are concurrent with US74A. NC81 overlaps with US74A for a short 1-mile (1.6km) segment in southeast Asheville. Between Asheville and Gerton, US74A bears the street name Charlotte Highway. East of Gerton, the road is named the Gerton Highway until arriving at Bat Cave. Through towns and cities, the road takes various names including Main Street and Railroad Avenue.
US 74A is overlapped by two North Carolina scenic byways: Drovers Road (Asheville to Bat Cave) and Black Mountain Rag (Bat Cave to Lake Lure).[3]
U.S. Route 74 Business (US74 Bus) was established in 1960 as a renumbering of US74A, it traversed along Washington Street and Charlotte Road in Rutherfordton. In December 1970, US74 was extended east through Spindale, Forest City, and Ellenboro when US74 was placed on new freeway bypass.[5] In 1994, US74 was moved south onto a new alignment towards Columbus, converting the old mainline into US74A; as a result, US74 Business was rerouted in Rutherfordton to go south in concurrency with US221 to the US74 freeway.[6]
U.S. Route 74 Business (US74 Bus) was established in 1960 as a renumbering of US74A, following Marion Street and Warren Street. In December 1971, the eastern portion of Warren Street was changed, forcing eastbound US 74 Business to be rerouted north on DeKalb Street then onto Marion Street.[8]
U.S. Route 74 Business (US74 Bus) was established in 1984, it was a renumbering of the old mainline US74 through Kings Mountain. US74 Business begins at US74 west of Kings Mountain. The route is routed along Shelby Road into the town. US74 Business runs through the downtown of area Kings Mountain before reaching US74 again on the eastern side of Kings Mountain.
U.S. Route 74 Bypass (US74 Byp.), also known as the Monroe Expressway, is a 18.72-mile (30.13km) toll road that bypass north of Monroe, between Stallings and east of Wingate.[11][12] The highway's purpose is to improve mobility and capacity along the US74 corridor. At a cost of approximately $840 million and right-of-way acquisition already completed, construction was originally to begin in October 2012; however, because of several environmental issues and litigation, the project was delayed until May 2015.[13][14] On November 27, 2018, the Monroe Expressway opened to traffic.[15]
U.S. Route 74 Business (US74 Bus) was established in 1967 as a renumbering of mainline US 74 through Laurinburg. In 1984, it was extended east replacing mainline US74 through Maxton.[21]
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US74 Alt) was established in 2007 when mainline US74 and I-74 were realigned to a new freeway south of the old route, between Maxton to near Lumberton.[23][24] The route, just south of the banks of the Lumber River, goes through mostly farmland. In between, NC 710 connect travelers to Pembroke, where the University of North Carolina at Pembroke is located. Highway signs along the route are signed as "Alternate" or "ALT" above US74; as opposed to US74A, which is used in Western North Carolina.
U.S. Route 74 Business (US74 Bus) was established in 1975 to replace the old mainline US74 through Chadbourn and Whiteville. The route is mostly in concurrency with US76 Business.[26]
U.S. Route 74 Bypass (US74 Byp.) is the future designation of the Shelby Bypass; currently being constructed in phases. The designation, listed on NCDOT documents, has not been submitted/approved by AASHTO.[28]
First segment opened in April 2020 from US74, east of Mooresboro, to NC226 (Polkville Road).[29] In June 2025, the second segment was opened, extending the bypass to NC150 (Cherryville Road). The last segment of the bypass will reunite with US74 east of Shelby, near Long Branch Road, with an anticipated completion date in 2029.[27]
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US74A) was established in 1948 or 1949, it followed the original US74 route through Rutherfordton, as the mainline US74 was placed on a new bypass route through Ruth. Traversing along Washington Street and Charlotte Road, it was renumbered US74 Business in 1960.[2]
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US74A) was established in 1936 as a new primary routing using Marion Street through Shelby; paralleling mainline US74, which was on Warren Street. Around 1949, US74 was moved onto new bypass south of Shelby; US74A was thus extended on both directions. As part of this development, US74A was split west on Marion Street and east on Warren Street. In 1960 it was renumbered to US74 Business.[2]
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US74A) was established in 1937, this alternate route, along with US29A, followed the old routing from Kings Mountain to Gastonia, via Bessemer City. A year later, it was renumbered as NC161 and NC274.[2]
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US74A) was established between 1945 and 1949, it was set up as an inner bypass of downtown Monroe, via Jefferson Street. It was decommissioned in 1952 when US74 moved out of the downtown area, converting the old route, along Charlotte Avenue and Franklin Street, into the second alternate route.[2]
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US74A) was established in 1952, it replaced the old mainline US74 through downtown Monroe, via Franklin Street and Charlotte Avenue. In 1953, it was rerouted along Skyway Drive when US74 was completely realigned onto new bypass routing between Matthews and Monroe. In 1954, it was decommissioned.[2]
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US74A) was established between 1951 and 1953, after US74 was rerouted south of downtown Rockingham. The alternate route followed the old alignment along Washington Street and Rockingham Road. In 1957 it was decommissioned.[2]
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US74A) was established in 1936, it replaced mainline US 74 through an intersection in Leland, while the mainline was moved just off to the right on Village Road. At 0.14 miles (0.23km), it was the shortest alternate route. It was unsigned throughout its existence,[citation needed] but was marked on state and county maps up until 1975, when NCDOT downgraded it to secondary road status.[34]
U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US74A) was established by 1938 as new primary routing, it went from Causeway Drive south along Waynick Boulevard, ending on the south-end of Wrightsville Beach; making it a spur route of US74. By 1940, it was replaced by an extension of US76.[2]
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