The end is in sight: State awards first of two contracts to finish Raleigh Outer Loop
Construction of the final leg of the Outer Loop around Raleigh will begin as soon as next year.
The N.C. Department of Transportation and the N.C. Turnpike Authority have awarded the first of two construction contracts to complete N.C. 540, also known as the Triangle Expressway, between Interstate 40 and Interstate 87. They expect to award the second contract later this year, putting the highway on schedule to open in 2028, according to NCDOT.
When that happens, the six-lane Triangle Expressway toll road will be complete from Research Triangle Park across southern Wake County to Knightdale. N.C. 540 will connect with Interstate 540, which completes the Outer Loop across northern Wake.
Work on an 18-mile section of N.C. 540 across southern Wake began in 2019. When it opens next year, it will extend the expressway from N.C. 55 in Apex to a massive interchange with I-40 and U.S. 70 near the Johnston County line.
NCDOT has broken the final 10-mile section into two projects. The first contract, awarded this week to a joint venture of Flatiron and the Fred Smith Company, is for $450 million to build six miles of road from south of Rock Quarry Road to I-87.
The second contract for the remaining four miles is expected to come to about $350 million.
A few years ago, NCDOT didn’t expect to have money to begin work on the final leg of the loop until 2029 or later.
But the Turnpike Authority was able to get a single environmental permit for the road from Apex to Knightdale, allowing the state to get started with utility work, such as moving a Duke Energy power line and a Federal Aviation Administration tower, said authority spokesman Logen Hodges.
That pre-construction work, coupled with strong local support and expected toll revenues, helped the project move up NCDOT’s list of priorities, Hodges said.
Some version of a loop highway around Raleigh has appeared on planning maps since the 1980s. Construction on the first segment, known as the Northern Wake Expressway, began in 1992 and eventually arced across North Raleigh, connecting U.S. 64 in Knightdale with I-40 near RTP.
