Interstate 440 (North Carolina)
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| Interstate 440 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System |
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| Length: | 24 mi (25 km) |
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| Formed: | 1984 |
| Beltway around Raleigh, North Carolina | |
| Major junctions: |
   I-40/US 1/64  US 70/NC 50 US 1/401 US 64/264 I-40 |
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Interstate 440 (abbreviated I-440) in North Carolina, also known as the Raleigh Beltline or the Cliff Benson Beltline, is a 24-mile (39-km) complete beltway that encircles central Raleigh. Labeled "INNER" and "OUTER", it is one of the few interstate highways in the United States not labeled with compass directions (e.g. east/west). Traffic travels clockwise on the "inner" part of the loop and counterclockwise on the "outer" part of the loop. This designation often leads to confusion when traveling in the Raleigh area, especially with the addition of the I-540 "Outer Loop".
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[edit] Inner/Outer
The designation of directions on the route is often confusing to the area. "Inner" is the clockwise lane, named because of the lane is closer to downtown Raleigh. "Outer" is the couterclockwise lane, which is further from downtown Raleigh.
[edit] Route description
Exit numbering for I-440 begins at the intersection of Interstate 40, U.S. Highway 1, and U.S. Highway 64 near Cary, North Carolina. Carrying US 1 northbound, I-440 runs northeast from this junction to northern Raleigh. The Interstate route then concaves southward around downtown Raleigh and separates from US 1. Due east of Raleigh's center, US 64 southbound joins I-440 INNER, which continues south, then west to rejoin I-40 southeast of the city near I-440's milemarker 16 (26 km). For an 8-mile (13 km) segment south of downtown Raleigh, I-40 and I-440, along with US 64, are cosigned on the same freeway; here, I-40 takes precedence over the exit numbering. At the west end of this segment, I-440 meets its starting point at US 1;. this is exit 293 according to the I-40 numbering scheme and exits 1A and 1B of the I-440 numbering scheme [1]
[edit] Volume, Capacity and Improvements
Between US1-64 (Exit 1A) and Wade Ave. (Exit 4) west of Downtown Raleigh, I-440 has four travel lanes. As of 2005, average annual daily traffic volume varies between 78,000 vpd and 90,000 vpd on this section.
Between Wade Ave. (Exit 4) and Capital Blvd. (Exit 11) north of Downtown Raleigh, I-440 has between six and eight travel lanes. As of 2005, average annual traffic volume varies between 112,000 vpd and 138,000 vpd on this section.
Between Capital Blvd (Exit 11) and I-40 (Exit 16) east of Downtown Raleigh, I-440 has between six and eight travel lanes. As of 2005, average annual traffic volume varies between 88,000 vpd and 108,000 vpd on this section.
The eight-mile southern section of the Raleigh Beltline, formerly signed as I-40 & I-440, has between six and 10 travel lanes. As of 2005, average annual traffic volume varies between 101,000 vpd and 113,000 vpd on this section.
As of 2006, there are several locations where volume regularly exceeds capacity. Notably, the entire four lane section between US1-64 and Wade Ave. (Exit 4) regularly operates under capacity constrained conditions during peak travel times. The relatively high frequency of interchanges along this section of I-440 serves to exacerbate the problem. The North Carolina Department of Transportation plans to reconstruct this section of the Beltline but it is unlikely that construction will begin in the near future.
The northern section of I-440 is generally navigable at the posted speed limit even during peak times thanks to a deluge of projects funded by NCDOT and the City of Raleigh. This entire section was widened in the early 1990s by NCDOT. Following that, NCDOT spent more than half a billion dollars to construct the northern arc of I-540, a second beltline which circles Raleigh at a radius of approximately ten miles. (The I-440 Beltline circles Raleigh at a radius of approximately four miles). It is likely that many thousands of daily trips on I-540 are made by motorists who would otherwise be travelling on the northern section of I-440. Finally, the City of Raleigh has recently invested millions of dollars into increasing the capacity of the interchanges at Six Forks Road (Exit 8A-B) and Capital Blvd. (Exit 11) and, to a lesser extent, Lake Boone Trail (Exit 5). It plans a similar improvement to the interchange at Wake Forest Road (Exit 10) in 2007. In spite of the enormous efforts that have been made to improve the driving experience for motorists on northern I-440, occasional problems remain. Notably, a miles-long queue regularly forms during the AM peak hour on the outside southbound lane of The Beltline approaching Wade Ave.(Exit 4).
Originally, the interchanges at Wade Ave. (Exit 4) and Glenwood Ave. (Exit 7) were full cloverleaf style with eight ramps each (four ramps and four loops). Volume eventually exceeded capacity at these locations and safety quickly became an issue due to weaving, an inherent problem with the design of cloverleaf interchanges. In response, NCDOT simply removed one loop from each of the two interchanges and reassigned the traffic to one of the remaining ramps. For example, the northeast loop, which formerly allowed motorists to transfer from northbound (inner) I-440 to westbound Wade Avenue without stopping, was removed. This traffic was reassigned to the southeast ramp, where motorists encountered a 90-degree left-hand turn and a traffic signal. This small change significantly improved the safety of the interchange at the expense of travel time.
