I-95 in North Carolina: widening, work zones and truck parking

The short version

I-95 runs 181.36 miles across North Carolina, entering from South Carolina near Rowland in Robeson County and leaving for Virginia near Pleasant Hill in Northampton County. [1]

NCDOT is in the middle of a corridor-wide rebuild. Five major widening projects are taking most of the road from four lanes to eight, along with new interchanges and bridge replacements running out to 2034. [3]

Expect work zones. As of September 2026 there is active construction from Lumberton up through Fayetteville and on to the I-40 junction at Benson, which is most of the southern half of the state. [2][5][6]

Truck parking is the real problem on this corridor. NCDOT's own freight planning found parking on most of I-95 essentially at capacity, and none of the weigh station lots on I-95 are big enough for overnight parking. [19]

Once a stretch is widened to eight lanes, the truck left-lane ban under G.S. 20-146 applies to it, because the statute keys off a highway having six or more lanes. [12]

The route and the exits that matter

I-95 crosses Robeson, Cumberland, Harnett, Johnston, Wilson, Nash, Edgecombe, Halifax and Northampton counties, running near or through Lumberton, the Fayetteville area, Dunn, Benson, Smithfield and Selma, Wilson, Rocky Mount and Roanoke Rapids. [1]

The junctions worth knowing: Exit 13 for I-74 and US 74 at Lumberton, Exit 22 for US 301 at Lumberton, Exit 40 for the business route into Fayetteville, Exit 58 for I-295, Exit 81 for I-40 at Benson, Exit 119 for I-587 and I-795 near Wilson, Exit 138 for US 64 at Rocky Mount, and Exit 173 for US 158 at Roanoke Rapids. [1]

Exit 81 at Benson is the one that shapes most trips. It is where I-95 meets I-40, which is the connection to Raleigh and on to Charlotte, and it is the busiest freight junction on the North Carolina stretch. [1][4]

The road is old. I-95 opened across North Carolina in sections between 1961 and the mid-1970s, and NCDOT describes the corridor as built between 1956 and 1980. That age is the reason for the rebuild. [1][3]

What NCDOT is building

The I-95 Corridor Improvements program covers the full 182-mile North Carolina stretch, with a long-term goal of six or eight lanes throughout plus bridges and interchanges brought to modern standards. [3]

Five major projects sit under that umbrella: widening north of Fayetteville, widening in Lumberton, widening south of Fayetteville, interchange reconstructions at Pittman Road, East Main Street and Bagley Road slated to start in 2026, and a run of bridge replacements with start dates out to 2034. [3]

Flood resilience is a stated goal alongside congestion and freight growth. That is not boilerplate, and the next section explains why. [3]

One news account put the cumulative value of NCDOT's I-95 widening contracts south of the I-40 junction at $1.7 billion across six contracts. That total comes from reporting rather than an NCDOT-published figure, so treat it as directional. [8]

Segment by segment, as of September 2026

North of Fayetteville, project I-5986 covers 26 miles between Exits 55 and 81 through Cumberland, Harnett and Johnston counties, widening to eight lanes and rebuilding six interchanges. The budget is about $709 million, helped by a $147 million federal INFRA grant. Segment A from Exit 55 to 71 started in 2019 and Segment B from Exit 71 to 81 started in 2021. [2][3]

NCDOT's own page for that project, last updated May 2026, gives no percent-complete figure and no firm completion date. A construction trade account estimated 2027 completion with Segment A around 90 percent done, which is worth knowing but is not an NCDOT number. [2][7]

Within that stretch, interchange work targets Exits 70, 71, 72, 73, 75 and 77, with bridge replacements over the Black River and US 421 and a new structure at Reese Creek near Exit 55 aimed at cutting flooding. [3]

South of Fayetteville, project I-5987 runs roughly mile marker 21 to 40 in Robeson County. Section A from mile 21 to 29 is estimated at $253.7 million and Section B from mile 29 to 37 at $288.9 million, about $542.6 million together, with construction underway. Section C from mile 37 to 40 is being folded into the I-295 Fayetteville Outer Loop project instead. [5]

In Lumberton, between mile markers 13 and 21, the road goes from four lanes to eight and every bridge gets replaced with a structure higher, longer and wider than the original. The new Lumber River bridge will sit 10 feet above the current one, and the roadway itself is being raised on retaining walls. [6]

When the current contracts finish, NCDOT's target is eight continuous lanes from I-40 south through Lumberton to mile marker 13, with the stretch between Exits 41 and 55 staying four lanes for now. Every dollar figure and date here should be read as of September 2026, since NCDOT's project pages carry different update dates and active contracts move. [8][2][5]

