N.C. Gen. Stat. § 136-89.53

The Department of Transportation may designate and establish controlled-access highways as new and additional facilities or may designate and establish an existing street or highway as included within a controlled-access facility. When an existing street or highway shall be designated as and included within a controlled-access facility the owners of land abutting such existing street or highway shall be entitled to compensation for the taking of or injury to their easements of access. The Department of Transportation shall have authority to provide for the elimination of intersections at grade of controlled-access facilities with existing State highways and county roads, and city and town streets, by grade separation or frontage road, or by closing off such roads and streets, or other public ways at the right-of-way boundary line of such controlled-access facility; and after the establishment of any controlled-access facility, no highway or street which is not part of said facility shall intersect the same at grade. No street or [of] any city or town and no State highway, county road, or other public way shall be opened into or connected with any such controlled-access facility without the consent and previous approval of the Department of Transportation. Such consent and approval shall be given only if the public interest shall be served thereby.