Will ’40/42’ be a thing of the past? NCDOT plans to rename NC 42 in Johnston County

Many people know it simply as 40/42, the unincorporated community that has sprung up around where N.C. 42 meets Interstate 40 in western Johnston County.

But that name may soon become an anachronism. The N.C. Department of Transportation plans to eliminate nearly 9 miles of N.C. 42 southwest of Clayton, including the section through the Cleveland community where 40/42 is familiar short-hand. Part of what is now N.C. 42, between N.C. 50 and the Clayton Bypass, will be renamed N.C. 36.

The change is necessary, NCDOT officials say, to avoid confusion with Interstate 42, the new name of the highway now known as both U.S. 70 and the Clayton Bypass. I-42 will cross what is now N.C. 42, and both roads will intersect I-40, potentially befuddling visitors and others unfamiliar with the local nomenclature.

That confusion could have serious consequences if someone calling 911 doesn’t know the difference between I-42 and N.C. 42, says Kevin Lacy, NCDOT’s director of strategic planning.

“We’re thinking about how do we keep people from being lost and not being confused when they’re calling for help,” Lacy said in an interview. “Keeping it as simple as we can is our desire in these scenarios.”

NCDOT officials will explain the change and the reasoning behind it at a meeting on Tuesday, July 25, at Clayton Town Hall, from 5 to 7 p.m. The department will also collect questions and feedback online at publicinput.com/US70-NC42-Clayton through Aug. 8.

NCDOT had hoped to avoid changing the name of N.C. 42 by having the planned interstate highway from I-40 to Morehead City called Interstate 36. There isn’t an I-36 anywhere in the nation, and no highway 36 in North Carolina.

But the power to name interstate highways rests with the Federal Highway Administration, based on recommendations from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials or AASHTO. The organization follows a few conventions for interstate highways, including that east-west roads are generally even numbered, while north-south roads are odd. I-36 would have been consistent with that.

Another convention is that interstate numbers get smaller from north to south and east to west (think I-95 along the East Coast, I-10 along the Gulf of Mexico, etc.). Since the new interstate across Eastern North Carolina would be north of I-40, AASHTO chose to name it I-42 instead of I-36.

I-42 signs could show up within a year

Last year, the Federal Highway Administration approved the I-42 designation for two sections of the planned highway — the 10-mile bypass around Clayton and the 22-mile Goldsboro bypass in Wayne and Lenoir counties. Those two stretches of U.S. 70 were built to federal interstate standards, while NCDOT is upgrading the rest in stages, until the entire highway from I-40 to Morehead City becomes I-42.

NCDOT hopes to begin erecting I-42 signs in Johnston County within a year. But first it needs to settle on a new name for N.C. 42.

It proposes a new N.C. 36 that runs more than 10 miles. It would begin at N.C. 50 in the west and follow the current N.C. 42 through Cleveland to the bypass. From there it would jog east to Ranch Road and connect back up with N.C. 42 on the southeast side of Clayton.

NCDOT plans to rename only the one stretch of N.C. 42 in Johnston County; the highway will remain N.C. 42 west of Johnston County to Asheboro and east of Clayton to Ahoskie.

Lacy said in addition to N.C. 36, NCDOT would like to see Clayton and Johnston County give N.C. 42 a local name, such as South Lombard Street, so that residents and businesses would have an address that doesn’t rely on an NCDOT number. That approach works well in Wake County, he said, with roads such as Capital Boulevard (U.S. 1) and Glenwood Avenue (U.S. 70).

U.S. 70 Business in Clayton will also disappear

N.C. 42 and the Clayton Bypass aren’t the only roads that will get new names in Johnston County. With the bypass now known as U.S. 70 becoming an interstate highway, NCDOT also plans to eliminate U.S. 70 Business through Clayton and refer to it again simply as U.S. 70.

Again the goal is simplicity, Lacy said. People won’t have to think about which U.S. 70 they’re on through Clayton. It’s also easier for NCDOT if each highway has just one route number.

“When we can get rid of duplicate names like that, we’ve been trying to do that,” Lacy said. ”It makes signing a little easier. It makes informing the public of alternate routes easier.”

U.S. 70 Business originated in 2008 when the Clayton Bypass opened and became U.S. 70. Shifting it back shouldn’t be that difficult, Lacy said. Homes and businesses along the road through town kept the same address numbers.

Eliminating nearly 9 miles of N.C. 42 will be a bigger adjustment, as addresses are changed to reflect a new route number or a new local name.

There will also be a cultural adjustment.

“The locals that call it 40/42 probably will for a very, very long time, talking to each other,” Lacy said. “They’ll know the new people who are moving in. They’ll be the people who don’t recognize 40/42 as a location name.”