Interstate 440 (North Carolina)

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Interstate 440 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Beltline
Length:	16.40 mi[1] (26.39 km)
Formed:	1984
West end:	I-40/US 1/64 near Cary, NC
Major junctions:	US 70/NC 50 near Raleigh, NC US 1/401 near Raleigh, NC US 64/264 near Raleigh, NC
East end:	I-40/US 64 near Raleigh, NC
North Carolina highways < I-40 I-540 >

Interstate 440 (abbreviated I-440) in North Carolina, also known as the Raleigh Beltline and the Cliff Benson Beltline, is a 16.4-mile (26.4-km) partial beltway that nearly encircles central Raleigh.^[1] Prior to August 2002, it was a complete loop and shared a concurrency with its parent, Interstate 40 along the loop's southern segment (Tom Bradshaw Freeway). I-440 was labeled with "Inner" and "Outer" lanes, making it one of the few interstate highways in the United States not primarily labeled with compass directions (e.g. east/west). It has now been truncated to avoid confusion, especially with the I-540 "Outer Loop" and is being relabeled with an east-west orientation. While overhead signs for the I-40 section of the Beltline do not show I-440 anymore, I-440 shields are still erected alongside I-40 and US 64 shields along the southern portion and at interchanges.[1]

[edit] Route description

I-440 at Wade Avenue looking Southwest. Reduces from six to four lanes at this point

Exit numbering for I-440 begins at the intersection of Interstate 40, U.S. Highway 1, and U.S. Highway 64 near Cary. 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).^[2]

[edit] Nearby points of interest

• 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 via Six Forks Road (exit 8B)

[edit] Signage

At some major junctions, compass directions are included on I-440 banners, but the orientation is not uniform around the entire loop. For example, at the I-440/Wade Avenue intersection, the beltline is signed north and south.^[3] Some reassurance shields along I-440 also have compass directions, but many others do not have any directional banners.^[4] The unique "Capital Dome I-440" reassurance shields, however, do show the inner/outer orientation.

Most entrance ramps onto the beltline have cutout I-440 shields on the side of the road with Inner Beltline and Outer Beltine banners posted below and directional arrows further down.^[5]

[edit] Volume and capacity

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] History

[edit] Truncation and removal of Inner/Outer labels

I-40 east approaching the Raleigh Beltline. I-440 has since been removed from the left sign, and been changed to "East" on the right sign.

In 2002, the North Carolina Department of Transportation decided to replace 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.^[6] The FHWA route log has been updated to show the shortened distance.^[1] As of 2007, I-440 shields still exist along the southern segment along the highway and at interchanges, and many I-440 shields still bear the inner/outer labels or north-south orientation; most of the overhead signs have not yet been changed to reflect the decision. Signs are being changed as they are replaced; new signs placed on US 1 do not show I-440 on the southern segment and show I-440 with east/west compass directions.

[edit] Interstate 40 Business

Prior to 1991, the northern part of the beltline was designated, but unsigned, as Business Interstate 40 while the southern part remained Interstate 40. Later, the I-440 designation was approved and signed along the entire loop.^[7]

[edit] Exit list

Exits are numbered by mile marker, beginning at Exit 1 in the southwest and continuing clockwise around the Inner Beltline.^[8] With the truncation of I-440 and assignment of east/west direction, exits are now numbered west to east.

All exits are in Wake County.

#	Destinations	Notes
	US 1 west / US 64 – Sanford, Asheboro	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
1	I-40 / US 64 east to US 70 – Benson, Rocky Mount, Durham, Airport	Signed as exits 1A (east) and 1B (west)
1C	Jones Franklin Road
1D	Melbourne Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
2A	Western Boulevard - NC State University, Downtown	Westbound entrance is a left entrance
2B	Cary
3	NC 54 (Hillsborough Street) – Meredith College
4	To I-40 west / Wade Avenue – Cameron Village, RDU International Airport, Durham	Signed as exits 4A (east) and 4B (west) westbound
5	Lake Boone Trail
6	Ridge Road	Westbound exit is part of exit 7A
7	US 70 / NC 50 (Glenwood Avenue) – Crabtree Valley, Durham	Signed as exits 7A (south) and 7B (north) westbound
8	Six Forks Rd - North Hills	Signed as exits 8A (south) and 8B (north)
10	Wake Forest Road
11	US 1 north / US 401 (Capital Boulevard) – Wake Forest, Louisburg, Downtown	East end of US 1 overlap; signed as exits 11A (south) and 11B (north) westbound
12	Yonkers Road, Brentwood Road
13A	New Bern Avenue - Downtown
13B	US 64 Bus. east - Knightdale
14	US 64 east / US 264 east (Knightdale Bypass) – Wilson, Rocky Mount	West end of US 64 overlap
15	Poole Road
16	I-40 / US 64 west – Wilmington, Benson, Cary, Durham	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance

[edit] References

v • d • e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 40 Oklahoma: 240 — Arkansas: 440 • 540 — Tennessee: 140 • 240 • 440 • 640 — North Carolina: 140 • 240 • 440 • 540 • 840 (future)