Skip to main content

Tour of the now opened Phase II of the Triangle Expressway

Image
By
VMS announcing hey the road just opened today...you'll be tolled tomorrow

The second phase of the Triangle Expressway from NC 55 near Apex southwards to US 64 opened on August 1st.  It was the only free day for the new highway as tolls on the new highway would go into effect the following day Thursday, August 2nd.  So we had an impromptu Triangle Road Meet and six of us met up at Trali in Brier Creek to check out the new road.  Not bad for 48 hour notice!

126

We had a small surprise when we got to I-40.  First Lady Michelle Obama was in town and we just caught her motorcade getting onto I-540 East headed back to RDU.   Here's the temporary roadblock at the ramp from 540 East to 40 East.

127

So now lets get back to touring Phase II of the Triangle Expressway.

Toll NC 540 begins in a half mile

Last Exit before toll and by the way Tolls begin tomorrow.

Some of the signs on the now truncated NC 540 (Free) approaching the NC 54 interchange.  This is the only free interchange south of I-40.  If you look closely enough at the bottom of the second photo, you will seen an 'END' sign for the free portion of NC 540.

135

The overhead toll gantries at the NC 540 and NC 147 tolled interchange.  They now work.

NC 540 Toll South approaching NC 55

Overhead for NC 55 with the decorative style all sign posts have along the Triangle Expressway.

139

And here we are on the newly opened road.  People are taking advantage of the only 'free' day on the new highway.

141

These pedestal sign gantries are getting more popular in North Carolina.

143

The next overhead toll gantry just prior to the Green Level West Road interchange on NC Toll 540 South.

150

It's a quick drive to the new south end of the highway at US 64 in Apex.

156

Looking Southbound at the current construction that will extend the highway to NC 55 in Holly Springs.  This next segment should be open in January 2013.

158

Close-up of the more decorative style for bridges and overpasses along the TriEx.

159

Overheads on US 64 East to go onto NC 540 North.  Surprisingly, there aren't any exit numbers based on US 64 mileage here.

162

Getting back on to the TriEx at US 64 - a on-ramp overhead toll gantry greets you.

167

Morrisville Parkway isn't ready for traffic just yet

Just north of the Green Level West Road interchange is a ghost bridge for Morrisville Parkway.  The NCTA built the bridge for whenever Morrisville Parkway will be extended.  There is no current date for filling in the nearly two mile gap of Morrisville Parkway between NC 55 and Green Level Church Road.  There also are plans to build an interchange with the TriEx at Morrisville Parkway in the future.  However, no grading for a future interchange was apparent.

Overheads approaching Exit 67

Now back on what was once Free NC 540 and now Toll NC 540 approaching the interchange with NC Toll 147. 

TOLL NC 540 ENDS - FREE NC 540 BEGINS

Finally, just prior to the NC 54 interchange this guide sign informs drivers of the end of the tolled section of NC 540 and the beginning of the free section of NC 540. 

Start of I-540 East - Exits 1B and 2

NC 540 doesn't last long for about a mile later is Interstate 40 and NC 540 becomes Interstate 540.  Lots of different '540's I know.  For my entire set on flickr, head here.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The case to move Interstate 73 in Southern Ohio onto US 33

By
Every decade or so, Ohio pushes to revisit the proposed Interstate 73 that would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  It's been happening since Congress legislated the route in 1991.  Within Ohio, Interstate 73 generally follows the US 23 corridor from Portsmouth through Columbus to Toledo, and into Michigan. Since High Priority Corridor Five was created , Ohio has really done nothing to move forward with Interstate 73.  Sure, there have been feasibility studies here and there.  But actual dollars and construction just haven't occurred. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass appears to have been built to Interstate standards. However, Ohio has been slowly upgrading US 33 to a full freeway through Southeastern Ohio.  Bypasses of Lancaster and Nelsonville opened in 2004 and 2013, respectively.  Other sections of two-lane road are being twinned, some to freeway or, at a minimum, to expressway standards.  Currently, a $274 million widening project in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Local Sign Find - The last remnant of Business Interstate 95 between Kenly and Rocky Mount , NC

By
As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit.  Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301.  This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history.  But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount.  When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

By
Nostalgia. It sells. It evokes, and more accurately, warps memories of days gone by.  Things were better, simpler, and we eat it up. Nostalgia can make you drive three hours and over a hundred miles out of your way just to reconnect with a dying fast-food restaurant you last enjoyed in the early to mid-90s.  That person was me - that restaurant was Rax. I could go on about Rax's history, but in short, Rax was briefly a very popular roast beef fast-food chain.  Growing up in the 80s and early 90s in Western PA, Rax was the good fast-food spot.  The milkshakes.  (Personally, the chocolate chip milkshake was heaven.)  Uncle Alligator Kids Meal with the chocolate chip cookie. Take that McDonald's Happy Meal!  The fancy salad and hot foods bar.  Going to Rax was special.  Like so many similar restaurants, various investments, management decisions, etc., led Rax to almost disappear overnight.  By the time I graduated college in late 1999, abou...
Post a Comment
Read more