Traffic pattern changes at Raleigh’s Wade/Beltline interchange, as new bridges open
A years-long effort to rebuild the Wade Avenue interchange with the Interstate 440 Beltline reached a milestone overnight Friday as outbound Wade traffic shifted to new bridges.
Starting Saturday morning, drivers going westbound on Wade will be directed onto a bridge that carries the road over the Beltline. Up to now, Wade Avenue has passed under the Beltline in both directions.
At the same time, drivers seeking to go from westbound Wade onto the Beltline headed toward Cary will take a ramp that branches off to the left from the new bridge. They’ll merge with traffic exiting eastbound Wade before getting on I-440.
Also part of the new traffic pattern: Drivers exiting eastbound I-440 onto westbound Wade Avenue will continue to make a left turn at the end of the ramp, as they do now. They’ll pass under the Beltline and then merge with Wade on the other side of the new bridge. Because of the location of the merge, these drivers won’t be able to get off at the Blue Ridge Road exit and will instead be directed to continue to Edwards Mill Road.
The Blue Ridge Road exit will still be accessible for other drivers on westbound Wade.
Eventually, contractors will build a new bridge to carry drivers exiting eastbound I-440 onto westbound Wade.
The overnight shift to the new bridges was scheduled to happen in stages starting at 9 p.m. Friday, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation. The work was expected to be completed by 9 a.m. Saturday.
Eastbound Wade Avenue, headed into the city, will remain open and continue to pass under the Beltline. But the ramp from eastbound Wade to westbound I-440 was scheduled to close about midnight and reopen Saturday morning.
The redesign of the Wade Avenue interchange is part of a larger project to overhaul a four-mile stretch of the Beltline between Wade Avenue and Walnut Street in Cary. Contractors are adding lanes to the highway and reconfiguring four interchanges, in part to eliminate tricky merges.
Work began in the summer of 2019 and is not expected to be completed until late 2024.
This story was originally published April 21, 2023 at 2:35 PM.
