Regional partnership initiative focuses on next steps for Interstate 40 in the Triangle region.

Interstate 40 is a critical limited-access roadway that serves regional, statewide, and national purposes.  The I-40 freeway in the Triangle connects Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, Durham, Research Triangle Park, Morrisville, RDU Airport, Cary, Raleigh, Garner, and Benson with each other and with the rest of North Carolina and the nation. 

Interstate 40 is the most heavily-traveled and congested highway in the region, with recent traffic counts reporting more than 140,000 vehicles per day near Research Triangle Park.  While the commencement of construction of the I-40 Cary/Raleigh widening project in summer 2009 represents an important milestone, and the imminent construction of the I-40/I-540 interchange improvements will be welcome news to area commuters, our growing region will require additional investments in the I-40 corridor if the "Triangle's Main Street" will continue to be able to provide the mobility needed for our economic vitality and quality of life.

The I-40 regional partnership initiative
The NC Department of Transportation, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization,  Triangle Transit, the Regional Transportation Alliance and other partners are working to discover, share, and examine the current status of Interstate 40 in the Triangle in order to identify opportunities for  improvements to Interstate in the Triangle region, including interchanges and reliever routes such as US 70.   

The partnership held an initial I-40 working group meeting on June 16, 2009 in Research Triangle Park.  That discussion involved a series of presentations by technical and administrative staff designed to provide a shared baseline of updated knowledge and to help identify informational gaps.   Attendees recognized the breadth of recent, ongoing, and proposed activities for the corridor as well as areas requiring additional focus. Click here for the agenda from the meeting and click here (single 5 MB file) for the presentations.