| The next exit along eastbound Interstate 40 is Exit 266, Junction North Carolina 86. This state highway, which was relocated from the earlier alignment, travels south to Carrboro and Chapel Hill. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| North Carolina 86 begins at the interchange of U.S. 15-501/North Carolina 54 and North Carolina 86/South Columbia Street just south of the University of North Carolina (UNC). The state highway travels northwest from Chapel Hill, briefly paralleling Interstate 40 between Exits 263 and 266. After passing through Hillsborough, North Carolina 86 aims northwest toward Yanceyville, then ends as it crosses the Virginia State Line and interchanges with U.S. 29-58-360 southeast of Danville, Virginia. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 266, Junction North Carolina 86. This is the first of three interchanges that serve the city and vicinity of Chapel Hill. The next interchange connects to U.S. 15-501, and the third interchange provides a connection via North Carolina 54. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The next three exits also serve as connectors from Interstate 40 to West Durham: Exit 270, Junction U.S. 15-501; Exit 273, Junction North Carolina 54; and Exit 274, Junction North Carolina 751. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| U.S. 15-501, which follow a shared alignment between Laurinburg and Durham, offer a near-expressway alignment from Interstate 40 south toward Chapel Hill. While the old alignment of U.S. 15-501 (Franklin Street) enters downtown Chapel Hill, the new alignment follows a signalized bypass to the southeast of downtown. Continuing south from Chapel Hill, U.S. 15-501 continues as a multi-lane divided highway to Pittsboro, then downgrades to a two-lane highway until they reach U.S. 1 near Sanford. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Two major universities are within a half-hour's drive of each other via U.S. 15-501. Turn south on U.S. 15-501 to the University of North Carolina; aim north to reach private Duke University. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| U.S. 15 and U.S. 501 both begin in South Carolina. U.S. 15 originates in Walterboro at its junction with Alternate U.S. 17, while U.S. 501 begins in Myrtle Beach at U.S. 17. The two routes collaborate through two-thirds of their journeys through North Carolina, then separate north of Durham. U.S. 15 generally follows Interstate 85 northeast to Oxford, then turns north toward Virginia. The highway eventually passes through Maryland and Pennsylvania before ending at Interstate 86 in New York (at least until Interstate 99 is completed in north-central Pennsylvania). U.S. 501, meanwhile, traces a route north to Roxboro and South Boston, Virginia, before turning northwest toward Lynchburg and Lexington, where it ends. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 270, Junction U.S. 15-501/Fordham Boulevard. Follow U.S. 15-501/Fordham Boulevard south to Chapel Hill and follow U.S. 15-501/Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard north to Durham. This interchange is woefully underpowered, and delays can be very common here. The diamond interchange was not designed for the amount of traffic that uses this interchange everyday. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| At the top of the ramp, these shields for U.S. 15-501 are posted. Turn left to Durham and right to Chapel Hill. Southeast of Exit 270, Interstate 40 changes names to the "John Motley Morehead III Freeway." Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The next exit along eastbound Interstate 40 is Exit 273, Junction North Carolina 54 to Chapel Hill and Durham. North Carolina 54 begins in Burlington, travels southeast to Chapel Hill, then skirts the southern edge of Durham. The state highway ends at Exit 3 off of Interstate 440, the Raleigh (Benson) Beltline. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| A variable message sign is posted alongside the next advance sign for the junction with North Carolina 54/Raleigh Road (Exit 273). Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 273, Junction North Carolina 54/Raleigh Road. Use North Carolina 54 east to downtown Chapel Hill. A variety of hotels and related motorist services are available on North Carolina 54. During college football weekends, expect no vacancies and increased traffic. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The next exit along eastbound Interstate 40 is Exit 274, Junction North Carolina 751/Hope Valley Road. Use North Carolina 751 north to downtown Durham and south to B. Everett Jordan Lake. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 274, Junction North Carolina 751/Hope Valley Road. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| This mileage sign provides the distance to the next three exits, each of which serve East Durham: Exit 274, Fayetteville Road; Exit 276, Junction North Carolina 55; and Exit 278, Junction North Carolina 147/Durham Freeway. