Skip to main content

I-540 getting a new name

By
I read the headline, "New bit of Outer Loop renamed," in the paper this morning and thought nothing of it -- they were simply giving the western stretch of 540 a secondary name after some legislator or governor that had something to do with building the road. Right?

Well...
Days before the next stretch of Raleigh's Outer Loop is due to open for traffic, the state Department of Transportation is scrambling to give it a new name.

Workers this week began replacing red-and-blue Interstate 540 shields with black-and-white diamond signs to mark the new 4.5-mile stretch of six-lane freeway as N.C. 540.

"It's going to look like an interstate, and it's going to drive like an interstate, but it's just going to be called N.C. 540," said Kevin Lacy, state traffic engineer.

The 540 identity crisis stems from a state Turnpike Authority plan to build the 18-mile Triangle Expressway through RTP and western Wake County. The toll road would overlap with part of the new 540.

After gaining federal approval in January for the future switch to a toll road, turnpike officials lobbied the DOT not to label the new stretch of 540 an interstate. Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett, who doubles as turnpike board chairman, settled on the N.C. 540 name in May.

"The final decision was to maintain the 540 designation for continuity ... so drivers would not all of a sudden lose the road they were driving on completely," Lacy said, adding that "we are also, believe it or not, trying to minimize the confusion. We didn't want I-540 to end at some point for no reason."

Earth to Lacy: I-540 is going to end at some point (I-40, specifically) for no reason. Not only does this violate North Carolina's rules against duplicating route numbers -- although I guess I-/US 74 and I-/NC 73 have already destroyed those rules -- but there's long been a precedent established in other states where toll roads can have Interstate numbers as long as no federal money was used to build them. Not to mention, how much money are they going to waste on now-useless I-540 shields on the new section of the freeway?

This thing stinks on so many different levels that it could only happen in North Carolina.
Labels:

Comments

Adam said…
Or could it be a hedge against the tolled Triangle Expressway not being built at all? If it is not built as a toll road that road isn't going any further for a decade or two,what's the point of calling it Future I-540 then?

Either way it doesn't make sense and just another feather in the NCDOT Dunce Cap.
12:27 PM
Anonymous said…
The only name that needs to be on I-540 is VOID. The reason I moved to Apex was to get away from North Raleigh life, to be in the country. Now with this monster trying to come through all of that is going to be a thing of the past.

Is there not enough retail and strip malls in Wake county? All I hear is talk about how great it will be for people living in Holly Springs and how much growth will result. Those people need to move closer to RTP and not expect Apex residents to lose their homes to bail them out of there commute. I am being forced to move because I don't want to live beside a 6 lane interstate in Scotts Mill.

No one talks about people like us who do not want the road at all...
And yes we all knew it was coming but only now do we all see the massive scope of this that was unknown 10 years ago when the neighborhood was being built. Kill the project!!!! Its not fair to those who live in Apex and have no need for it.
11:57 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bleriot Ferry - Alberta

By
  Alberta operates six ferries scattered throughout the province. Roughly twenty to twenty-five kilometers up the Red Deer River from the town of Drumheller is one of the most scenic ferry crossings in all of Wild Rose Country, the Bleriot Ferry. Using the North Dinosaur Trail (Alberta Highway 838, or AB 838), the Bleriot Ferry provides a scenic river cruise of sorts in the Canadian Badlands. The Bleriot Ferry started operating in 1913 as the Munson Ferry when a few bridges crossed the Red Deer River. The ferry was started by Andre Bleriot, the brother of famed early aviator Louis Bleriot, who became famous for being the first person to fly over the English Channel. At the time, the Alberta provincial government commissioned local residents to run the ferries. There were several ferries along the Red Deer River, and not only did they serve as vital transportation links, but they also served as local social hubs, since everyone had to take the ferries to go places. Over time, as the...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Pollasky Bridge

By
The Pollasky Bridge near modern day Friant is a ruined highway bridge which was completed during early 1906 as part of the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road.  The structure is one of the oldest known arch concrete spans to have been constructed in California.  The bridge briefly carried California State Route 41 following the destruction of the Lanes Bridge in 1940.  The Pollasky Bridge itself was destroyed by flooding during 1951, but the ruins can still be found on the Madera County side of the San Joaquin River.   Pictured as the blog cover is the Pollasky Bridge as it was featured in the 1913 book "The Concrete Bridge."  The structure can be seen crossing the San Joaquin River near Friant below on the 1922 United States Geological Survey Map.   Part 1; the history of the Pollasky Bridge The Pollasky Bridge site is near modern day Friant of Fresno County.  The community of Friant was established as Converse Ferry during 1852 on the San Joaquin Rive...
1 comment
Read more

I-73/I-74 and NC Future Interstates Year in Review 2024

By
Welcome to another annual review of progress in constructing North Carolina's New and Future Interstate routes. While 2024 was not too exciting, with no new segments of major routes opening, there was 1 new interstate signing, another proposed new interstate route, and the near opening of a new segment for 2 routes. As tradition, I will start off with a review of what happened with I-73 and I-74 and then move on to the major news of the year about the other new and future routes. Work continued on the I-73/I-74 Rockingham Bypass through the year. The last few months have been hoping for news of its opening before 2025, without luck. Signs of its near completion included the placement of new signs, many with interstate shields uncovered, along the Bypass and intersecting roadways. For example, these went up along US 74 East: Overhead signage at Business 74 exit which contains the future ramp to I-73 North/I-74 West. Signage was also updated heading west on US 74 approaching the unop...
Post a Comment
Read more