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 near Raleigh, NC
North Carolina highways

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 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; Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 64 are now the only routes routed along the beltway's southern portion.

[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.^[2] Some reassurance shields along I-440 also have compass directions, but many others do not have any directional banners.^[3] 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.^[4]

[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^[5]

[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

I-40 east approaching the Raleigh Beltline

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.^[6] The FHWA route log has been updated to show the shortened distance.^[1] As of 2006, some I-440 shields still exist along the southern segment 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] 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 Mall via Six Forks Road (exit 8B)

[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
begins and joins
1A	Interstate 40 east/US 64 east - Benson	Western terminus
1B	Interstate 40 west
1C	Jones Franklin Rd	Separate interchange from 1A-B within first mile of freeway.
1D	Melbourne Rd	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
2A	Western Blvd - NC State Univ downtown	Westbound entrance from westbound Western Blvd is a left entrance
2B	Cary	Unsigned extension of Western Blvd
3	NC 54 (Hillsborough St) - Meredith College
4A	Wade Ave - Cameron Village
4B	Wade Ave - RDU Intl Airport
5	Lake Boone Tr
6	Ridge Road	Eastbound exit/entrance only. Westbound access via Exit 7A
7	US 70/NC 50 (Glenwood Ave) - Crabtree Valley, Durham	Westbound 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 eastbound and leaves westbound. Westbound exit split into 11B (US 1 North/US 401 North) and 11A (US 401 South)
separates from
12	Yonkers Rd	Eastbound exit/entrance only
	Brentwood Rd	Westbound exit/entrance only
13A	New Bern Ave - downtown
13B	US 64 Business east - Knightdale
14	US 64/US 264 east (Knightdale Bypass) - Rocky Mount, Wilson	US 64 joins eastbound and leaves westbound
joins
15	Poole Rd
16	Interstate 40 east - Benson, Wilmington	Eastern terminus
ends; joins

Beyond Exit 16, I-440 formerly was cosigned with I-40 and followed I-40's exit numbers from Exit 301 to Exit 293. Exit 293 on I-40 is the same interchange as Exit 1 on I-440.

[edit] References

	edit Auxiliary routes of Interstate 40
	Current and Future (F)	Former
	Tennessee - North Carolina
	Tennessee - North Carolina - Oklahoma
	Tennessee - North Carolina - Arkansas
	Arkansas - North Carolina
	Tennessee
	North Carolina