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The next exit along eastbound Interstate 40 is Exit 276, Fayetteville Road. Use this exit for the Streets at Southpoint Mall as well as south Durham destinations. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 276, Fayetteville Road south to Southpoint Mall and north to Durham. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The next exit along eastbound Interstate 40 is Exit 278, Junction North Carolina 55 to North Carolina 54. Use North Carolina 55 south to Parkwood, Carpenter, and Apex. To the north, follow North Carolina 55 into downtown Durham. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| To the south of the North Carolina 55 interchange is North Carolina 54, the east-west route between Chapel Hill and Raleigh via southern Durham. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 278, Junction North Carolina 55 north to Durham and south to North Carolina 54 and Apex. This interchange is a partial cloverleaf due to the proximity of a railroad that parallels North Carolina 54. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The next exit is Exit 279, Junction North Carolina 147/Durham Freeway north to downtown Durham and to Interstate 85. Plans call for North Carolina 147 to be extended south from here to connect with the future southern extension of Interstate 540. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The interchange with North Carolina is nearly a cloverleaf, except for direct flyover ramps between southbound North Carolina 147 and eastbound Interstate 40 and between westbound Interstate 40 and northbound North Carolina 147. Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 279A, Junction North Carolina 147 south. This ramp will take on greater prominence once the freeway extension is complete. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 279B, Junction North Carolina 147/Durham Freeway north to downtown Durham. Prior to the completion of Interstate 40 around Durham, North Carolina 147 had to take on the role of being the only freeway connection between Durham and Raleigh. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The next exit along eastbound is Exit 280, Davis Drive, followed by Exit 281, Miami Boulevard. Both of these interchanges are partial cloverleafs. Note that Interstate 40 is no longer as rural as it was near Chapel Hill. With four lanes in each direction, it is a very busy commuter route from here east to Raleigh. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The right lane becomes exit only for Exit 281, Miami Boulevard. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 281, Miami Boulevard. The next exit is Exit 282, Page Road, which also features a partial cloverleaf design. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 282, Page Road. The next exit is Exit 283, Junction Interstate 540 north to U.S. 70. An extension of Interstate 540 southwest to North Carolina 55 near Carpenter is under construction as of 2006. Ultimately, Interstate 540 will become part of an outer beltway that is planned to encircle Raleigh. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The right lane again becomes exit only, this time for the connection to Interstate 540 north to U.S. 70 and U.S. 1. The northeastern end is also going to change, as the route is being extended northeast from U.S. 1 to U.S. 64-264 east of Raleigh. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 283, Junction Interstate 540. The next exit is Exit 284, Airport Road to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (abbreviated with airport code RDU). Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| A flyover ramp connects eastbound Interstate 40 to northbound Interstate 540 (Future Interstate 640). The new mainline bridges that carry Interstate 540 south of Interstate 40 cross here. As for eastbound Interstate 40, trucks are restricted from the left lane but are permitted in the right three lanes. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Now Interstate 40 is known as the Dan K. Moore Freeway, having changed names again at Exit 284. The next exit along eastbound Interstate 40 is Exits 284A-B, Airport Road. This is a major interchange for airport-bound traffic. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 284A, Airport Road southwest to a Prime Outlets location and the city of Morrisville. The second ramp (Exit 284B) provides access to Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The ramp for Exit 284B is a loop ramp. Use Airport Road east to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 next reaches Exit 285, Aviation Parkway north to the airport and south to Morrisville. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The next exit along eastbound Interstate 40 is Exit 287, Harrison Avenue. Use this exit to North Carolina 54/Maynard Road and downtown Cary. