<Tr> <Td> ← NC 39 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> NC 41 → </Td> </Tr> <P> Interstate 40 (I - 40) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Barstow, California to Wilmington, North Carolina . In North Carolina, I - 40 enters the state along the Pigeon River Gorge, from Tennessee . Crossing the entire state, it connects the cities of Asheville, Winston - Salem, Greensboro, Durham and Raleigh before ending along U.S. Highway 117 / North Carolina Highway 132 (US 117 / NC 132) in Wilmington . The landscapes traversed by I - 40 include the Blue Ridge Mountains, foothills of western North Carolina, suburban communities, the urban core of several Piedmont cities, along with eastern North Carolina farmland . At a total of 423.55 miles (681.64 km), it is the longest interstate highway in North Carolina . There are five auxiliary Interstates in the state related to I - 40, as well as one business loop which currently runs through Winston - Salem . The route is labeled east - west for the entire route (as are all even - numbered Interstate highways), however the eastern portion (from Hillsboro to Wilmington) follows a much more north - south alignment . </P> <P> The freeway bears several names in addition to the I - 40 designation . Throughout the state the freeway is known as the Blue Star Memorial Highway a name shared with multiple interstates across the state . From the Guilford - Alamance county line to one mile east of NC 54, in Graham, I - 40 / I - 85 is known as the Sam Hunt Freeway . From Orange County to Raleigh I - 40 is known as the Harriet Morehead Berry Freeway, the John Motley Morehead, III Freeway, and the Tom Bradshaw Freeway . I - 40 is the James Harrington Freeway from US 70 to I - 95 . In Duplin County a section of I - 40 is known as the Henry L. Stevens, Jr . Highway . From the Pender County - New Hanover County line to the eastern terminus of I - 40, the freeway is known as the Michael Jordan Highway . </P> <P> Interstate 40 was an original Interstate Highway planned in the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 . In North Carolina the original highway was to run from the Tennessee state line to Greensboro where the freeway would end at Interstate 85 . In 1958, the first section of completed interstate highway in the state was I - 40 along the East--West Expressway in Winston - Salem . I - 40 received two extension approvals; the first in 1969 to Interstate 95 (I - 95), to be routed in or near Smithfield, and the second in 1984 to Wilmington . After 34 years since it first opened, the last section completed was the Winston - Salem Bypass in 1992 . The highest point is at 2,786 feet (849 m), located at Swannanoa Gap, and the lowest point is at 15 feet (4.6 m), located at the Pender--New Hanover county line . </P>

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