[3] It then proceeds four miles (6.4 km) further north along a newly widened stretch of US 220 to another interchange with NC 68 which was completed in December 2017 but not signed as I-73 until March 2018.

[citation needed] Authorized by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), I-73 was established as a north–south high-priority corridor from Charleston, South Carolina, to Detroit, Michigan.

Highways were already planned for improvements in the central Piedmont region, I-73 was initially aligned to go through Rockingham, Asheboro, High Point, Winston-Salem, and Mount Airy.

[7] However, in November 1993, an organization called Job Link, made up of business leaders from northern North Carolina and southern Virginia, wanted a major highway to connect Roanoke with the Greensboro area.

[8] In April 1995, John Warner, who chaired the Senate subcommittee which would select the route of I-73, announced his support for the Job Link proposal.

On January 7, 2008, a 17-mile (27 km) extension south of Candor to Ellerbe was completed; however, because the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) had not applied to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to add the segment to the Interstate System, signage along the new stretch of freeway was listed as Future I-73, thus not an "official" addition to the Interstate at that time.

Federal approval was granted in 2010 to make this part of the Interstate System at the conclusion of work to upgrade the highway in Asheboro.

NCDOT had already reached an agreement with the FHWA that they could sign the entire length of the US 220 freeway south of Greensboro to Ellerbe as I-73 once this project was completed.

[citation needed] On July 11, 2012, NCDOT gave final approval an extension of I-73 from I-85 to Asheboro to be designated as part of its network.

[17] A contract to change the Future I-73 signs to I-73 shields and replace current exit signage with Interstate standard ones was let on December 11, 2012.

[citation needed] Construction began in April 2014 on I-73 from NC 68, near Piedmont Triad International Airport, to US 220 near the Haw River.

[citation needed] On January 9, 2019, it was announced that the North Carolina State Transportation Improvement Program for 2020 to 2029 included connecting I-73 with US 74 six years sooner than planned.

[23] A $146.1-million (equivalent to $172 million in 2023[21]) contract was awarded for the 7.2 miles (11.6 km) of four-lane freeway with "substantial completion" by late 2023.

Environmental studies were completed in 2011, with a route that includes an interchange at Ghio Road and welcome centers at the state line.