Editing Interstate 40 (section)

===Construction===
The first sections of I-40 reused freeways that had been constructed prior to the Interstate Highway System or were under construction at the time of the authorization of the system. The first stretch in Tennessee reused a short freeway in Knoxville called the Magnolia Avenue Expressway, which was opened in two segments in 1952 and 1955. The first stretches in North Carolina were a short controlled-access sections of [[U.S. Route 421 in North Carolina|US 421]] in Winston-Salem, and from [[Kernersville, North Carolina|Kernersville]], constructed between 1955 and 1958. By 1957, most states had begun construction on the first sections of I-40. The stretch between Memphis and Nashville, completed on July 24, 1966, was the first major stretch of interstate highway completed in Tennessee.<ref>{{cite news |last = Veazey |first = Walter |date = July 25, 1966 |title = A Giant Of Progress Grows 195 Miles |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90332310/a-giant-of-progress-grows-195-miles/ |page = 1 |work = The Commercial Appeal |location = Memphis |access-date = December 10, 2021 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref>

On June 30, 1972, the final stretch of I-40 entirely within Arkansas, located between [[Clarksville, Arkansas|Clarksville]] and [[Ozark, Arkansas|Ozark]] was opened;<ref>{{cite news |author = <!--not stated--> |date = June 30, 1972 |title = Last Stretch Of I-40 Opens To Traffic Today |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116562182/last-stretch-of-i-40-opens-to-traffic/ |page = 3 |work = Northwest Arkansas Times |location = Fayetteville, Arkansas |agency = Associated Press |access-date = January 15, 2023 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> the last section to open in the state was the [[Hernando de Soto Bridge]], which opened on August 2, 1973.<ref>{{cite news |date = August 3, 1973 |title = Bridge Gets 'Ho-Hum' Opening |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88386533/bridge-gets-ho-hum-opening/ |page = 1-1 |work = The Commercial Appeal |location = Memphis |access-date = November 5, 2021 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last = Kofoed |first = Richard |date = August 5, 1973 |title = Span Rekindles Westward Ho |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88383916/span-rekindles-westward-ho/ |page = 2-2 |work = The Commercial Appeal |location = Memphis |access-date = November 5, 2021 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> The last segment in California to be completed was a short stretch in Needles, opened on August 13, 1973.<ref>{{cite news |author = <!--not stated--> |date = August 16, 1973 |title = Traffic Flows Over I-40; Plan Formal Rites For Opening |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116564078/traffic-flows-over-i-40-plan-formal/ |page = 1 |work = Needles Desert Star |access-date = January 16, 2023 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author = <!--not stated--> |date = August 14, 1973 |title = Interstate 40 Open |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116564173/interstate-40-open/ |page = A11 |work = Hi-Desert Star |location = Yucca Valley, California |access-date = January 16, 2023 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> The last original planned stretch of the highway in Tennessee, located east of Knoxville, was partially opened on December 20, 1974,<ref>{{cite news |last1 = Yarbrough |first1 = Willard |title = All Interstates in ET Open; Dunn Dedicates New Sections |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91441849/all-interstates-in-et-open/ |access-date = December 30, 2021 |work = The Knoxville News-Sentinel |date = December 21, 1974 |pages = 1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91441878/et-interstate-links-opened/ 14] }}</ref> and fully opened on September 12, 1975.<ref>{{cite news |author = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title = I-40 Link Opening Near Knoxville |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56532090/i-40-link-opening-near-knoxville/ |page = 11 |work = The Tennessean |location = Nashville |agency = Associated Press |date = September 11, 1975 |issn = 1053-6590 |access-date = April 18, 2019 }}</ref> The last section of I-40 in Oklahoma, a {{convert|17|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch near [[Erick, Oklahoma|Erick]] near the western end of the state, opened on June 2, 1975.<ref>{{cite news |author = <!--not stated--> |date = June 1, 1975 |title = I-40 Unbroken in Oklahoma; Ceremony to Open Last Stretch Near Erick Monday |url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116560360/i-40-unbroken-in-oklahoma/ |at = §1, p. 5 |work = The Sunday Oklahoman |location = Oklahoma City |access-date = January 15, 2023 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author = <!--not stated--> |date = 2011 |title = Moments In History: June |url = https://www.odot.org/odot100/moments/06-june.php |publisher = Oklahoma Department of Transportation |access-date = January 15, 2023 }}</ref>

In 1971, the North Carolina State Highway Commission approved a plan to extend I-40 from [[Research Triangle Park]] to [[Interstate 95 in North Carolina|I-95]], a distance of {{convert|41|mi|km}}, at a cost of $75&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US-GDP|75|1971|r=2}}&nbsp;million in {{inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{inflation/fn|US-GDP}}). Most of the highway would be four lanes, though six lanes were likely near [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], where I-40 would extend the [[Raleigh Beltline|Beltline]]. Several routes were being considered, but, at the time, the most likely route would have ended north of [[Smithfield, North Carolina|Smithfield]].<ref>{{cite news |title = SHC Approves I-40 Link in Wake County |work = [[Independent Tribune|Concord Tribune]] |agency = [[Associated Press]] |date = July 20, 1971 }}</ref> When the last portion of I-40, connecting Wilmington to Raleigh, was dedicated on June 29, 1990, CBS journalist [[Charles Kuralt]] stated:

{{cquote|Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything.<ref>{{cite news |last = Wilson |first = Amy |url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/01/0102_020104wir66_2.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050825095153/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/01/0102_020104wir66_2.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = August 25, 2005 |title = U.S. Route 66: Historic Road Is Time Line of America |work = National Geographic News |date = January 18, 2002 |access-date = February 18, 2006 }}</ref><ref name=I40Facts>{{cite web |publisher = [[North Carolina Department of Transportation]] |url = http://www.ncdot.org//public/50thanniv/ncinterstates/download/factsI40.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080621040412/http://www.ncdot.org//public/50thanniv/ncinterstates/download/factsI40.pdf |title = I-40 Fact Sheet |date = June 21, 2008 |access-date = June 20, 2014 |archive-date = June 21, 2008 }}</ref>}}