North Carolina Highway 147

NC Highway 147 marker

NC Highway 147
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length: 15.7 mi[1] (25.3 km)
Existed: 1987 – present
Major junctions
South end: NC 540 in Morrisville
  I40 near Durham
US 15 / US 501 in Durham
North end: I85 in Durham
Location
Counties: Wake, Durham
Highway system
NC 146NC 148

North Carolina Highway 147 (NC 147) is a North Carolina state highway. The route is a 15.7-mile-long (25.3 km) freeway that connects the Research Triangle Park to both Western Wake County and the city of Durham. The section north of I-40 is known as the Durham Freeway, while the section south of I-40 is part of the Triangle Expressway.

Route description

NC 147 winding around downtown Durham

The route's entire length is a limited access freeway; linking NC 540 in Morrisville with the Research Triangle Park (RTP), Downtown Durham and Interstates 40 and 85. It is a fairly urbanized commuter-route and suffers from peak-traffic during conventional rush hours. Speed limits on the freeway range from 55 mph (89 km/h) to 65 mph (105 km/h).

From NC 540 to Interstate 40, the highway is a toll road, part of the Triangle Expressway. Tolling on this stretch of NC 147 began on January 3, 2012.[2][3] From I-40 to its northern terminus, the route is known as the Durham Freeway, and serves as the primary artery through the Research Triangle Park and Downtown Durham. The Durham Freeway portion is a former alignment of I-40, which became NC 147 when I-40 was moved to a newer freeway that now bypasses the city center to the south.

Its northern terminus with Interstate 85 is a partial interchange, where northbound NC 147 merges onto southbound I-85 and vice versa. Travelers wanting to go north on I-85 and vice versa must utilize the nearby U.S. 15-501 freeway.

Dedicated and memorial names

NC 147 features one dedicated stretch of freeway. The Buck Dean Expressway is the official name of NC 147 within the city limits of Durham that was approved on December 14, 1984.[4]

Tolls

Northbound on Toll NC 147
First toll rates, from northbound NC 540 onto NC 147
Main article: Triangle Expressway

Tolls along NC 147 are done by electronic toll collection (ETC) and are enforced by video cameras. Several gantries are located along the route and entrance/exit ramps, where they collect toll via the NC Quick Pass or other interoperable ETC systems. Those that do not participate in the ETC program will receive a bill in the mail and will have 30 days from date on bill before additional fees and civil penalties are applied.[5]

History

The Durham Freeway began with a 1962 bond referendum.[6] The first section of the road, completed in 1970 around downtown Durham, was designated Interstate 40. The original section extended from Chapel Hill Street to Alston Avenue and resulted in the destruction of a portion of the Hayti neighborhood as part of urban renewal,[7] though a DOT engineer said the neighborhood likely would have been torn down anyway. The road was later extended west to Erwin Road and southward to where it now meets the current I-40, but the decision was made for I-40 to bypass Durham. The section inside the city was renamed. The road's other names have included East-West Expressway and the I.L. "Buck" Dean Freeway.[6]

In 1979, planners said many of the city's roads needed widening, and the decision was made to extend the freeway to I-85. The first section in 1982 disrupted the Crest Street neighborhood, but the N.C. DOT moved 181 houses instead of tearing them down, an action that resulted in a 1987 third-place Federal Highway Administration award for "historic preservation and cultural enhancement".[6] Eventually, the problems that caused the original I-40 extension to I-85 to be delayed were overcome, and NC 147 was extended through the city. Work began in 1993, and the eastbound lanes opened May 21, 1997.[8] The section connecting the road to I-85 opened July 31, 1998.[7]

On September 6, 2011, the south termini at T.W. Alexander Drive (exit 4) was permanently closed to make way for NC 147's extension to NC 540 in Morrisville; this made I-40 the temporary southern termini for three months. On December 8, 2011, the southern extension was opened. Dubbed the Triangle Parkway, the 3.4-mile (5.5 km) stretch of road is also part of the Triangle Expressway.[2][3][9][10]

Future

There is one current and one future project involving NC 147. The first is the East End Connector which began construction in March 2015.[11] This project, which will build a direct freeway connection designed to interstate standards between the Durham Freeway and north of the U.S. 70/N.C. 98, and which has been delayed many times, is now scheduled to be completed by July 2019.[12] The proposed future project is the NC 147 extension to McCrimmon Parkway, in Morrisville, which is scheduled for Reprioritization.[13][14]