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| A diagrammatical sign is posted at the point where Interstate 40 and Wade Avenue (Exit 289) split. Use the left lanes to continue east along Interstate 40 to bypass Raleigh to the south. Use the right two lanes to exit onto Wade Avenue, which is a freeway that acts as a business spur into downtown Raleigh, including the state capitol. Wade Avenue also provides a more direct connection to northbound Interstate 440 to North Raleigh. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Use Interstate 40 to south Raleigh; use Wade Avenue to north Raleigh via Interstate 440. It seems like Wade Avenue should be a business spur or loop of Interstate 40, since it offers direct connections to the beltway and also downtown Raleigh. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| To U.S. 1 north to Wake Forest, use Wade Avenue east to Interstate 440 northeast (inner loop). To U.S. 1 south, use Interstate 40 east to the Interstate 440/U.S. 1 interchange (Exit 293). Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 289, Wade Avenue to Interstate 440/Raleigh (Cliff Benson) Belt Line. The right two lanes exit here; Interstate 40 east reduces to just two through lanes. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| A rare Interstate 40 North Carolina state named shield is posted immediately after the Interstate 40/Wade Avenue split. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Interstate 40 swings to the south after splitting with Wade Avenue. The next exit is Exit 290, Junction North Carolina 54/Chapel Hill Road west to Cary and east to Raleigh. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The right lane of Interstate 40 becomes exit only for North Carolina 54/Chapel Hill Road. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 290, Junction North Carolina 54/Chapel Hill Road to Cary and Raleigh. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The configuration of this section of Interstate 40 appears to be two through lanes, with an auxiliary third lane created in between exits. So, once again the right lane becomes exit only, this time for Exit 291, Cary Towne Boulevard. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Eastbound Interstate 40 reaches Exit 291, Cary Towne Boulevard. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The next exit along eastbound Interstate 40 is Exit 293, Junction Interstate 440/Cliff Benson Belt Line and U.S. 1-64. Interstate 440 is the belt route around Raleigh. Interstate 40 merges onto Interstate 440 east to bypass downtown Raleigh to the south. U.S. 1 passes through this intersection as a freeway, connecting Sanford with Raleigh. U.S. 64 follows U.S. 1 from Apex north to this interchange, then turns east alongside Interstate 40 and Interstate 440. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| A pair of trailblazer shields clarify that U.S. 64 west follows U.S. 1 south, while U.S. 64 east merges with Interstate 40 and Interstate 440 east (outer loop). Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| The right lane becomes exit only for Exit 293, Junction Interstate 440/Cliff Benson Belt Line north (inner), U.S. 1, and U.S. 64 west. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| Now on the transition ramp from Interstate 40 east to Interstate 440 north (inner loop), the first exit connects to U.S. 1 south and U.S. 64 west. The second ramp connects to Interstate 440 north and U.S. 1 north. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| A loop ramp provides the connection from eastbound Interstate 40 to northbound Interstate 440 and U.S. 1. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| An Interstate 440 Inner Beltline shield is placed at the gore point of Exit 293B, which connects to northbound U.S. 1 and Inner Interstate 440. Photo taken 06/05/05. |
| One-mile diagrammatical overhead for Exit 301 (Interstate 440 west & U.S. 64 east) on Interstate 40 eastbound within the Exit 300 (Rock Quarry Road) interchange. The Benson Beltline merges with U.S. 64 six miles to the northeast via Exit 13. The connection will soon change with the completion of the U.S. 64 Knightdale Bypass. This is significant in that U.S. 64 composes a freeway east of Knightdale to Rocky Mount (Interstate 95) and Williamston. The highway represents the main link between Raleigh and the Interstate 95 northeastern corridor. Photo taken 12/31/03. |
| Drawing to within one half mile of the Interstate 40 & 440 split of Exit 301. It is expected that the overlap between exits 293 and 301 of Interstate 40 & 400 will be discontinued in the future. Upon the resigning process, Interstate 440 will see the replacement of Inner and Outer cardinal direction banners with East and West. No timetable is set for the changeover.1 Photo taken 12/31/03. |
| Scenes Pertaining to Interstate 40
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Page Updated July 30, 2006.
