Complete 540 Project Visualization - from NCDOT Feb 2018

maybe DOT will do a computer-generated flyover from I 40 to 540 near Knightdale. similar to the one from 2018 +/- from Holly springs to 40 they did. posted at start of this thread.

 

https://www.wral.com/story/construction-begins-in-garner-on-latest-phase-of-toll-nc-540/21434738/

Construction begins in Garner on latest phase of Toll NC 540
The long-term project to complete the Toll NC 540 loop around Raleigh takes another step on Thursday when crews break ground near Garner.

 

Yeah Right completion date 2028. More like 2032 or later sorry the pessimist in me

 

I would agree, I would be amazed if they built those 10 miles in less than 4 years. I think end of 2028 is possible if we have great weather the next couple years. But all it takes is a few weeks of rain to delay a project like that for months, especially in the early stages of clearing and grading. Sucks to work in mud.

 

Correct !!

 

looking back on this thread from the start, it looks like surveying etc. started fall 2019, then should finish summer 2024, so almost 5 years for 18? miles. I would at least guess 4 years for the last 10 miles.

 

There's no way they are going to finish this Summer. There's entire sections that don't have any pavement or even gravel base yet. Specifically around NC50 (just drove over it Sunday) and around Holly Springs Road. It's just dirt in those two areas still.

 

some areas in-between exits are done. i was on Johnson Pond or Bells Lake and all pavement is down, stripes on road, signs up. i guess most or remaining work is at exits. working out from between to the exits. I do know a guy doing all the DOT signage, not sure which of the contracts, but he said he will be 100% done end of June.

 

but i agree more like Oct.

 

Holly Springs Rd Interchange at NC-540 (May 2024) (youtube.com)

 

NC-540 Phase 2, and Turbine Interchange (May 2024) (youtube.com)

This shows approx. proposed route from I40 onto 540 near Knightdale.

 

From N&O
After years of construction, new Wake County highway goes quiet before it opens Pristine” is not a word normally used to describe a six-lane highway, but there are parts of the Triangle Expressway these days where it just might fit. The 18-mile extension of N.C. 540 across southern Wake County will open this summer, and some sections of the road are already finished. The lane markings gleam white, and the pavement is dark and free of skid marks, bits of tire tread and oil streaks that will inevitably mar it. The only traffic is the occasional pickup or SUV moving from one of the remaining construction hot spots to another. This new section of the Triangle Expressway will extend the toll road from N.C. 55 in Apex to a new massive interchange where it meets Interstate 40 and U.S. 70 at the Johnston County line. In between will be five new interchanges in a once-rural part of the county that is developing fast. The new highway is set to open in late July or early August, with one exception. A temporary asphalt plant will remain at the Bells Lake Road interchange through the summer, delaying the opening of the exit and entrance ramps for eastbound N.C. 540 until November. The 18 miles of new highway is the first of a two-phase effort to complete the 540 Outer Loop around Raleigh. Construction has just begun on the final phase, which will extend the toll road 10 miles from I-40 up to I-87 in Knightdale. It’s expected to open sometime in 2028. NCDOT’S MOST EXPENSIVE SINGLE PROJECT At an estimated cost of $2.5 billion, these 28 miles of the Triangle Expressway are the most expensive single project the N.C. Department of Transportation has ever undertaken. The middle section of the Triangle Expressway, N.C. 540, will open across southern Wake County this summer. The final leg, from between Interstates 40 and 87 on the east side, is scheduled to be completed in 2028. N.C. Turnpike Authority NCDOT broke the project into smaller bits to make it easier for more contractors to get involved. That’s why drivers will notice that a little more than half of the 18-mile highway that opens this summer will be asphalt, while the rest will be made of concrete, says Dennis Jernigan, who just retired as the deputy chief engineer for the N.C. Turnpike Authority, an arm of NCDOT that builds and operates toll roads in the state. “A lot of it has to do with what the contractors are comfortable with, what they usually pave with,” Jernigan said as he drove on fresh asphalt in late May. Workers install cameras and sensors on a gantry over the highway to collect tolls for the N.C. Turnpike Authority. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com Drivers with an NC Quick Pass transponder in their car will pay $8.01 to drive the length of the Triangle Expressway from Research Triangle Park south and east to I-40. Drivers without Quick Pass will pay 35% higher rates and receive a bill in the mail. Gantries over the highway hold cameras and sensors that either read the Quick Pass or photograph the license plates of cars passing underneath. That the southern half of 540 is a toll road, while the northern half is free, has been a sore point with many drivers. It goes back to a decision local officials made 20 years ago to ask the Turnpike Authority to build the southern half with toll revenue when it appeared the state wouldn’t have enough money for many years. “It’s either toll road or no road,” is how former Fuquay-Varina Mayor John Byrne put it at the 2019 groundbreaking for the section that’s about to open. The on ramp from U.S. 401 to a new section of N.C. 540 on May 28, 2024. The 18-mile toll road across southern Wake County will connect N.C. 55 in Apex to Interstate 40 and is scheduled to open this summer. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com NUMBERS HELP TELL THE STORY OF A HIGHWAY Here are a few more ways to measure the stretch of road that drivers will use for the first time this summer: 5: New interchanges, at Holly Springs Road, Bells Lake Road, Fayetteville Road (U.S. 401), Old Stage Road and Benson Road (N.C. 50). 650: Different properties that NCDOT had to buy in part or in full, ranging from the size of a pickleball court to dozens of acres. 135: Houses taken and demolished; 20% of them were in a single mobile home park. 481: Acres of the turbine-style interchange where N.C. 540, I-40 and U.S. 70 will meet in southern Wake County.650: Tons of asphalt used to pave the western 9.4 miles of the highway. 350,000: Square yards of concrete used to pave the eastern 8.6 miles. 12: Width in feet of each of the three travel lanes and each paved shoulder. 185: Minimum width in feet of the highway right-of-way. It’s wider in spots, including at the interchanges. 70: Width in feet of the median. It will have cable or metal guard rails. But there’s room to add one additional lane on either side, with a concrete barrier in between, so the road can be widened someday within its current footprint. 14.7: Miles of noise walls lining the highway in front of established residential neighborhoods. They’re made out of about 4 million bricks. 52: Bridges, both on the road and over it, including 13 in the big interchange with I-40 and U.S. 70. There are also 33 culverts. $10 million: Budget for landscaping. Trees, bushes and other greenery will be planted at interchanges and other places along the highway starting in the fall.

 

If you want to get on the toll road before it opens.
540 Fest in Raleigh, NC - Details, Registration, and Results | ITS YOUR RACE

 

Possible opening July 29?

 

Would NCDOT open 1 section before entire NC 55 to I 40 is done? I've crossed over 540 at 2 Sunset Lake Rd crossing, west lake rd, Belles Lake Rd and Johnson Pond. many of those are nearly done. signs up, lanes striped, shoulders done, landscaping done etc. I haven't been by the 540/401 section, but with the in-between's status, I'd think that could open in weeks; while looking at NC 50/I 40 area, 2 months would be pushing it.

 

540 expansion in Wake County is celebrated (youtube.com)

 

https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-ne...stretch-of-nc-540-expected-to-open-in-august/

Now they're saying early to mid-August...

 

(6) NC-540 (July 2024) - YouTube

latest video update.

Like i said they could open from NC 55 (Holly Springs/Apex) to 401 anytime. 401 to 40 could be 2-3 more months. Per Smithers link above early to mid-August. that's 1 to 1/2 months, i doubt that. but maybe

 

Watching the video, I'd honestly be shocked if it were completed by end of September. Just seems like too much still needs to be done between 401 and 40.