Draft:U.S. Route 74 Alternate (Asheville–Forest City)

U.S. Route 74 Alternate (US 74A) is an alternate route of U.S. Route 74 in Western North Carolina, running from the town of Forest City to the city of Asheville. It replaced US 74's former mainline route in 1994, when its parent highway was moved onto a new freeway alignment running from Forest City to I-26 in Columbus, North Carolina, and from there to I-40 and US 23 in Enka, North Carolina. Its alignment, a narrow, winding road, greatly differs from US 74 today, straying from its parent route by as much as ~14 miles, separated by as much as half an hour of driving time.

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US 74A traverses through downtown Asheville, goes through the mountain resort communities of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure, continues to Ruth, passes between the towns of Rutherfordton and Spindale, and bypasses Forest City to the south. US 74, joins I-40 eastbound west of Asheville, and switches onto I-26 eastbound through Fletcher, bypassing most of urban Asheville. Continuing along a southeasterly course, the parent US 74 passes by Hendersonville and splits from I-26 at Columbus; after passing south of Rutherfordton, US 74 meets the eastern terminus of US 74A.

US 74A is concurrent with US 64 from Ruth in the east through Lake Lure, where NC 9 joins, and Chimney Rock; the three routes separate in Bat Cave. NC 9 splits to the north, US 64 to the south; US 74A alone continues west from that point. In Asheville, US 74A has many concurrencies; US 70 is concurrent with US 74A in east and downtown Asheville and Interstate 26, I-240, US 19/US 23 are concurrent with US 74A west of downtown. Near US 74A's western terminus, US 19/US 23 are concurrent with US 74A. NC 81 overlaps with US 74A for a short 1 mi segment in southeast Asheville. Between Asheville and Gerton, US 74A bears the street name Charlotte Highway. East of Gerton, the road is named the Gerton Highway until arriving at Bat Cave. Through towns and cities, the road takes various names including Main Street and Railroad Avenue.

US 74A is overlapped by two North Carolina scenic byways: Drovers Road (Asheville to Bat Cave) and Black Mountain Rag (Bat Cave to Lake Lure).

Throughout its routing, it is in Buncombe, Henderson, and Rutherford counties.

Buncombe and Henderson counties
US 74A begins at an interchange with US 19, US 23, I-40, and mainline US 74 in west Asheville, and briefly assumes the name Smokey Park Highway before becoming Patton Avenue, a major thoroughfare in the city. It heads northeast through a suburban area, lined with strip malls and housing developments, for about four miles before encountering I-240. Its concurrency with this route is brief, lasting for only a few miles in order to cross the French Broad River and bypass most of downtown Asheville. After departing from I-240 and briefly running on Charlotte Street, it goes through the Beaucatcher Tunnel and under Beaucatcher Mountain, emerging on the other side to a more suburban area. This section of US 74A is known as Tunnel Road. The route proceeds to make several turns before emerging onto Charlotte Highway, where it continues uninterrupted for some distance.

After passing a handful of more shopping centers, the highway assumes a more rural character. It proceeds through the census-designated place and unincorporated community of Fairview, encountering several curves and bends, before entering Henderson County.

US 74A's routing in Henderson County is brief, lasting for approximately 6.7 miles. It first encounters the unincorporated community of Gerton, at the head of a narrow gorge and at Hickory Creek, which will later become the Broad River. The road in Gerton is flat and mostly straight, and immediately upon exiting the town it encounters a curvier section, paralleling Hickory Creek and briefly encountering the Florence Nature Preserve. After a few miles, it enters Bat Cave, first encountering the Broad River, which it also parallels. In the town, it assumes a concurrency with US 64 and NC 9; this is the former route's first interaction of many with US 74 in Western North Carolina when heading west.

Rutherford County
Not long after leaving Bat Cave, US 74A enters Rutherford County and the resort town of Chimney Rock. US 74A provides access to the community's downtown area, lined with shops and providing access to Chimney Rock State Park. Now well into the Hickory Nut Gorge, views of Chimney Rock Mountain are available. After leaving the town, the road briefly stops paralleling the Broad River for approximately 5.6 miles, and instead winds along and around the shores of Lake Lure, also encountering the community of the same name. US 74A serves as the main access road for numerous vacation spots and recreational sites in the town. While in Lake Lure, NC 9 departs from the road, heading south, eventually reaching South Carolina.

US 74A once again begins to follow the course of the Broad River for a few more miles, assuming a rural character. It begins its descent to Rutherfordton, still featuring numerous curves and twists. After traveling through the unincorporated community of Green Hill, it assumes a straighter course.

Eventually, the highway interchanges with US 221, bypassing downtown Rutherfordton. Shortly thereafter, it enters the community of Ruth, where US 64 departs from the road and heads toward Morganton. By now, it is in a much less mountainous area. US 74A begins to head in a more southerly direction, and it becomes a four-lane road upon encountering College Avenue and intersecting US 221A. It interchanges and intersects with various local roads before terminating at mainline US 74. The original alignment of US 74, which US 74A is partially on, continues eastward as US 74 Business until Mooresboro, in Cleveland County.