Winston-Salem Beltway - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Winston-Salem Beltway is a proposed freeway loop around the North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

city of Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...

. The northeastern and northwestern segments of this beltway, deemed the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway project, are the parts of the loop currently underway. The eastern section of the beltway will be used as the Future Interstate 74

Interstate 74 in North Carolina

In the U.S. state of North Carolina, Interstate 74 is an Interstate Highway that is partially completed. Currently in four distinct segments in the state; when completed, it will traverse in a southeasterly direction from Virginia to South Carolina, connecting the cities of Winston-Salem, High...

Corridor; and the western section may become signed as Interstate 274 (pending approval from AASHTO).

The beltway would make Winston-Salem the fifth city in North Carolina to have an Interstate loop; the other four are Raleigh

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

(I-440

Interstate 440 (North Carolina)

Interstate 440 in North Carolina, also known as the Raleigh Beltline and the Cliff Benson Beltline, is a 16.4-mile partial beltway that nearly encircles central Raleigh. Prior to August 2002, it was a complete loop and shared a concurrency with its parent, Interstate 40 along the loop's southern...

), Asheville

Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...

(I-240

Interstate 240 (North Carolina)

Interstate 240 is a long Interstate Highway loop in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It serves as an urban connector for Asheville and runs in a half-circle around the north of the city's downtown district between exits 53B and 46B of Interstate 40...

), Charlotte

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

(I-485

Interstate 485

Interstate 485 is an Interstate Highway and a nearly completed beltway around Charlotte, North Carolina.-Route description:The western, southern and eastern segments of the beltway are complete and open to traffic...

), and Greensboro

Greensboro, North Carolina

Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...

(I-840). The Fayetteville

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....

Outer Loop (I-295

Interstate 295 (North Carolina)

Interstate 295 , also known as the Fayetteville Outer Loop, when fully completed will be a Interstate Highway bypass around the western side of Fayetteville North Carolina, to be built to help relieve congestion through that city and to provide direct access from I-95 to Fort Bragg, North Carolina...

) is set to be completed around 2020.

Northern Beltway

If constructed as planned, the Northern Beltway would be approximately 30 miles (48.3 km) in length, beginning in the east at U.S. Highway 311 and ending in the west at U.S. Highway 158. It would be entirely within Forsyth County

Forsyth County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 306,067 people, 123,851 households, and 81,741 families residing in the county. The population density was 747 people per square mile . There were 133,093 housing units at an average density of 325 per square mile...

and would cross Interstate 40

Interstate 40 in North Carolina

Interstate 40 runs through the state of North Carolina from the Tennessee state line in the west to its eastern terminus in Wilmington.-Pigeon River Gorge:...

twice and Business 40

Interstate 40 Business (North Carolina)

In the U.S. state of North Carolina, Interstate 40 Business is a business loop of Interstate 40; which serves the cities of Winston-Salem and Kernersville.-Route description:...

once. The Northern Beltway would serve as a freeway connector for the suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

an communities of Walkertown, Stanleyville

Stanleyville, North Carolina

Stanleyville is an unincorporated community between northern Winston-Salem and Rural Hall in Forsyth County, North Carolina. Most of the community has been annexed by Winston-Salem. Stanleyville is located along North Carolina Highway 66 near the future Interstate 74 interchange with U.S. Highway...

, Rural Hall, Tobaccoville, Pfafftown, Lewisville, and Clemmons, and would serve as a bypass

Bypass (road)

A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....

for U.S. Highway 311, U.S. Highway 158, and U.S. Highway 52. The TIP Project Number is R-2247.

Southern Beltway

A "Southern Beltway" connecting the eastern and western segments in Forsyth County and northern Davidson County is in the initial planning stages, as its general proposed routing appears on some Winston-Salem Department of Transportation (WSDOT) long-range planning maps. As of January 2007, no preferred alternatives for this southern section have been officially submitted, and the North Carolina Department of Transporatation (NCDOT) does not include the Southern Beltway on its vision maps. The WSDOT plans for this final section of the beltway to start construction sometime after 2030. If completed as planned, the Southern Beltway would serve as a connector for the communities of Midway

Midway, North Carolina

Midway is an incorporated town in Davidson County, North Carolina located within a township of the same name. The town is where rapper slash producer 9th wonder is from. Midway is situated approximately above sea level, and as of 2006, has a population of 4,399. Midway is part of the Piedmont...