[edit] Truncation and removal of Inner/Outer labels
In 2002, the North Carolina Department of Transportation decided to replace the the inner/outer labeling with an east-west orientation and remove I-440 along its concurrency with I-40. This decision was primarily made to prevent confusion with the I-540 Outer Loop around Wake County[2].
[edit] Interstate 40 Business
Prior to 1991, the northern part of the Beltline was designated, but unsigned, as Business 40 while the southern part remained Interstate 40. Later, the I-440 designation was approved and signed along the entire loop[3].
[edit] Nearby attractions
- RBC Center via Wade Avenue (exit 4)
- Carter-Finley Stadium via Wade Avenue (exit 4)
- North Carolina State Fairgrounds via NC 54/Hillsborough Street (exit 3)
- Meredith College via NC 54/Hillsborough Street (exit 3)
- North Carolina State University via Western Boulevard (exit 2A)
- Crabtree Valley Mall via US 70/NC 50/Glenwood Avenue (exit 7)
- North Hills Mall via Six Forks Road (exit 8B)
- Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek via Rock Quarry Road (exit 300A)
[edit] Exit list
Exits are numbered by mile marker, beginning at Exit 1 in the southwest and continuing clockwise around the Inner Beltline.[4]
All exits are in Wake County.
| # | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|
mainline becomes  Beltline |
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| 1A |   Interstate 40 East/US 64 East/Interstate 440 Outer - Benson |
I-440 enters clockwise and exits counterclockwise. Exit 1A-B, a cloverleaf interchange, is the same interchange as Exit 293, below. I-440 thru traffic must exit here to remain on the highway. |
| 1B |  Interstate 40 West |
Exit 1A-B is the same interchange as Exit 293, below. |
| 1C | Jones Franklin Rd | Separate interchange from 1A-B within first mile of freeway. |
| 1D | Melbourne Rd | Clockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance |
| 2A | Western Blvd - NC State Univ, downtown | Counterclockwise entrance from westbound Western Blvd is a left entrance |
| 2B | Cary | Unsigned extension of Western Blvd |
| 3 |  NC 54 (Hillsborough St) - Meredith College |
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| 4A | Wade Ave - Cameron Village | |
| 4B | Wade Ave - RDU Intl Airport | |
| 5 | Lake Boone Tr | |
| 6 | Ridge Road | Clockwise exit/entrance only. Counterclockwise access via Exit 7A |
| 7 | US 70/NC 50 (Glenwood Ave) - Crabtree Valley, Durham |
Counterclockwise exit split into 7B (US 70 West/NC 50 North) and 7A (US 70 East/NC 50 South, Ridge Rd) |
| 8A | Six Forks Rd South | |
| 8B | Six Forks Rd North - North Hills | |
| 10 | Wake Forest Rd | |
| 11 |  US 1 North/US 401 (Capital Blvd) - Wake Forest, Louisburg |
US 1 joins counterclockwise and leaves clockwise. Counterclockwise exit split into 11B (US 1 North/US 401 North) and 11A (US 401 South) |
| duplex ends; highway continues as Beltline |
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| 12 | Yonkers Rd/Brentwood Rd | Interchange with two parallel roads; no bridge to cross over I-440. Clockwise exit/entrance to Yonkers Rd; counterclockwise exit/entrance to Brentwood Rd. |
| 13A | New Bern Ave - downtown | |
| 13B |  US 64 Business East - Knightdale |
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| 14 |  US 64/US 264 East (Knightdale Bypass) - Rocky Mount, Wilson |
US 64 joins clockwise and leaves counterclockwise. |
| duplex begins |
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| 15 | Poole Rd | |
| 16 301 |
Interstate 40 East - Benson, Wilmington |
I-40 joins clockwise and leaves counterclockwise. The highway uses I-40's exit numbers from this point on. |
| multiplex begins |
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| 300B | Rock Quarry Rd North | |
| 300A | Rock Quarry Rd South | |
| 299 | Person St, Hammond Rd | |
| 298B |   US 70 West/US 401 North/NC 50 North (S Saunders St North) - Raleigh downtown |
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| 298A |  US 70 East/US 401 South/NC 50 South (S Saunders St South) - Fayetteville |
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| 297 | Lake Wheeler Rd | |
| 295 | Gorman St | |
| 293B |  Interstate 440 Inner/US 1 North - Wake Forest |
I-440 exits clockwise and enters counterclockwise. Exit 293 is the same interchange as Exit 1A-B, above. |
| 293A | US 1 South/US 64 West - Sanford |
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| mainline continues as |
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[edit] References
- ^ NCRoads - I-440
- ^ Gribble Nation - I-440 description
- ^ Interstate Guide - Business 40 Routes
- ^ Gribble Nation - I-440 (NC) Exits
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Auxiliary routes of Interstate 40 |
| I-140 | Tennessee - North Carolina |
| I-240 | Tennessee - North Carolina - Oklahoma |
| I-440 | Tennessee - North Carolina - Arkansas |
| I-540 | Arkansas - North Carolina |
| I-640 | Tennessee |
| I-840 | North Carolina |
