U.S. Route 74 emerges from East Tennessee and makes its way through western and southern North Carolina, beginning with the mountains in the state's far west and continuing on through Asheville, Hendersonville, Charlotte, Rockingham, Whiteville and Wilmington, finally ending at Wrightsville Beach along the Atlantic coast. Between Rockingham and Wilmington, US 74 is concurrent with Interstate 74 or its future alignment; it also overlaps with Interstates 40 and 26 further west. The route has a tolled bypass of Monroe, an eastern suburb of Charlotte.