, Wallburg

Wallburg, North Carolina

Wallburg is a town in Davidson County, North Carolina. It is incorporated, but was never recognized as a CDP by the US Census prior to its incorporation in 2004...

, and Arcadia

Arcadia, North Carolina

Arcadia is an unincorporated community in Davidson County, North Carolina. It is located in the northwestern section of the county along NC Highway 150. Neighboring communities and municipalities include Midway, Welcome, and Winston-Salem.-Education:...

, and would not necessarily be utilized as a bypass for Interstate 40

Interstate 40

Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...

due to the freeway's southward dip. The southern section would have an approximate length of 15 miles (24.1 km) and would intersect Future Interstate 285

Interstate 285 (North Carolina)

In the U.S. state of North Carolina, Interstate 285 is the designation for a future connector interstate route. When completed, it will connect Interstate 85 to Winston-Salem.-Route description:...

(US 52) near its midway point. Once the northern segments of the loop are completed, Interstate 40 through Winston-Salem would technically complete the beltway loop without the southern section.

History

Construction of the western segment of the beltway was to begin in 1999, but was delayed by a lawsuit aimed at the Environmental Impact Statement. After the legal situation was resolved, the NCDOT then announced construction would begin in 2006; however, in March 2005, the department postponed the start date again until at least 2012, due to budget shortfalls. Funds once allocated to the western segment were then reapportioned to the construction of the eastern segment, which had a planned construction start date in 2011.

A second lawsuit, however, delayed the road further. A federal district judge in May 2010 dismissed the cases accusing an updated environmental study of ignoring global warming

Global warming

Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

and impact on other intersecting roads. However, the high cost of building the entire project pushed the beltway to last place on a list of urban loop projects being built by the state. In March 2011, state officials agreed to rank projects using sections, which might help the Eastern section move higher on a list by 2014.

On September 7, 2011, North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue

Bev Perdue

Beverly Eaves "Bev" Perdue is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party currently serving as the 73rd Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina. She is the first female governor of North Carolina....

announced that construction of a part of the eastern leg of the Northern Beltway will begin in 2014. The section to be built connects US 158

U.S. Route 158

U.S. Route 158 is an east–west United States highway that runs for from Mocksville to Nags Head, entirely in the U.S. state of North Carolina.-Route description:...

to Business Interstate 40

Interstate 40 Business (North Carolina)

In the U.S. state of North Carolina, Interstate 40 Business is a business loop of Interstate 40; which serves the cities of Winston-Salem and Kernersville.-Route description:...

. Right-of-way acquisition will begin in 2012, and will cost $34 million; construction is estimated to cost $156 million.

Exit list

The entire route is in Forsyth County

Forsyth County, North Carolina

.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Location
!Mile
!Exit

Exit number

An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit, as well as a sign in the gore....

!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|Clemmons

Clemmons, North Carolina

Clemmons is a village in Forsyth County, North Carolina and a suburb of Winston-Salem. The population was 18,627 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Clemmons is located at ....

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Bethania, North Carolina

Bethania is the oldest municipality in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and was most recently incorporated in 1995, upon the reactivation of the original 1838/1839 town charter...

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Walkertown, North Carolina

Walkertown is a town in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Piedmont Triad. The population was 4,009 at the 2000 census.It is named after an early resident.-Geography:Walkertown is located at ....

Kernersville, North Carolina

Kernersville is a town in Forsyth County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 17,126 at the 2000 census. In 2007 the U.S. Census estimated the town's population at 22,309. Kernersville is located at the heart of the Piedmont Triad metropolitan area, which consists of the cities...

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

External links

NCDOT - Winston-Salem Northern Beltway official site

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Northern Beltway

Southern Beltway

History

Exit list

See also

External links