The western terminus of I-140 is located at a trumpet interchange with US 17 north of the community of Winnabow and southwest of Leland.

The highway adjusts and turns to the north, running to the west of a railroad track owned by Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point.

Immediately to the north of the interchange, I-140 enters a residential area, with neighborhoods located on both sides of the highway.

The Interstate crosses the Cape Fear River along the L. Bobby Brown Bridge and enters New Hanover County to the northwest of Wilmington.

[1] During the 1990s, North Carolina originally proposed the I-140 designation for 32.36 miles (52.08 km) along the recently upgraded US 1 freeway between the Raleigh–Cary line and Sanford.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) ultimately disapproved of the routing in their 1999 meeting.

[11] In November 1994, the North Carolina Board of Transportation elected to move forward with the southern routing.

[10] At the time of its announcement, the route was estimated to cost $126.5 million (equivalent to $227 million in 2023[14]) to complete and result in the displacement of 20 homes, eight businesses, the loss of 118 acres (48 ha) of wetlands, and the loss of 290 acres (120 ha) of farmland.

[16] In September 2002, the Federal Highway Administration announced that it would grant NCDOT's request and designate the Northern Outer Loop as Interstate 140.

[17] At the time of its announcement, the designation was touted as a significant means to enhance economic development opportunities along its route in addition to potentially serving as a tie-in for moving the proposed eastern terminus of I-74 from Myrtle Beach to Wilmington.

[17] Later that month, it was announced the segment east of I-40, would be named the John J. Burney Freeway after the state senator and trustee of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

[19] Some of the restrictions of the overlay include banning the construction of billboards, limiting outdoor storage, and increasing setback requirements for structures adjacent to the roadway.

This included the handling of stormwater runoff into Futch Creek and a slight redesign of an offramp at the Market Street interchange in Kirkland to avoid a 450-year-old oak tree.

[24] In November 2005, the North Carolina Board of Transportation voted unanimously to name the I-140 bridge across the Northeast Cape Fear River in honor of former Wilmington mayor and businessman Dan Cameron.

[31] Construction of the segment began in March 2010 as a result of receiving partial funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

On January 14, 2015, the Certification of Rulemaking was released, confirming the establishment of the new designation along not only the Brunswick segment but all existing and future sections of the Wilmington bypass.

The justification in the paperwork for using NC 140 was it would serve as a temporary designation until the entire bypass was complete and the remaining segments could be submitted to AASHTO approval as I-140.

[34] The other rationalization was to provide an alternate designation for the entire bypass if a proposal to return US 17 to the streets of Wilmington was enacted.

NCDOT officials in the summer of 2014 called for returning US 17 to its original routing through Wilmington on Market Street, with the exception of placing a part of it on Military Cutoff Road and Oleander Drive.

[37] On December 15, 2017, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the final section of the freeway between US 74/US 76 and US 421, officially completing I-140 around Wilmington.

[40] In 2002, the North Carolina Board of Transportation appropriated $10 million for the construction of an interchange at Blue Clay Road.

[41] The interchange would serve in providing better access to both Wilmington International Airport and the Cape Fear Community College North Campus.

The proposed freeway would extend east, crossing the Cape Fear River along a newly constructed bridge.