Interstate 540 (North Carolina)
Interstate 540 and North Carolina Highway 540, also known as the Raleigh Outer Loop, is a partially-completed beltway around the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. When complete, it will fully encircle the city and nearby suburbs, meeting its parent route of I-40 in two locations. The first section from Durham to Knightdale is an Interstate Highway, and the remaining section from Garner to Durham is a North Carolina state highway.
The first section of I-540 runs from I-40 near the Raleigh–Durham International Airport to I-87/U.S. Highway 64 /US 264 south of Knightdale. The route opened in January 2007, and was intended to be renumbered to I-640 and an Interstate highway in full when completed. The NCDOT decided against both when it became financially unfeasible to construct the entire route with public funds within a reasonable timeframe.
The remaining portion of the route is a toll road that has been constructed as a North Carolina state highway. The first section of NC 540 was opened in July 2007, extending westward from the western terminus of I-540. Further extensions have carried NC 540 around the western side of Wake County to its current southwestern terminus south of Apex; an extension to Garner was scheduled to open in late-August 2024, but was delayed to late-September 2024. The final project planned to complete the eastern leg from Garner to Knightdale under the same toll system also began construction in 2024 with a completion date of 2028.
Route description
When completed, the beltway will total in length, surrounding the city of Raleigh and the towns of Apex, Cary, Garner, and Morrisville. The designation from I-540 and NC 540 happens at I-40, in Durham County, where I-540 goes east and NC 540 goes west.The beltway is further broken down into four segments:
| Segment Name | Designation | Location | Length |
| Northern Wake Expressway | I-540, NC 540 | NC 54 to I-87/US 64/US 264 | |
| Western Wake Expressway | NC 540 | NC 54 in Cary to NC 55 south of Apex | |
| Southern Wake Expressway | NC 540 | NC 55 to I-40 near Garner | |
| Eastern Wake Expressway | NC 540 | I-40 to I-87/US 64/US 264 | |
| Total |
Interstate 540
The I-540 portion begins at an interchange designated as exit 1 near I-40 near the Raleigh–Durham International Airport, located right at the Durham–Wake county line. It travels northeast to Aviation Parkway, then turns east along the southside of the Brier Creek neighborhood, with interchanges at Lumley Road and US 70. After crossing US 70, I-540 travels eastward across the mostly residential areas of North Raleigh, with several exits with major arterial roads, including Leesville Road, NC 50/Creedmoor Road, Six Forks Road, and Falls of Neuse Road. Turning southeast, there is a complex interchange with US 1/Capital Boulevard and Triangle Town Boulevard, which provide access to the Triangle Town Center shopping mall and commercial district along Capital Boulevard. Shortly after the interchange with US 401/Louisburg Road, I-540 crosses the Neuse River and then turns south towards Knightdale. I-540 immediately has an interchange with Buffaloe Road. I-540 continues south paralleling both the Neuse River and Forestville Road. As I-540 enters Knightdale, it has an interchange with U.S. Highway 64 Business /Knightdale Boulevard. About after the US 64 Bus. interchange, I-540 has its western terminus at I-87/US 64/US 264, though the roadway continues on for a short distance, and several ghost ramps indicate the planned connection to the rest of the loop.North Carolina Highway 540
NC 540 is the designation given to the Western Wake Expressway, Southern Wake Expressway and the future Eastern Wake Expressway. The Western Wake Expressway and the Southern Wake Expressway also forms a portion of the Triangle Expressway toll road complex. The Southern Wake Expressway begins at a turbine interchange with I-40 and I-42 southeast of Garner. The road heads due west around suburban developments, having interchanges at NC 50, Old Stage Road, US 401, Bells Lake Road, and Holly Springs Road. The road eventually reaches NC 55 just south of Apex, where it becomes the Western Wake Expressway. At this point, the road is heading due west and has two quick interchanges with Veridea Road and US 1 after turning to the northwest. Exit 56 connects to Salem Street, connecting to downtown Apex, while exit 59 connects to US 64 near the Beaver Creek Shopping Center. Now heading due north and between Green Level Church Road and NC 55, the road skirts the western edge of Cary, with interchanges at Green Level Road and Morrisville Parkway. Just north of the former community of Carpenter is a second interchange with NC 55. The Triangle Expressway toll road splits at NC 540 at exit 67 to follow NC 885, along where the Triangle Expressway ends at NC 54 before meeting I-40 at exit 1 and continuing on as I-540.Tolls
