Interstate 495 to be signed in North Carolina sometime soon

NCDOT officially announced today that US 64 between Interstate 440 in Raleigh and Interstate 95 in Rocky Mount has been approved by the FHWA to be signed as Interstate 495.

The section of US 64 between I-440 (Exit 419) and I-540 (Exit 423) will be signed as Interstate 495. The remainder of US 64 (and US 264 until Zebulon) from Exit 423 to I-95 (Exit 464) will be signed as Future I-495.

No word currently on when either style of the I-495 signs will be posted along US 64. Nor is there specific plans on when projects to upgrade the US 64 freeway from Rolesville Road (Exit 430) to I-95 will occur.

Improvements to inside and outside shoulders on the route east of Exit 430 along with upgrades to the Nashville bypass will be necessary for the full Interstate designation to be signed along the rest of the route. NCDOT has unfunded plans to widen the US 64/264 freeway from Rolesville Road to the US 264 East split (Exit 436) to six lanes. It is possible that the Interstate designation could speed that project up.

I travel the Interstate 495 corridor to work daily - as does co-blogger Brian LeBlanc - so when the route is signed one of us will be sure to post it here.

H/T: Ben Thurkill
I-495 shield courtesy of Shields Up!

Comments

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

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...

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

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...

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

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...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog