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A number of things are wrong here. Here are the steps I would take to fix it.
1. The "To 440" blue interstate shield on the Wade Avenue signs causes confusion. At a quick glance (and sometimes that's all you can afford in the heavy traffic of rush hour) it's hard to tell which lanes are mainline 40 because the "440" shield is somewhat difficult to distinguish from "40".
--> To resolve it: Get rid of the "To 440" shield on the Wade Avenue signs. Make it so the ONLY blue shields are on the signs for the left lanes going to I-40.
2. After change #1 is made, it is no longer evident based on signs that Wade Avenue is the proper route for people traveling to North Raleigh and I-440.
--> To resolve it: Assign the Wade Avenue Extension (The freeway portion) a NC highway number so that it will show up on maps helping out-of-towners to identify the route to take. Besides, I can't think of a single other interstate-quality freeway in NC with no highway number (NC, US, or Interstate) at all.
3. 40 exits left and curves back over 40. This does not have to be confusing: 540 does the same thing from 40W near the airport. But the problem is, you can't tell at Wade Avenue because trees limit visibility.
--> To resolve it: Cut down the trees between the split and where 40 crosses back over Wade. Replace it with one of those nice NCDOT flowery planted landscape areas.
4. Motorists from out of town aren't warned what lanes to be in until after the Harrison Avenue exit, leaving only about 1.5 miles to make the change, which can be hard in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
--> To resolve it: There should be an overhead sign BEFORE Harrison
Avenue indicating that I-40 thru traffic should use the left 2 (soon to be left 3) lanes and that the right 2 (soon to be right 1) lanes are exit-only for Wade Avenue.
5. It's dark out there at night!
--> To resolve it: Install lighting on I-40 between Harrison Avenue and the 40/Wade split.
The new signs should improve things. For one thing, they are no longer equal in size - the I-40 sign is much larger than the exit sign for Wade Avenue. That alone makes it much easier to judge which lane to take without having to go through mental gymanstics.
I don't think the interchange is counterintuitive. In most cases the mainline highway stays in the left lanes with other highways and roadways exiting to the right. (One major exception is the I-440/64 split from I-40 in Southeast Raleigh.) I think the main issue at the Wade Ave. Split is moving from 4 free flowing lanes to 2 lanes. As a driver, I've always felt that in an urban area 2 lanes is too restrictive anyways because there is not really enough space for a fast and slow lane. At the split the fast and slow drivers are all mixed together.
I don't think the interchange is counterintuitive. In most cases the mainline highway stays in the left lanes with other highways and roadways exiting to the right.
The challenge is that the interchange had not been designed as an exit - it was designed as a split - and the two forks go in the opposite directions one would think. The widening of the I-40 portion of the split, and the new signage that emphasizes I-40 over Wade Avenue, will correct it in the manner you describe.
I used to live in an apartment right there on Harrison Ave, and HATED the confusion this split caused. Getting on at Harrison was always a challenge too, since you have a limited amount of distance to get merged all the way over for 40, or you end up being shoved off onto Wade.
I used to live in an apartment right there on Harrison Ave, and HATED the confusion this split caused. Getting on at Harrison was always a challenge too, since you have a limited amount of distance to get merged all the way over for 40, or you end up being shoved off onto Wade.
So true. From Harrison, moving to the 40 lanes takes some skill and "luck" that some of the 40-laners allow you in.
I measured the distance from the first significant signage indicating the split to the actual split. It's .6 miles - that's not very much notice. Then I thought about the decision making process. If you're not familiar with 440 vs 40, it's confusing. I've lived here many years and still get confused on occasion about 40 vs the "beltline."
I always thought the road system designers for Raleigh must have been smoking some interesting substances. What about those right side exit ramps that loop back around and make the driver then make a left turn? And you never really know, unless you have GPS that tells you, which lane you will need to use to access a major road, e.g., I-40. Some entrance ramps are on the left, others on the right, with no advance notice. The roads here are just crazy.
I measured the distance from the first significant signage indicating the split to the actual split. It's .6 miles - that's not very much notice.
Your measurement is off. I checked it today on my morning commute. As noted, there is a small sign on the right shoulder 2 miles before the split. Not a huge help. The first large overhead sign is exactly 1 mile ahead of the split, and the second is half a mile before the split.
As I've said earlier, I think the news signs they have installed (but have covered right now) will help tremendously. They are sized to draw attention to I-40 rather than giving equal weight to the freeway and the exit as the current signs do now.
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