The I-540 toll section is between NC 54 and I-40/I-42, it also includes NC 885 at I-40 to Davis Rd.. Tolls are implemented by electronic toll collection and are enforced by video cameras. Several gantries are located along the route and entrance/exit ramps, where they collect toll via the NC Quick Pass or other interoperable ETC systems. Those that do not participate in the ETC program will receive a bill in the mail and will have 30 days from the date on said bill before additional fees and civil penalties are applied.History
Planning for the highway originally started in the early 1970s; by 1976, the "Northern Wake Expressway" was added to the planning map. In the mid-1980s, realizing that the growth in western Wake County may require more roads than planned, highway planners decided to expand the project as a new beltway around Raleigh. In 1992, construction began on the first section of the Northern Wake Expressway, connecting I-40 with US 70. On January 21, 1997, the freeway opened as I-540.In the following 10 years, the now known Northern Wake Freeway made several extensions:
- December 11, 1999: From US 70/Glenwood Avenue to Leesville Road.
- December 21, 2000: From Leesville Road to NC 50/Creedmoor Road.
- June 29, 2001: From NC 50/Creedmoor Road to Falls of Neuse Road.
- August 12, 2002: From Falls of Neuse Road to US 1/Capital Boulevard/Triangle Town Boulevard.
- January 16, 2007: From Triangle Town Boulevard to US 64/US 264/Knightdale Bypass.
On July 14, 2007, a section of the loop from I-40 west to NC 54 and NC 55 was opened. 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. 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 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 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, began August 12, 2009, with the Triangle Parkway portion opening in December 2011, and Western Wake portion scheduled to open in two phases in 2012.
In October 2008, the authority was unable to issue bonds to fund the Western Wake Turnpike project as planned due to market conditions affecting municipal bonds such as those. On July 29, 2009, the Authority closed on a revised $1.01-billion bond plan, consisting of $270 million in toll revenue bonds, $353 million in Build America Bonds, and a $387-million loan from the US Department of Transportation under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.
Groundbreaking was held on August 12, 2009, at the west end of I-540. "A dozen dignitaries" used shovels painted gold as 150 watched.
After work began on Western Wake Parkway in 2009, engineering and environmental studies began a year later for the Southern and Eastern Wake Freeways, also known as the Triangle Expressway Southeast Extension. Construction would begin in 2014 and be completed by 2019; however, it was delayed in March 2011 by the enactment of North Carolina Session Law 2011-7, which forbade the North Carolina Department of Transportation to consider a few alternative routes.
In 2010, NCDOT made an interchange improvement at I-540/I-40, adding another auxiliary lane from I-540 south to I-40 west at a cost of $4.8 million.
The completed Triangle Parkway, the first section of the Triangle Expressway, with its connection to NC 540, opened on December 8, 2011, reestablishing exit 67. Collection of tolls began on January 3, 2012. On August 1, 2012, the first phase of the Western Wake Freeway opened, connecting NC 55 in Morrisville to US 64 in Apex. The next day tolling began on the previously open section from NC 54 to NC 55. The final phase of the tolled section of NC 540, from US 64 to NC 55 north of Holly Springs, opened on December 20, 2012. Tolling for this section began January 2, 2013. On April 3, 2017, the Veridea Parkway interchange was opened to traffic. At a cost of $20 million, it was constructed by Blythe Construction and Kimley-Horn. An interchange with the newly extended Morrisville Parkway opened to traffic on February 3, 2020.