Interstate 540 (North Carolina)

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 This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.
Interstate 540
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Outer Loop
Length: 26 mi[1] (42 km)
Formed: 1997
West end: I-40/NC 540 near Durham, NC
Major
junctions:		 US 70 in northwest Raleigh, NC
NC 50 in north Raleigh, NC
US 1 in northeast Raleigh, NC
US 401 in northeast Raleigh, NC
East end: US 64/US 264 near Knightdale, NC
North Carolina highways
< I-440 I-840 >


NC 540
Length: 3.9 mi (6 km)
Formed: 2007
West end: NC 55 in Cary, NC
Major
junctions:		 NC 54 in Morrisville, NC
NC 147 in Morrisville, NC
East end: I-40/I-540 near Durham, NC
Counties: Wake, Durham
North Carolina highways
< NC 522 NC 561 >

Interstate 540 (abbreviated I-540) is the designation for the northern completed part of the perimeter loop of Raleigh, North Carolina (not to be confused with the I-440 Beltline). Known formally as the Northern Wake Expressway, or the Outer Loop it runs 30.5 miles (49 km) from I-40 at NC 55 around the northern part of Raleigh to US 64/US 264 (Knightdale Bypass) in Knightdale, North Carolina. The completed section is only one part of a proposed outer loop that will total nearly 70 miles (112 km) in length (see breakdown in table below).

NC 540 is the designation given to the Western Wake Parkway, the western section of Raleigh's second freeway loop. As of August 2007, the North Carolina state route traverses east-west between NC 55 and I-40 at the I-540 interchange. Initially intended to be signed as an extension of the I-540 loop, the route bears mile markers and exit numbers for the complete Interstate loop, going from 66 to 69.

Contents

[edit] History

As of 2007, less than one half of the project has been completed and is open to traffic. On July 14, 2007, a section of the loop from I-40 west to NC 54 and NC 55 was opened [2]. However, the route is signed not as I-540 but as NC 540. Officials decided to change the designation in early July at the urging of the North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA). Work on the western and southern portions of the beltway, if paid for by state funds, would possibly not open until 2030. At the request of several Wake County mayors, the NCTA in 2006 began studying the use of tolls to complete these portions of the Outer Loop.

The Authority concluded in early 2007 that it would be financially feasible to build the western section (along with an extended Durham Freeway, which combined would be called the 'Triangle Expressway') using toll funds. The NCTA apparently never wanted an interstate designation for the Western Wake Parkway. To lessen motorist confusion about where I-540 ended, the route was truncated back to the I-40 interchange. All I-540 signs that were put up along the unopened stretch between I-40 and NC 55 were taken down in early July 2007; the new section is now signed as NC 540. Work to build the Western Wake Freeway, which would be renamed the 'Western Wake Parkway' under the toll proposal, could begin by the end of 2008. If so, this part of the Outer Loop could be completed as early as the fall of 2011. The state legislature so far, however, has not included gap funding (to fill the missing funds between the total construction costs and that that can be raised by tolls) to help the NCTA start construction, which could mean a later completion date.

[edit] Segments

The existing, under construction, and proposed segments of the Outer Loop are as follows:[3]

Segment Name Location Mileage
Northern Wake Expressway NC 55 to US 64 Business 29.0
Western Wake Freeway (Parkway) NC 55 North of Apex to NC 55 South of Apex 12.4
Southern Wake Freeway NC 55 to I-40 near Garner 16.5
Eastern Wake Freeway I-40 to US 64 Business 12.9
TOTAL 70.8

[edit] Exit list

This exit list encompasses both NC 540 and I-540.

This section contains a table that is missing mileposts for one or more junctions. Please help by adding the missing mileposts.
County Location Mile # Destinations Notes
Wake 66.4[4] 66 NC 55 – Apex, Durham Signed as exits 66A (east) and 66B (west)
67 Davis Drive
Morrisville 69 NC 54 – Chapel Hill, Cary
Durham 70[5]
0		 1 I-40 – Raleigh, Durham Signed as exits 1A (east) and 1B (west); east end of NC 540; west end of I-540
Wake Raleigh 2 Aviation Parkway – RDU Airport Signed as exits 2A (south) and 2B (north)
3 Lumley Road
4 US 70 – Raleigh, Durham Signed as exits 4A (east) and 4B (west)
7 Leesville Road
9 NC 50 – Creedmoor, Raleigh
Raleigh 11 Six Forks Road
14 Falls of Neuse Road
16 US 1 (Capitol Boulevard) – Raleigh, Wake Forest
17 Triangle Town Boulevard Serves the Triangle Town Center
18 US 401 – Louisburg
20 Buffaloe Road
24
US 64 Bus. – Raleigh, Knightdale		 Signed as exits 24A (west) and 24B (east) eastbound
25.8[6] 26 US 64 / US 264 (Knightdale Bypass) – Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Wilson Signed as exits 26A (west) and 26B (east)

When NCDOT initially posted the exit signs for exits 66 A/B, 68, and 69, they had posted them as 47 A/B, 49, and 50. The reason for the discrepancy was an apparent error made when summing the mileage for the new highway by the NCDOT's GIS unit, about 20 miles of the proposed route was left out. NCDOT corrected the exit numbers and corresponding mileposts prior to the road opening in mid-July. [7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:I540endat64-264.jpg
  2. ^ NCDOT: I-540 Raleigh Outer Loop
  3. ^ Mileage listed in the NCDOT 2007-2013 STIP (pp. 5-33 - 5-35). Downloadable from http://www.ncdot.org/planning/development/TIP/TIP/
  4. ^ Exit 66 Picture
  5. ^ Exit 1 Picture
  6. ^ Exit 26 Picture
  7. ^ Siceloff, Bruce. "'Oops' won't Stall 540 Opening", News & Observer, July 11, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-16. 

[edit] Other sources

 The references in this article would be clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking.

[edit] External links

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)