Interstate 587 (North Carolina)

I-587/I-795/US 264 shields and an I-795 mile marker in Wilson County, September 2023

I-587 begins at an interchange between I-95 and I-795 and US 264 southwest of Wilson. US 264 extends west to Raleigh, while the interchange marks the northern terminus of I-795. I-587, I-795, and US 264 travel east around southern Wilson. The concurrency with I-795 ends 4.4 miles (7.1 km) east of I-95 at an interchange. At the interchange, I-795 turns south toward Goldsboro. Immediately following the I-795 interchange, I-587 and US 264 interchange with US 301 which provides access to the northern terminus of US 117. I-587 and US 264 continue east, looping around Wilson. The highways intersect NC 58 southeast of Wilson, which is followed by an S-curve in the freeway.[2][3]

An interchange with US 264 and US 264 Alternate follows the S-curve, marking the eastern end of the US 264 concurrency. I-587 continues east around the town of Saratoga. As it loops around Saratoga, I-587 is repositioned to the southeast, largely paralleling US 264. I-587 begins an easterly turn north of Walstonburg and interchanges with NC 91 and US 264, before completing the curve west of Farmville. As I-587 continues north around Farmville, it meets US 258 and US 258 Business (US 258 Bus.) at an interchange northwest of downtown. US 258 follows I-587 to the east for 2.8 miles (4.5 km) before leaving the freeway at another interchange east of downtown Farmville. I-587 continues for another 6.6 miles (10.6 km) through rural North Carolina before intersecting US 264 and NC 11 Byp. west of Greenville. The interchange marks the eastern terminus of I-587.[2][3]

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) measures average daily traffic volumes along many of the roadways it maintains. In 2016, average daily traffic volumes along I-587 varied from 18,000 vehicles per day west of exit 63 in Pitt County to 34,000 vehicles per day west of exit 43C in Wilson County.[4][5][6] I-587 is included with the National Highway System, a network of highways in the US which serve strategic transportation facilities in its entirety.[7]

I-587 shield reveal in June 2020

In January 2013, the mayors of Greenville, Kinston, and Ayden announced that they would push to change the designation of US 264 between Wilson and Greenville to an Interstate.[8][9]

On September 7, 2016, Governor Pat McCrory said he would ask for the section of US 264 between Zebulon and Greenville to be designated an Interstate Highway. The justification for Interstate status was that Greenville was the 10th largest city in the state and had no Interstate connecting it.[10] On November 14, AASHTO approved the Future I-587 designation; followed by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approval on November 21.[11][12][13] In April 2017, NCDOT began posting Future I-587 signs along the length of the route.[14] On May 10, 2021, AASHTO approved the establishment of I-587, between I-95 and Greenville.[15] This was further approved on November 16, 2021, marking the designation official.[16] Signage for the designation went up on June 20, 2022.[17]

NCDOT intends to extend I-587 west along US 264 from its current western terminus in Wilson to US 64 and US 264 in Zebulon.[18] In addition, the department expects to extend the designation of I-87 northward from its current terminus in Wendell along US 64 toward Norfolk, Virginia. This would provide a connection between I-587 and its parent route.[19] Currently, though, NCDOT does not have a timetable to upgrade US 264 between Zebulon and Wilson to Interstate standards.

• Media related to Interstate 587 at Wikimedia Commons