Hauling to Toyota's battery plant in Liberty, NC: roads, rules and parking

The short version

Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina, called TBMNC, started production in November 2025. It sits on the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite in Liberty, about 20 miles southeast of Greensboro. [2][3]

It makes lithium-ion batteries for hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. As of November 2025 it was shipping hybrid battery modules to Toyota's Kentucky plant and to Mazda Toyota in Alabama. [2][3]

Trucks reach it from US 421, which NCDOT labels Future I-685. Two new interchanges were built near the plant, one opened in 2024 and one in January 2026. [5][16]

Lithium-ion batteries are Class 9 hazardous materials. Federal rules spare most domestic Class 9 loads from placards, but shipping papers, packaging and marking rules still apply. Everything here is as of October 2026. [22][23][26]

What the plant is and what it ships

Toyota put the total investment at $13.9 billion. The site covers 1,850 acres with about 7 million square feet of manufacturing space, and Toyota says it will employ up to 5,100 people. [2][3]

At full build-out the plant has 14 battery lines and about 30 gigawatt-hours a year of capacity. Capacity is set to ramp up in phases through 2030, so freight volume should grow over several years. [2][3][4]

Early output goes into the Camry, Corolla Cross and RAV4 hybrids. Toyota has also said the plant will supply an all-electric three-row SUV built in the U.S., with no launch date given in the sources we read. [2][6]

Utility Dive reported the 14 lines split into four for hybrid batteries and 10 for both hybrid and fully electric batteries. Toyota calls the site its 11th U.S. plant. [4][2]

It is Toyota's first battery plant outside Japan. That means much of the outbound work is plant-to-plant auto parts freight, moving to assembly lines in Kentucky and Alabama. [2][3]

The project started smaller. The state's December 2021 announcement was $1.29 billion and at least 1,750 jobs, and Toyota grew it in later rounds. [7][4]

How the site came together

The Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Foundation and the Randolph County economic development group put the land together. The NC Railroad says it spent nearly $35 million to buy more than 60 percent of it. [9][8]

The state named NCDOT, Piedmont Triad Airport, the NC Railroad and Norfolk Southern as partners. It set aside $135 million in the first phase for road, interchange and other site work, with $185 million more tied to a second phase. [7]

The engineering firm HDR says the site was graded across nearly 1,200 acres and connects to an existing railroad. It also says 17 miles of water lines and 9 miles of sewer were built to serve it. [13]

HDR notes that US 421 was named a future interstate partway through the work. That is why NCDOT documents now call this stretch Future I-685, and why new interchanges replaced the old at-grade crossings. [13][16][10]

US 421 and the two new interchanges

The first interchange is at Julian Airport Road and Dogwood Lane. NCDOT opened its southbound side in June 2024 and said the work was meant to help safety and traffic, especially for trucks. [11]

NCDOT tied that interchange to $100 million the General Assembly gave for megasite work. The state's 2021 figure was $135 million, so the two numbers likely cover different scopes. [11][7]

The second interchange is at the southern leg of Shiloh Road, about 1.5 miles south. It opened Jan. 5, 2026, with roundabouts at the ramps, and NCDOT said it was built to help serve the plant. [5]

NCDOT said the final layer of asphalt and new markings at Shiloh Road would go down in spring 2026. Expect some short lane work there if that slipped. [5]

Both are part of NCDOT project HE-0004, which turns at-grade US 421 crossings near the Guilford line into interchanges. The project page lists a $31 million cost and an updated timeline still to come as of February 2026. [10]

The same project closes Browns Meadow Road at US 421 and realigns parts of Shiloh Road and Old Red Cross Road. If your GPS map is older than 2026, it may still show turns that are gone. [10]

NCDOT's Board of Transportation project lists from July through October 2026 showed no new megasite road contract. No new road jobs there were announced for this fall in what we read. [16][17][18][19]

Detours and local roads to know

When US 421 closes near the plant, NCDOT has used Old Liberty Road and Old US 421 as the detour, rejoining US 421 at the NC 62 interchange. That was the route for nightly paving closures in July 2025. [14]

During construction, NCDOT shifted US 421 North onto a temporary path at Starmount Road, near mile marker 186, so Ames Construction could build two bridges in the median. [12]

In late 2025 Shiloh Road was closed at US 421 for about two months for the second interchange. Closures like these are short, so check DriveNC the day of the run. [15][5]

Rail at the site

The plant sits along a Norfolk Southern line, and NS said in 2021 that it and the NC Railroad would serve the site. Toyota's rail needs were still being discussed at that time. [20]

We found no public source on a finished rail spur or on batteries moving by rail as of October 2026. For now, plan on finished battery freight moving by truck unless your tender says otherwise. [20][13]

Lithium battery rules that matter on the road

The federal hazmat table lists lithium-ion batteries as Class 9, UN3480. Batteries packed with or inside equipment are UN3481. Both point to the packaging rules in 49 CFR 173.185. [22]

A Class 9 placard is not required for domestic moves. A bulk packaging still has to show the UN number, on an orange panel, a Class 9 placard or a white square-on-point display. [23]

For CDL purposes, federal rules count a load as hazardous material when it must be placarded. By that definition, a domestic Class 9 load that needs no placard does not call for an H endorsement. Confirm with your carrier's safety staff. [24][23]

Unless an exception applies, every lithium battery must be a type that passed the UN 38.3 tests, and the maker must keep a test summary available. Since May 10, 2024, lithium-ion batteries must show their watt-hour rating on the case. [26]

Batteries of 12 kg (26.5 lb) or more with a strong, impact-resistant case may ride on pallets or in crates. They must be secured so they can't shift, and nothing stacked on top may rest on the terminals. [26]

Batteries going by truck to a permitted storage, disposal or recycling site are excused from the testing and UN packaging rules if they ride in strong outer packaging. Scrap and return loads from a battery plant may fall under this. [26]

Damaged, defective or recalled batteries that could overheat may go only by highway, rail or vessel. Each needs special inner and outer packaging and a mark in letters at least 12 mm high. [26]

The older lithium battery mark may be used until Dec. 31, 2026. After that, packages need the current mark, so watch for older stock on loads early next year. [26]

Other megasites and truck parking nearby

The VinFast site in Chatham County is not a freight stop. The state sued in May 2026 to take the land back, saying nothing had been built above ground. We found no ruling as of Oct. 20, 2026. [29]

There is no state rest area on US 421 between Greensboro and Siler City. The closest on DriveNC's list are the I-73/74 visitor centers near Seagrove, with 28 truck spaces northbound and 34 southbound. [32]

On I-85, the Davidson County rest area at mile marker 99 lists 19 truck spaces each way. The Alamance County rest area at mile marker 139 lists 22 each way. Counts are as of Sept. 30, 2026. [32]

NCDOT's truck parking plan found Randolph County's rest areas 50 to 100 percent full overnight in a 2014 survey, and over capacity in summer and December. Toyota publishes no gate hours or staging rules that we could find, so get those from your broker or the load tender. [33]