North Carolina Highway 147
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|||||||||
| NC 147 |
|||||||||
| Length: | 13 mi (21 km) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formed: | 1970[1] | ||||||||
| South end: | Alexander Dr near Morrisville, NC | ||||||||
| Major junctions: |
 NC 54 via Alexander Dr at Research Triangle Park; I-40 at Research Triangle Park;  US 15-501 in Durham, NC |
||||||||
| North end: |  I-85 in Durham |
||||||||
| Counties: | Durham | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
NC 147 is a North Carolina state highway entirely within Durham County. The entire route is cosigned with the Durham Freeway and has additional titles East-West Expressway and the Buck Dean Expressway at various portions. The route's entire length, except for the traffic signal at its southern terminus, is a freeway. It links downtown Durham and Research Triangle Park with the Interstates 85 and 40. It is a fairly urbanized commuter-route and suffers from peak-traffic during conventional rush hours. Speed limits on the freeway range from 50 mph to 65 mph.
Contents |
[edit] Places of interest along the route
- Research Triangle Park (exits 5-8)
- North Carolina Central University (exits 11, 12A)
- Durham Bulls Athletic Park (exit 12B)
- Duke University (exits 14-15)
- Duke University Medical Center (exit 15B)
[edit] Termini
Traffic traveling on NC 147 northbound eventually empties onto the southbound lanes of I-85 in Durham. In order to get to I-85 NORTH, travelers must exit onto the US 15/501 highway and then take that road's exit to I-85 NORTH. Also, at NC 147's northern terminus, there is no exit from I-85 southbound to NC 147 SOUTH. As a result, travellers must utilize US 15/501 to take the Durham Freeway south.
Shortly after NC 147's interchange with I-40, the freeway crosses over NC 54 (with no interchange), and comes to its southern terminus at T.W. Alexander Drive inside Research Triangle Park. This terminus is at a traffic signal. NC 54 can be accessed by taking Alexander Drive NORTH for approximately 0.5 miles.
[edit] Exits
North of its interchange with I-40 (Exit 5), the RTP exits are Cornwallis Rd. (Exit 6), Alexander Dr. (Exit 7), and Ellis Rd. (Exit 8). For RTP destinations, one should use either these exits, the terminal Alexander Dr. exit (since Alexander Dr. loops around in the west), or one of the nearby exits on I-40 (such as Davis Dr., Miami Blvd., and Page Rd. in the east or NC-55 in the west). North of these, the highway turns to the west and enters the city of Durham. The first real Durham exit is Briggs Ave. (Exit 10), on the outskirts of the city, mostly useful for destinations to the south such as Durham Technical Community College. Exit 11, which is just north of where the speed limit drops from 65 to 55 mph, is Alston Ave. or Highway 55, useful for some East Durham destinations; North Carolina Central University can be accessed here, and in fact the law school is on this side. Central Durham is best accessed through exits 12A (Fayetteville St., which has NCCU, Hillside High School, and many other central Durham locations on it), 12B (a ramp onto Jackie Robinson Dr., also accessing Roxboro St.) right next to the Durham Bulls park and near downtown, and 12C (Duke St.), which is good for accessing western downtown and leads to the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science. Exit 13 is Chapel Hill St., which does not go directly to Chapel Hill (for that, use I-40 or 15-501) but does lead to central-west Durham. Exit 14 is Swift Ave./Broad St., with access to Duke University East Campus, the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and Northgate Mall. Exits 15A (Elba St./Trent Dr., both south of the highway) and 15B (Hillandale Rd. north of the highway, Fulton St. south of it) lead to Duke west campus and medical center; Fulton St. leads straight to both the Duke and VA hospitals. Exit 16 is 15-501, leading to Oxford and Roxboro and other towns in the north and to NC-751, west Durham, Chapel Hill Blvd. (which goes into Chapel Hill as Fordham Blvd.), and other towns such as Sanford in the south.
[edit] Traffic problems
Traffic on NC-147 is usually found in the RTP area, especially on and around the exit onto I-40 West during the afternoon rush hour (at which time I-40W itself is often backed up). Several alternate routes are possible by taking nearby exits; for example, Alexander Dr. will connect to Highway 540 and to North Raleigh, and NC 54 to Cary (though the latter is often backed up as well).
