As political leaders debate when to build the southern half of Interstate 540, and how to pay for it, local planners are looking farther north.

The vision: Turn U.S. 1 into a freeway from I-540 in North Raleigh to U.S. 1A just north of Youngsville.

Long-term, the idea is to make U.S. 1 a freeway all the way to I-85 in Henderson.

For now, planners in Raleigh, Wake Forest, Wake County, Franklin County, Franklinton, the Triangle Transit Authority and the state Department of Transportation are working on the southern 14 miles, where commuter traffic is heaviest.

It's no small task. Making U.S. 1 a freeway would terminate the roads that intersect it. So planners are exploring how best to redirect local traffic.

At the request of Raleigh's City Council, city staffers have devised a blueprint for building and improving side roads, some parallel to U.S. 1 and others looping nearby or crossing over it. They would provide access to property near the freeway.

The North Raleigh roads that would be severed are Jacqueline Lane, Homestead Road, Simms Creek Road, Paragon Park Drive and Thornton Road.

The proposal includes interchanges at Gresham Lake Road and an extension of Triangle Town Boulevard; Durant Road and Perry Creek Road; and New Falls of the Neuse Road and Main Street. Overpasses are proposed for Simms Creek Road, Common Oaks Drive and Height Lane.

There's no funding for it yet. And so far the freeway has no catchy name, either.

We submit these prospects:

* VFW Freeway, for Vance, Franklin, Wake. Should have no trouble drawing a patriotic Adopt-A-Highway sponsor.

* The Youngsville Turnpike. Just for grins and giggles.

* The North Raleigh News Expressway. For faster delivery.

What's your suggestion?

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We'd like to hear from Wake residents with no children in our public schools. What's your view on how Wake should address -- and pay for -- more schools? If you're up for an interview on the record, please e-mail me.