Interstate 295 (North Carolina)

Interstate 295 marker NC Highway 295 marker

Interstate 295 (Future)/NC 295
Fayetteville Outer Loop
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length: 8.7 mi[1] (14.0 km)
Existed: July 12, 2011 (2011-07-12) – present
Fort Bragg segment
Length: 1.7 mi (2.7 km)
South end: NC 24 / NC 87 in Fayetteville
North end: NC 24 / NC 87 / NC 210 in Fayetteville
Eastover segment
Length: 7.0 mi (11.3 km)
South end: US 401 in Fayetteville
North end: I‑95 / US 13 near Eastover
Location
Counties: Cumberland
Highway system
← NC 294US 301 →

North Carolina Highway 295 (Future Interstate 295), also known as the Fayetteville Outer Loop, is a partially completed Interstate-grade bypass around the western side of Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Route description

NC 295 (Future I-295) currently begins at US 401, in Fayetteville. Heading east, it crosses the Cape Fear River and connects with River Road before ending at its northern terminus at Interstate 95/US 13, near Eastover. The entire 7-mile (11 km) route is a divided four-lane highway with a maximum speed limit of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h). While there are no exit numbers along the route, NC 295 mile markers were added in 2014 when previous signage designating the route Future Interstate 295 were removed and replaced with NC 295 signs, both along the Loop itself and at the Loop's interchange with I-95.[2]

A second segment of the Fayetteville Outer Loop, which opened in August, 2014 and signed as NC 24/NC 87, connects between Bragg Boulevard and Murchison Road. This section will be connected with the first segment in late 2016.

Dedicated and memorial names

NC 295/Future I-295 has one dedicated stretch of freeway.

History

The future designation of the Fayettville Outer Loop as Interstate 295 was approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in May 2005 following an earlier approval by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Signs designation "Future I-295" were put up along the route when the section between Interstate 95 and River Road was opened in July 2005. The first short section of this highway had opened earlier in June 2003, and it extended only from River Road to US 401. Then, the only mentions of a highway number were on street signs at the entrance ramps that said I-295 (with an additional "FUTURE" on some). For the foreseeable future the highway will be marked as NC 295, Future I-295, with a change of signs designating it a full Interstate Highway once two parts of it (namely the bridge that crosses the Cape Fear River and its interchange with I-95) are improved up to Interstate Highway standards.[4]

NC 295 appears in the 2013-14 State Transportation Map

Construction on the next section of Interstate 295, located from US 401 to the "All-American Freeway", was scheduled to start in the later months of 2008, and then probably completed by early 2012, but this construction project was put on hold in November 2008 due to the severe shortage of money for highway construction in North Carolina at that time and extending though 2011.[5] Instead of constructing this segment as one contract, work was split up into 3 smaller segments. Work first started in 2009 on the section from Bragg Boulevard (North Carolina Highway 24, NC 24) to Murchison Road (NC 210) using federal stimulus monies. This was completed in 2014. In March 2011 a contract to construct the portion of the Loop between US 401 and Murchison Road was awarded to a construction company, however this did not include final paving. The contract for paving was issued in 2014 and is scheduled to be completed during the summer of 2016, delayed from April 2014.[6]

On August 4, 2014, a 1.7-mile (2.7 km) new section of the Fayetteville Outer Loop opened between Murchison Road and Bragg Boulevard. Considered critical in relieving congestion around Fort Bragg, this section traverses eastbound along collector-distributor lanes between the two exits, while westbound uses an actual stretch of the freeway. Signage along this stretch is a rerouting of NC 24/NC 87. The next section, which will link the two segments of the Fayetteville Outer Loop and continue to All-American Freeway is estimated to be completed end of 2016.[3][7]

The remainder of the route south to Interstate 95 near St. Paul's is to be completed in segments, and not scheduled to be totally complete until around 2024.[2]

Route Number Changes

The Fayetteville Outer Loop has had a variety of actual and proposed highway designations over the years. Its first proposed Interstate designation, rejected by AASHTO in 2003, was Interstate 195. Other earlier designations have included extensions of US 13 (in some newspaper articles) or as NC 24. This highway also has been shown as NC 13 on state maps in 2004 and 2005. It was signed as Future Interstate 295 from 2005 to 2014, which also appeared on state maps from 2006 to 2012.

On July 23, 2011, NCDOT officially designated the Fayetteville Outer Loop as North Carolina Highway 295. The circumstances for the rule change cited was necessary for public safety and welfare. This marks its official establishment, six years after the first section of the new freeway was completed.[8]

Exit list

CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Robeson  I‑95Proposed interchange (unfunded)[9]
 Leeper RoadProposed interchange (unfunded)[9]
Cumberland Lake Upchurch RoadProposed interchange (unfunded)[9]
 Strickland Bridge RoadProposed interchange (unfunded)[9]
Fayetteville US 401 (Raeford Road)Proposed interchange (funded only for right of way procurement)[9]
Cliffdale RoadProposed interchange (funded only for right of way procurement)[9]
Canopy LaneProposed interchange (funded only for right of way procurement)[9]
21A-BAll American FreewayUnder Construction (Projected in 2016)[10][11]
21.434.421C NC 24 east / NC 87 south (Bragg Boulevard)Southbound exit and northbound entrance; signed NC 24/NC 87
22.936.923 NC 24 west / NC 87 north / NC 210 (Murchison Road) – Spring LakeSouthbound entrance and northbound exit; signed NC 24/NC 87
To Fayetteville State University and Simmons AAF
25McArthur RoadUnder Construction (Projected in 2016)[10][11]
28.045.128 US 401 (Ramsey Street) – Lillington, FayettevilleSouthbound exit and northbound entrance; to Methodist University
 30.549.130River Road
Eastover35.056.334 I‑95 – Benson, Lumberton
35.056.3— US 13 north – Newton Grove, GoldsboroContinuation as US 13
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. 1 2 Google (February 23, 2013). "North Carolina Highway 295" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "I-295 Fayetteville Outer Loop". Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Staff (August 1, 2014). "NCDOT to Open New Stretch of Fayetteville Outer Loop from Murchison Road to Bragg Boulevard on Monday". Project Details. North Carolina Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  4. ↑ Fayetteville Outer Loop Trip, Adam Prince February 26, 2005
  5. ↑ WRAL. "Fayetteville Defends Funding for I-295, WRAL.com, accessed 1/18/09". WRAL.com. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "Contract awarded for next phase of Fayetteville Outer Loop". FayObserver.com. March 10, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  7. ↑ Futch, Michael (August 4, 2014). "Fayetteville's Outer Loop segment opens, connects Bragg Boulevard and Murchison Road". FayObserver.com. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  8. ↑ "NC 295 Route Change (2011-07-12)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. July 12, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "STIP Division 6" (PDF). Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  10. 1 2 http://paraglideonline.net/articles/2012/06/I-295-construction-plans-delayed
  11. 1 2 "Signing Plan NC 295/Future I-295" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. December 17, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2014.

External links

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