Interstate 540 (North Carolina)

Interstate 540 and North Carolina Highway 540
Interstate 540 and North Carolina Highway 540
Raleigh Outer Loop
	I-540 highlighted in red; open segment of NC 540 in purple; unopen segment of NC 540 in orange
Route information
	Auxiliary route of I-40
	Maintained by NCDOT
Length	58.74 mi (94.53 km) I-540: 25.84 mi (41.59 km); NC 540: 32.9 mi (52.9 km)
Existed	1997–present
Component; highways	I-540 (Durham–Knightdale); NC 540 (Apex–Durham);
Major junctions
	Beltway around Raleigh
	I-40 in Durham; US 70 near Raleigh; US 1 in Raleigh; US 401 in Raleigh; I-87 / US 64 / US 264 in Knightdale; US 70 near Garner; I-40 / I-42 near Garner; US 401 near Garner; US 1 near Apex; US 64 in Apex; ; NC 885 Toll in Morrisville;
Location
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Counties	Durham, Wake
Highway system
	Interstate Highway System; Main; Auxiliary; Suffixed; Business; Future; North Carolina Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Scenic;

Interstate 540 (I-540) and North Carolina Highway 540 (NC 540) are part of a partially completed beltway around the city of Raleigh in the US state of North Carolina, forming the Raleigh Outer Loop. When complete, the route will completely encircle the city, meeting its parent route of I-40 in two locations.

The initial phase of construction is designated I-540 and was completed in January 2007. It runs from I-40 near the Raleigh–Durham International Airport to I-87/U.S. Highway 64 (US 64)/US 264 south of Knightdale. The original plan was for the entire route to be designated as part of the Interstate Highway System, renumbering the route to I-640 when the beltway was complete; however, the NCDOT announced in 2002 that I-540 would not be renumbered in the future.^[5] When it became financially unfeasible to construct the entire route with public funds within a reasonable timeframe, it was decided that the remaining portion of the route (approximately two-thirds of the total completed mileage) would be constructed as a toll road and designated as a North Carolina highway rather than an Interstate Highway. The tolled portion is known as the Triangle Expressway. The first section of NC 540 was opened in July 2007, extending westward from the western terminus of I-540. Further extensions have carried NC 540 around the western side of Wake County to its current southwestern terminus south of Apex; an extension to Garner was scheduled to open in late-August 2024, but was delayed to late-September 2024. The final project planned to complete the eastern leg from Garner to Knightdale under the same toll system also began construction in 2024 with a completion date of 2028.

^ "Interstate 540 (North Carolina)" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
^ "North Carolina Highway 540" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
^ Siceloff, Bruce (August 2, 2012). "Toll collection starts Thursday on 9 miles of 540 Outer Loop". The News & Observer. Raleigh, NC. Archived from the original on August 3, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
^ "Table 2 – Auxiliary Routes – FHWA Route Log and Finder List – Interstate Highway System – National Highway System – Planning – FHWA". Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
^ "Road Worrier: Road geeks quibble over I-495 numerical name". newsobserver.

[google-i540-1] "Interstate 540 (North Carolina)" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 4, 2014.

[google-nc540-2] "North Carolina Highway 540" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved March 4, 2014.

[collection-3] Siceloff, Bruce (August 2, 2012). "Toll collection starts Thursday on 9 miles of 540 Outer Loop". The News & Observer. Raleigh, NC. Archived from the original on August 3, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2012.

[FHWA-4] "Table 2 – Auxiliary Routes – FHWA Route Log and Finder List – Interstate Highway System – National Highway System – Planning – FHWA". Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2019.

[5] "Road Worrier: Road geeks quibble over I-495 numerical name". newsobserver.

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