Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No chance of that. 540 was subsequently approved as the permanent designation.
Yeah, sorry to say that ship sailed awhile ago!
I figured, if GDOT/SCDOT never changed the I-520 designation to an even numbered 3-digit interstate in Augusta/North Augusta after the South Carolina finished the northern part of that loop in 2010, then the NC-540/I-540 designation change will never happen, even before they decided to make it a permanent designation.
And I-520 wasn't even tolled and they still never decided to change it!
I don't think Raleigh is isolated, especially not these days. Raleigh will eventually have another interstate, I-87, connecting it to I-95 North in Rocky Mount and the Northeast, as well as the Hampton Roads metro in Virginia. Raleigh already has access to I-95 South via I-40 to Benson. It would've been out of the way if I-95 itself went through Raleigh. Raleigh will also have the added bonus of having I-42 nearby, linking it to the Crystal Coast. If anything, Raleigh is practically a hub.
Another possibility, and I hope it happens, is that NCDOT could upgrade US-1 to interstate standards between I-540 and I-85 in Henderson and designate that as a spur of I-85, such as I-685. I-87 connects east Raleigh to I-95, but does nothing for north Raleigh.
I'm surprised Raleigh hasn't been pushing for US-1 to become an interstate. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
Could you please elaborate on that?
Also--has anyone heard about progress on 885? Just curious
The original interstate system plan had I-40 ending at I-85 Greensboro. The I-40/I-85 multiplex and extension east from there was approved in 1969, but a full freeway connection from there to Raleigh didn't even exist until the Orange County stretch of I-40 opened between I-85 and the Durham Freeway opened in 1989, y'all. For decades, the the best available routes involved either a long drive down Glenwood to the Beltline, or (starting in 1973) a drive through downtown Durham to reach the Durham Freeway from I-85 which would connect to I-40 in the RTP area. Likewise, the I-40 extension to I-95 at Benson didn't open until 1989 either.
So, YES, I would say Raleigh was definitely bypassed. Raleigh's omission from the original 1950s interstate plan cast a very long shadow. Who made the decision that "Durham and Rocky Mount are close enough," and what their motivations were, I really don't know; I'm sure there's some interesting politics there. FWIW, Raleigh surpassed Durham in population sometime between 1950 and 1960.
Populations of NC cities in 1950:
Raleigh 66,000
Durham 71,000
Rocky Mount-Wilson-Selma-Smithfield (combined) 59,000
Remember, the "new" US 70 between Raleigh and Durham was still fresh when the Interstates were laid out. And in the early-mid 1960s, a new US 1 in south Wake was built as a Super-2 and US 64 was rerouted in east Wake. The point is, Raleigh did get some road money.
so what caused Raleigh to eclipse Durham, in this fashion, how fascinating
Raleigh benefitted from rapid growth in state government headcount. Those aren't the highest-paying jobs, but they are plentiful and stable. Durham's economy in the 1950s was largely based on tobacco processing and textiles... two industries that vanished, leaving holes that other employers in Durham had to fill. Although some of the early residential growth driven by RTP did go into Durham County, most of the action had shifted to Wake County by about 1980. Durham has enjoyed a distinctive cachet for the last 30 years, but in the 1960s and 1970s it didn't get as much respect. Duke University had a smaller presence with less national renown, and Durham was pretty much just another NC tobacco/textiles/furniture town going sideways.
so what caused Raleigh to eclipse Durham, in this fashion, how fascinating
Perhaps clout as the state capital, maybe a focus on quality over quantity, could have experienced less crime.
I-85 might have sustained some of the crime with the interstate "element" coming through, who knows?
Raleigh has always been quite sophisticated even in 1960s when it certainly didn't look like a city. Cameron Village was almost the edge of town.
Raleigh is one of the few capitals that was purposely located and started from scratch. It wasn't already a town I don't think. It was some tavern there I believe though.
I've always like where they chose to put it on the map, as a central spot in the state. The sheer size of Eastern NC pulled it Eastward from the center of the East-West length.
Why it is so close to the Virginia border I do not know,
Absolutely right. If you have the misfortune of driving through Atlanta, Charlotte or DC, you understand what an advantage it is NOT to be directly connected. For those cities, they are mixing commuting traffic with transient traffic, which creates a nightmare for those trying to move around locally.
You are right about that. For people traversing the Southeast headed West including all the 18 wheelers moving freight, all of them and Altanta locals have one East-West highway to use I-285 on the North side, we call it the "Top End Perimeter."
Every day tractor trailers sit in queue on I-85 Southbound backed up sometimes over 10 miles back to back just to transition to I-285 West which is ground to a halt for several hours every day.
They don't like to build roads here. NC would have built 3 loops around Atlanta.
I don't think it would've made much difference (except maybe for traffic volume). Drug traffickers and other criminals aren't going to be prevented from using a road to get to Raleigh simply because it doesn't have a red, white, & blue shield and Raleigh isn't all that far from I-95 anyway.
Raleigh doesn't contain the element that's all along i-95. I've stayed recently in hotels in Florence, SC and Savannah and walked to get food at the convenience stores at night. It's a motley crew for sure.
Most people do stick to the red, white, and blue shielded routes when trafficking whatever across state iines. There is a feeling of anonymity and thus security sticking to the interstates. Raleigh is buffered a little from full exposure to the seedy stuff traveling through.
That's why Henderson has become like it is now. It used to be a safe, affluent town from all the textile wealth and upper class families living there,
And also Dunn, and Benson is one of the nation's big identity theft clusters I think I-95 might play a role in that.
Most people don't know the naming conventions for interstates to be able to gleen any info just from the number designation.
However I say if they knew only one aspect, it would be that odd numbers like 540 wouldn't be spurs not full loops. I still say that for clarity one day 540 will be renamed to an even number that's recognized as a loop.
After all, when Raleigh started to grow really fast, they changed the names of a few roads, such as Wake Forest Rd, which used to be Old Wake Forest Rd. exiting the Beltline and for its entire length.
And Capital Blvd. was just North Blvd. in its entirety.
They Beltline didn't form a loop until around 1989 after i-40 was built allowing you to make a full loop. Technically the Beltline is still just a bypass that uses a portion of I-40.
Charlotte's I-485 could have sufficed using a portion of I-85 too, but they get all the special treatment in the state.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