Why this road floods

Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 dropped nearly 12 inches of rain on southeastern North Carolina in 24 hours. The Lumber River crested 24 feet above normal, and the state closed roughly 60 miles of I-95 from Exit 13 near Lumberton to Exit 73 near Dunn. It stayed shut about 10 days. [9]

Hurricane Florence did it again in September 2018, closing 9 miles on the 16th, 33 miles on the 17th, and nearly 60 miles from Lumberton to Benson by the 19th. The interstate did not fully reopen until September 23. The Lumber River crested near 25.4 feet, over a foot higher than under Matthew. [10]

NCDOT points at both storms as the direct reason for raising the rebuilt Lumberton roadway and lifting the new Lumber River bridge 10 feet. If you run this corridor in hurricane season, our NC hurricane guide covers what to do when a closure like that lands. [6]

Parking and rest areas

NCDOT's freight planning work found the largest truck parking supply gaps on I-26, I-77, I-85 and I-95, with parking on most of I-95 essentially at capacity and freight volumes forecast to grow about 43 percent by 2040. [19]

The same NCDOT work says most weigh station lots in the state, including both I-95 stations, are too small for overnight truck parking. The only lots it names as having room are the two at Hillsborough on I-40 and I-85 and one in Gaston County on I-85. None are on I-95. [19]

A rest area directory lists the I-95 facilities as the Robeson Welcome Center near mile 5 northbound, the Cumberland rest area near mile 47, Johnston near mile 99, Nash near mile 142, and the Northampton Welcome Center near mile 181 southbound. Those mile markers are approximate, since we could not confirm them on an NCDOT page. [15][16]

The Robeson County welcome center at Exit 5 was torn down and rebuilt as a combined 6,500-square-foot facility with about $5 million in improvements, reopening in 2024. Welcome centers are generally staffed roughly 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., though the restrooms and parking stay open around the clock. [17][18]

Do not count on a real-time parking availability system here. The I-95 Corridor Coalition piloted one starting in 2015, but the deployment went to Virginia rest areas and passed to VDOT in 2018. We found no evidence a comparable system was ever deployed on I-95 in North Carolina. [21]

Weigh stations

There are two permanent weigh stations on I-95 in North Carolina. The Lumberton station in Robeson County sits about 10 miles north of Lumberton with two fixed scales, at (910) 618-5548. The Halifax station is about 18 miles south of Roanoke Rapids with four fixed scales, at (252) 445-2122. [20]

The Highway Patrol's own list does not give a direction or mile marker for either one. Our NC weigh stations guide carries the directional detail from a third-party source, so treat that as carried over rather than confirmed by the state. [20]

Both stations are run by the State Highway Patrol's Motor Carrier Enforcement section. Trucks and combinations rated 10,001 pounds or more, and any placarded hazmat load, have to pull in when a station is open. [20]

Speed, the left lane and moving over

North Carolina does not set a lower speed limit for trucks. Under G.S. 20-141, NCDOT sets interstate limits by engineering study up to a 70 mph maximum, and the posted number applies to everyone. [14]

G.S. 20-146 keeps a vehicle rated 26,001 pounds or more out of the left-most lane on a controlled-access highway with six or more lanes, except to enter or exit, avoid a hazard or pass. As the eight-lane segments open, that restriction starts applying to stretches of I-95 where it did not before. [12]

The move over law, G.S. 20-157(f), covers more than police cars. A public service vehicle includes anything assisting stranded motorists, installing utilities, collecting refuse or doing highway maintenance with amber lights showing, which is exactly what you pass in an I-95 work zone. [13]

The penalties are not trivial. A standard violation carries a $250 fine, rising to a Class 1 misdemeanor for property damage over $500 or injury to emergency personnel, and a Class F felony for serious injury or death. Violating the subsection is negligence per se. [13]

Freight on the corridor

The freight-relevant interchanges run Exit 13 at Lumberton for I-74 and US 74, Exit 81 at Benson for I-40, US 70 at Selma and Smithfield, Exit 119 near Wilson for I-587 and I-795, and Exit 138 at Rocky Mount for US 64. [1][4]

The CSX Carolina Connector, or CCX, is the newest thing on the corridor. It opened November 18, 2021 near Rocky Mount at the Edgecombe and Nash county line, just off I-95, with automated container handling, three electric cranes and CSX's XGate gate processing. [22][23]

It started with capacity for 110,000 containers a year on a 330-acre site, with room to expand past 700 acres and roughly 2.5 million containers at full build-out. CSX and local economic development groups pitch it as pulling freight off the highway and away from port congestion. [22][23][25]

If you are looking at drayage work out of CCX, the paperwork is the same interchange setup we covered in the Charlotte intermodal guide: UIIA registration, the driver database and the railroad's own gate app. [23]