Salem Parkway (North Carolina)
 | |
|---|---|
| Business loop of the Interstate Highway System | |
_map.svg) | |
| Route information | |
| Existed | 1992–present |
| Location | |
| Major cities | Winston-Salem, NC |
| Interstate Highway System | |
Interstate 40 Business (colloquially Business 40) is a 16-mile (27 km) loop highway that serves the downtown area of Winston-Salem. It is a freeway (though not completely up to Interstate standards) for its entire length, which is rare for Business Interstates. This is because it travels the old route of Interstate 40 through the city.
Route description
The freeway connects to Interstate 40 (I-40) in western Winston-Salem. It then proceeds east through Winston-Salem, and returns to I-40 just east of Kernersville near Colfax.
This was the original alignment of I-40, which ran through the city of Winston-Salem from 1957 until 1992, when the main route was moved onto a new bypass further south. A Greensboro section was created later when the main I-40 route was moved onto the new Greensboro Urban Loop south of that city in February 2008. Exit numbers for the new Greensboro part of the route reflected a continuation of the mileage of the original Business I-40 highway (24-31). [1] Part of its routing included the infamous Death Valley, where it ran concurrent with Business I-85 through downtown. This Greensboro portion though was decommissioned in September 2008 (see below).
Currently, the original Winston-Salem portion is undergoing a major upgrade to repair and replace many of the freeway's old design flaws which include rudimentary roadbed grading, narrow ramps, and short merging areas. In the late 1990s, the locally famous "Hawthorne Curve" near the North Carolina Baptist Hospital was rebuilt, softening the curve's angle. Additionally, a new interchange is planned to connect to Interstate 74, which is proposed to run on the eastern half of the Winston-Salem Beltway.
Former Greensboro extension
After leaving Winston-Salem Business 40 traveled unsigned for 6 miles (10 km) along I-40 to the junction of I-840 and I-40/73 where it continued 7 more miles to where it met Interstate 85 Business (Business 85). Interstate 85 Business through Greensboro was the former alignment of Interstate 85 (I-85) that was demoted in 2004 when the first section of the Greensboro Urban Loop opened up.[2] Business 40 then traveled with Business 85 eight more miles to its eastern terminus at the intersection of Interstates 85 and 40.
In Winston-Salem Business 40 is sometimes signed as the east–west Expressway or the Downtown Expressway. In Greensboro it was also known as Fordham Blvd. and Preddy Blvd. The route also carried U.S. Highway 158, North Carolina Highway 150, and U.S. Highway 421 for various lengths. [1]
Greensboro I-40 relocation
On September 12, 2008, after complaints by local residents and motorist on the confusion between Interstate 40, and Business Interstate 40 through Greensboro, NCDOT officials got permission from the FHWA to reroute Interstate 40 back through the city of Greensboro and decommission Business Interstate 40. This placed Interstate 40 on its original route while leaving I-73 and I-85 signed along the Greensboro Urban Loop. By the end of Fall 2008 Business Interstate 40 signs through Greensboro will be replaced back with Interstate 40 signs, and US 421 will be rerouted to replace most of the I-40 route along the Loop. [3]
As of April 2009, few changes to note the re-designation have been made. At the I-40/85 interchange east of Greensboro, I-40 is signed as going through Greensboro, while all other signs along the Urban Loop show I-40 on the loop, including at the southern I-85/73 interchange and the western I-40/73/840 interchange. Overhead signs through Greensboro were never changed to reflect Business 40 and still show I-40, while Business 40 shields are still placed along Business 85. Between Business 85 and I-73, reassurance markers were never changed to Business 40 shields, but directional signs at interchanges were, and still reflect Business 40. Mile markers and exit numbers (with the exception of overhead signs) were briefly changed between Business 85 and I-73, but have been reverted, while mile markers and exit numbers along the Urban Loop have not changed since its original opening. US 421 is still signed through Greensboro rather than along the Loop.[4]
Exit list
| Mile | # | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old | ||||
  US 421 north – Wilkesboro, Yadkinville
|
Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |||
| 1 |  I-40 – Statesville, Greensboro
|
Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||
| 189 | 2 |    NC 67 (Silas Creek Parkway) to US 52
|
Signed as exits 2A (east/south) and 2B (west/north) | |
| 190 | 3A | Knollwood Street | ||
| 191 | 3B |   US 158 west (Stratford Road)
|
West end of US 158 overlap; signed as exits 3B (west/south) and 3C (north) westbound | |
| 192A | 4A | Cloverdale Avenue | Signed as exit 4 eastbound | |
| 192B | 4B | West First Street, Hawthorne Road | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |
| 193A | 5A |  NC 150 west (Peters Creek Parkway)
|
West end of NC 150 overlap | |
| 193B | 5B | Broad Street – Downtown Winston-Salem | ||
| 5C | Cherry Street – Convention Center | |||
| 5D | Main Street, First Street - Downtown Winston-Salem, Old Salem | |||
| 194 | 6 |   US 52 / US 311 / NC 8 – Lexington, Mount Airy
|
Signed as exits 6A (south) and 6B (north) | |
| 194C | 6C |  To NC 109 – Walkertown, High Point
|
Former US 311 | |
| 195 | 7 | Lowery Street, Fifth Street | ||
| 196 | 8 |  US 158 east – Reidsville, Walkertown
|
East end of US 158 overlap; eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| 198 | 10 | Linville Road | ||
| 202 | 14 | South Main Street – Kernersville | ||
| 204 | 15 |  NC 66 / NC 150 east – Kernersville
|
East end of NC 150 overlap | |
| 205 | 16 | Colfax | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
 I-40 west – Winston-Salem, Statesville
|
West end of I-40 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |||
See also
References
External links
- NCRoads - Green 40
- Greensboro News & Record - Death Valley Reference
- I-73 in NC Segment 4 and 5 Page
