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I'm reminded of the infamous inner and outer signs on I-440, with the distinctive Capitol dome. NCDOT eventually solved the problem by removing I-440 along the south side of downtown. But Charlotte still has inner and outer signs on I-485.
540 between I-40 (near RDU) and US 1 (near Apex) should be signed north-south.
Between US 1 (near Apex) and US 70 (the Clayton bypass), should be signed east-west.
Between US 70 (the Clayton bypass) and US 1 (Wake Forest), should be signed north-south.
Between US 1 (Wake Forest) and I-40 (near RDU), should be signed east-west.
What is so difficult about that? Everybody in NC knows, or should know, what Four Corners means.
I agree with the second paragraph for sure..
I personally think 440 being referred to as the "inner" and "outer" beltlines made more sense than the E/W and then "back to 40" split up it has now but I may be in the minority? Just thinking of it as "clockwise" vs "counter-clockwise" correlation to inner and outer respectively "worked" easier in my brain.
Incidentally in my recent nerding out on the history and future of 540; I learned that it turns out if the full 540 loop were to ever become a US interstate (instead of what it technically is now and will be once completed; an interstate in Northern Wake and tolled NC Highway for the rest)...it would in theory need to be renamed "Interstate 640" as "loops" are supposed to start with even numbers. Won't hold my breath for that to ever happen though.
NCDOT got a waiver and will not need to rename 540 to 640.
Yep. 540 ain't going anywhere. For those not familiar, FHWA granted that waiver back in 2013 when NCDOT requested the now-defunct I-495 designation for what's now I-87.
NCDOT's request for the waiver and their reasons behind it can be seen on page 3:
Wouldn't it only have needed to be renamed to 640 if the loop was all interstate (which probably will not happen in any of our lifetimes) in the first place?
Technically it should already be called I-640, hence the need for that 2013 waiver.
Odd-numbered first digits are typically for spurs while even-numbered first digits are either loops or for connecting to other interstates on both ends. With I-540 connecting to I-40 on one end, the designation of US 64 as I-495 (then changed to I-87 not long after) at the other end of I-540 should have triggered the switch to I-640.
NCDOT could also solve the problem by redesignating 540 between I-40 and I-87 around the south side as NC 340. 540 around the north side between I-40 and I-87 would remain I-540. Both 540 and 340 could be signed east-west.
NCDOT could also solve the problem by redesignating 540 between I-40 and I-87 around the south side as NC 340. 540 around the north side between I-40 and I-87 would remain I-540. Both 540 and 340 could be signed east-west.
That makes perfect sense to me. Which is probably why the NCDOT won't do that (sigh).
Instead of raising the toll rates on the southern end every 6 months, why not just toll the entire thing and make it cheaper on the southern end?
Not sure what you're referring to. All of the toll points on NC-540 increase by roughly the same percentage amount (~2.5% this year) every January. It was all laid out as part of the funding plan and can't really be changed.
If you're suggesting that the current I-540 sections be tolled, that's not allowed since they were built with federal funds. Those funds would have to be returned if tolls were implemented. (Tolls for new lane construction such as express lanes could be implemented on I-540 as long as federal funds aren't used to build them.)
Instead of raising the toll rates on the southern end every 6 months, why not just toll the entire thing and make it cheaper on the southern end?
This is the quid pro quo accepted by politicians in west Wake and south Wake. NC 540 was (and is being) built much sooner than it would have been, if it had not gone forward as a toll project. People in north Wake could have used I-540 in the 1980s but waited the normal amount of time for it to be built.
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