Can someone out there please tell me where 540 is supposed to be coming in around our area? I have searched online, but have found numerous maps, all showing different things. We are in the process of buying some land in the Cleveland area, and want to be sure this highway isn't going to be going through the middle of it! Thanks!
At one point it was supposed to cross over White Oak Rd at/near the Wake County/Johnston County line, because the realtor had to warn us about it at the time when we were looking at at house in one of the subdivisions there. But there has been so much controversy about it, I'm not sure anyone really knows at this point. I personally have doubts it will ever be built...:lol:
IF it does get built, it'll probably be somewhere around I-40 & Clayton Bypass. I haven't seen anything to suggest it'll get any closer to Cleveland than that.
The latest map shows the 70 bypass and I-540 both being at the same location where it crosses I-40. I have a friend who has a friend whose house is supposedly right in the path of I-540. Somewhere between Hidden Acres Trail and Escondido Farm Road at White Oak Road
Can you imagine the traffic jam this will be if it ever gets built? I-40, hwy 70, and I-540 all merging together!:banghead::banghead::banghead:
Here is an idea of the route, but the south section (ours) is still being contested by the people who don't want to sell and don't want a freeway running through their backyard.
I'm sure it took a highly educated person to figure that to take 2 lanes from each direction of I-440 and dump them into three lanes was a good idea. And take 2 lanes from the Emerald Isle are of the coast and 2 lanes rom the topsail Island and carolina beaches area and dump all four lanes into 2 was a good idea.
OR... Will it ease congestion on I-40 because a lot of drivers heading west will have the option of jumping on 540? I don't imagine lots of people will come east on 540, just to go north/west in the same general direction they just came from. I know it's in vogue to bash DOT, but not every project is automatically a stupid idea.
The COMMON SENSE solution to congestion at 40/42 would be to go to the 40/1010 interchange and put an ON-RAMP from 1010 coming towards 42 for the morning traffic, and an OFF-RAMP from I-40 to 1010 for the afternoon traffic. No 4-way interchange, just an on-ramp and an off-ramp. How much traffic would THAT take off of 40/42??? :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:
That would be great BUT, a line of traffic makes it soooo difficult to get out of McLemore, Allen and all the other roads leading to the 40/42. We need some traffic lights or 4 way stop signs in place along the 1010 also.
From what I understand the guy who sold the land for the elementary school on 1010 at I-40 initially wanted to put on and off ramps there so he could build a shopping plaza. But DOT put the kibosh on that because it was with in a mile of exit 312. Exits are supposedly a mile apart. Exit 312 is in the area of mile marker 312. But that guy also owns the property across from the Wal-mart plaza that goes back behind the apartments and ends by I-40. That he has plans on making something like a North Hills over there. I did read some where that DOT wanted to put a entrance\exit ramps at where Cornwallis crosses over I-40 and that they were then going to go and rebuild exit 312 to become a SPUI (single-point urban interchange), but they just do not have the funding.
That *is* a very good source of information, but I need to get my 64-pack of Crayolas out! Lilac? Mint? Plum? It looks like [this link] is the latest map of possibilities. What's up with that "plum" route? After crossing NC 50, it turns south and looks like it comes right into the 40/42 interchange, then... ??? DOT's website mentions that once funding is secured, it will take 5 years to complete phase 1 (NC-55 to I-40), but it's on permanent hold while they figure out how to work around the law that says they can't consider a route north of the "orange" route.