Junction list

CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
WakeMorrisvilleMcCrimmon ParkwayProposed extension (unfunded)[13][14]
1.52.41
NC 540 Toll to I40 to I540 to US 1 Raleigh, Sanford
Southbound exit left; Triangle Expressway continues NC 540 south
DurhamRTP2.54.02 / 3Davis Drive / Hopson RoadSigned exit 2 northbound, exit 3 southbound
4T.W. Alexander DrivePermanently closed as of September 6, 2011[9][10]
4.57.25 I40 to NC 54 Raleigh, Chapel HillTriangle Expressway begins; signed as exit 5A (east) and 5B (west)
5.58.96Cornwallis Road  Research Triangle Park
6.510.57T.W. Alexander Drive
7.512.18Ellis Road
Durham9 I885 north to I85 / US 70 Henderson, Greensboro, PetersburgEast End Connector (under construction)[11][15]
10.516.910Briggs Avenue  Durham Technical Community College
11.318.211 NC 55 (Alston Avenue)
11.819.012AFayetteville Street  North Carolina Central University
12.019.312B
US 15 Bus. / US 501 Bus. (Mangum Street/Roxboro Street) Downtown
To Durham Bulls Athletic Park
12.620.312CDuke StreetNo southbound exit; To North Carolina Museum of Life and Science
13.020.913Chapel Hill Street
13.722.014
To US 70 Bus. / Swift Avenue Duke University East Campus
To North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and Northgate Mall
14.323.015AElba Street / Trent DriveNorthbound exit, southbound entrance; to Duke Medical Center
14.823.815BHillandale Road / Fulton StreetTo Veterans Affairs Medical Center
15.725.316 US 15 / US 501 to I85 north Chapel Hill, Duke University West CampusSigned as exits 16A (north) and 16B (south)
17.227.7 I85 south GreensboroNorthbound exit, southbound entrance
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Interstate 885

Interstate 885
Location: Durham, North Carolina

Interstate 885 (I-885) is the proposed designation traversing between I-40 and I-85/US 15, in Durham and the RTP area. Its appearance was released on August 19, 2014 when the October project letting was released, which included I-885 in the sign plans. NCDOT also listed in the documentation that fabrication of the signs cannot proceed until approval of the route is completed via FHWA; thus this routing is, for now, a proposal.[11][15]

If approved and designated, the interstate would begin at the I-40/NC 147 interchange (exit 279) then go north in concurrency with NC 147 to the East End Connector, where it will switch to US 70. Continuing north in concurrency with US 70, it ends at the I-85/US 15/US 70 interchange (exit 178). The existing exit numbers now on NC 147 and US 70 would be replaced by I-885.

No official request has been submitted to AASHTO or FHWA; this route is currently proposed by NCDOT and is subject to change. The East End Connector is slated to be completed by July 2019.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 Google (December 13, 2012). "North Carolina Highway 147" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Triangle Expressway". North Carolina Turnpike Authority. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "State's First Modern Toll Road Opens Today". The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC). December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  4. "North Carolina Memorial Highways and other Named Facilities" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  5. "NC Quick Pass FAQs". North Carolina Turnpike Authority. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Bloom, Jonathan (July 26, 1998). "30-Year, 12-Mile Project Completed". The Herald-Sun (Durham, NC). p. A1.
  7. 1 2 Bloom, Jonathan (August 1, 1998). "Durham Freeway's Last Leg Opens". The Herald-Sun (Durham, NC). p. A8.
  8. "Durham Freeway's New Lanes to Ease Eastbound Travel". The Herald-Sun (Durham, NC). May 21, 1997. p. C1.
  9. 1 2 "Section of N.C. 147 in Durham to Close Sept. 6" (Press release). North Carolina Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  10. 1 2 "Crosstown Traffic—RTP Commuters: The NC 147 Southern Spur Is Closed Today, for Good". The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC). September 6, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 "East End Connector". North Carolina Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  12. "Work to Begin on East End Connector Project". North Carolina Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  13. 1 2 Staff. "Project #U-4763". Project Details. North Carolina Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  14. 1 2 Staff. "Project #U-4763A". Project Details. North Carolina Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  15. 1 2 "Signing Plan, Durham County, T.I.P.: U-0071" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  16. Siceloff, Bruce (September 8, 2014). "Road Worrier: Durham's East End Connector Spawns an 8-Mile Interstate". The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC). Retrieved September 9, 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to North Carolina Highway 147.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.