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my family and i are seriously considering a move to SW durham (from morrisville) in the spring. everytime we drive past the fayetteville road exit off of 40, especially on the weekends, the ramp is backed up/full of cars. do you find it difficult to get around because of all of the shopping in the area? and is taking 40 the fastest way to reach the southern end of the RTP? thanks so much!
The Fayetteville exit does seem to be one source of congestion - the other one I've noticed of late is 40 west between 147 and 54/55.
I exit at 54/55 so I don't deal with the Fayetteville stuff, and it may be a worthwhile option for those in the area to consider - when we'd looked at Grandale, the plan was to exit 54/55, take 55 south to Sedwick and then cut across. This would work for many of the neighborhoods south of Southpoint.
Likewise, for neighborhoods like Woodcroft and Woodlake, you could exit 54/55 and take Carpenter Fletcher across instead of dealing with Fayetteville.
40 is generally the fastest east-west route - 54 going east in the AMs isn't bad but 40 is a breeze, and in the PM while 40 can get stopped up a little, 54 gets rough as you approach Barbee.
Either way, it's still eons better than 54 between RTP and Cary and 40 around Airport/Aviation/540
Going on down to the 751 (Hope Valley Rd) exit would be another option to avoid the Fayetteville exit. The congestion around Southpoint is one of the biggest reasons that we decided to center our search in northern Durham. I live near a congested area in Raleigh now (Falls of Neuse Rd.) and pass through Brier Creek on my way to work each day...the last thing I wanted after moving was to have more of the same. Fortunately for us, our jobs are in northern Durham & northern RTP, so it worked well. Northern Durham to southern RTP is doable, but it does become a bit of a longer commute possibly.
My only issue with the traffic in that part of town is near the intersection for Hwy 54 & Hope Valley Road (751). There's a lot of construction there & some roadwork as well, so I've been avoiding it when I can. I'll be glad when they're finally done!
The interchange at Fayetteville Road & I-40 gets the bulk of the traffic, but it flows along at a good enough rate for me. This is all based on my personal experiences and how I compare it to other places where I've lived before. For me it's easy. But if Fayetteville Road is too much for you, then there are a couple of other options that see much less traffic.
The only time when I have specificially avoided Southpoint was the week before Christmas. The shopping centers there get PACKED and parking spots are few and far between, so the roads are obviously more congested, too. But there are optional routes and backroads to be found. Sneezecake has mentioned just a few.
The interchange at Fayetteville Road & I-40 gets the bulk of the traffic, but it flows along at a good enough rate for me.
That's the way I see it. The traffic doesn't backup onto I-40 which is better than other cities I lived in where there was a major development like Southpoint.
From my perspective, the traffic in that area isn't bad, especially for all of the development around there. I like to enter Southpoint from Hope Valley Rd (751) b/c cuts alot of the stoplights and Fayetteville Rd.
We live in Grandale and do not experience traffic issues at Fayetteville and I-40, probably because we are able to take alternate routes.
To get to the Streets at Southpoint, we take Herndon to Fayetteville -- we've never had traffic issues doing this (but we also did not shop this area the week before Christmas, just FYI).
To get to RTP, we take Sedwick to Alston and then Triangle Drive to NC 54.
We love our location -- we are away from traffic and traffic noise, yet we are just minutes away from everything.
My husband commutes to Morrisville every day from Hope Valley Farms in SW Durham. He uses Carpenter Fletcher and a series of back roads instead the Fayetteville Rd./40 interchange and usually doesn't have a problem.
my family and i are seriously considering a move to SW durham (from morrisville) in the spring. everytime we drive past the fayetteville road exit off of 40, especially on the weekends, the ramp is backed up/full of cars. do you find it difficult to get around because of all of the shopping in the area? and is taking 40 the fastest way to reach the southern end of the RTP? thanks so much!
I live off of exit 276 (the one you are talking about), just South of Southpoint. Honestly, I haven't found the exit ramp wait to be that long even on weekend.... given I'm in the far left lane which turns away from the mall so that may help. If you are in the center lane or right lane that might be an issue, but there are ways to avoid that. If you are looking at communities on 751 then you can always take that exit which is less congested.
There are several "back ways" that I've learned. If you share with us or pm me which subdivision you are looking at I or others might have pointers on how to avoid the mall traffic. We usually stay away from the actual mall on the weekends, but we are at the Target shopping center and REI alot on the weekends and I don't find those to be that bad. (Given traffic is a relative thing.)
Also, I think you might find that generally there is so stuff in this area that you have little reason to get on i-40 on the weekends to shop so you avoid the 276 exit ramp.
Good luck with your decision and I hope soon we will be telling you welcome to Durham.
I also live near Southpoint mall and agree that the traffic rarely is an issue. As most of the other posters have said there are multiple back routes to take to most places. As a matter of fact that is one of the things I really like about living here -- I have multiple ways to get to places. And while I wasn't too thrilled when the mall opened I do find I like having it close by. I'm not generally a big mall shopper but when I do need something I can get there, get what I need and get back in under an hour or less.
For as sucky as exiting Southpoint's parking lot is, I feel as though they did a good job managing traffic around the mall very well. I think it's, in large part, due to the entrance/exit situation around the mall. There are, what, 3 or 4 entrance/exits total? If you're not going to the mall, it's really easy to avoid the traffic around it.
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SW Durham
