  Winston-Salem Northern Beltway | |
|---|---|
 Open segment shown in red; segment under construction in blue; proposed NC 452 in purple | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained byNCDOT | |
| Length | 12.5 mi[1][2][3][4] (20.1 km) |
| Existed | 2020[1]–present |
| Component highways |
|
| Major junctions | |
| West end |  US 52 nearRural Hall |
| Major intersections |
|
| East end |   US 421 /NC 150 inKernersville |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | North Carolina |
| Counties | Forsyth |
| Highway system | |
TheWinston-Salem Northern Beltway is a partially completedfreeway loop around the city ofWinston-Salem inNorth Carolina. The western section has been designated asNorth Carolina Highway 452 (NC 452), which will become I-274 when completed, and the eastern section of the beltway will is designated asNorth Carolina Highway 74 (NC 74), which will become part ofI-74 when completed.[5][6] The entire route is inForsyth County.
The beltway would make Winston-Salem the seventh city in North Carolina to have a full or partial Interstate loop; the other six areAsheville (I-240),Charlotte (I-485 andI-277),Raleigh (I-440 andI-540),Wilmington (I-140),Greensboro (I-840), andFayetteville (I-295).
When completed as planned, the beltway will be approximately 30 miles (48 km) in length,[7] beginning in the east atI-74/NC 192 and ending in the west atU.S. Highway 158 (US 158). It would be entirely withinForsyth County and would crossI-40 andUS 421 twice. The beltway would serve as a freeway connector for thesuburban communities ofWalkertown,Stanleyville,Rural Hall,Tobaccoville,Pfafftown,Lewisville, andClemmons and would serve as a possiblebypass for US 158 andUS 52. The TIP Project Number is R-2247 for the western segment and U-2579 for the under construction eastern segment.
As of November 2023, the completed portion is signed as NC 74, and bears the mile markers based on I-74's putative mileage when the interstate is completed. Starting at the current western terminus at US 52 nearRural Hall, the route travels southeast, with interchanges at NC 66 (Exit 42), NC 8/Germanton Road (Exit 43), Baux Mountain Road (Exit 45), US 311/New Walkertown Road (Exit 49), and US 158 (Reidsville Road). The road turns gently to a more southerly route, and reaches its current terminus at US 421/Salem Parkway nearKernersville. As of November 2023, work is underway to extend the route in both directions, reaching west to US 52 at the northwestern end by Thanksgiving 2023 and south to meet the current I-40 and I-74 by 2025/2026.
Construction of the western segment of the beltway was to begin in 1999 but was delayed by a lawsuit aimed at theenvironmental impact statement (EIS). After the legal situation was resolved, theNorth Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) then announced construction would begin in 2006; however, in March 2005, the department postponed the start date again until at least 2012 due to budget shortfalls.[8] Funds once allocated to the western segment were then reapportioned to the construction of the eastern segment, which had a planned construction start date in 2011.[citation needed]
A second lawsuit, however, delayed the road further. A federal district judge in May 2010 dismissed the cases accusing an updated environmental study of ignoringglobal warming and impact on other intersecting roads.[9] However, the high cost of building the entire project pushed the beltway to last place on a list of urban loop projects being built by the state. In March 2011, state officials agreed to rank projects using sections, which might help the eastern section move higher on a list by 2014.[10]
On September 7, 2011, North Carolina GovernorBev Perdue announced that construction of a part of the eastern leg of the beltway would begin in 2014. The section to be built connectsUS 158 toI-40 Business (I-40 Bus.; nowUS 421/Salem Parkway).Right-of-way acquisition began in 2012 and cost $34 million (equivalent to $45.8 million in 2024[11]); construction was estimated to cost $156 million.[12][13] Construction on the segment, Project U-2579B, commenced in December 2014,[14][13] with an anticipated completion date of November 2018.[citation needed] However, after delays, including an opening date of late 2019,[6] it was finally opened to traffic on September 5, 2020.[1]
Since then, funding has been allocated to complete the remaining sections of NC 74 betweenUS 52 and the currentI-74 (formerly cosigned withUS 311), starting with the segment between US 311 and US 158, known as Project U-2579C, in October 2017.[citation needed] Construction on this segment began in 2018,[citation needed] was scheduled to open in 2021,[15] and opened to traffic on December 23, 2020.[2]
That same year, a contract for the segment betweenNC 66 and US 311, Projects U-2579D, U-2579E, and U-2579F, was awarded. Construction on this segment begun in April 2019, and it opened to traffic on November 7, 2022.[15][6][3] Next, construction on the segments between I-74 and I-40 Bus. (now US 421/Salem Parkway), Projects U-2579AA and U-2579AB, are scheduled to begin in 2020[15][14][needs update] and will open in 2024.[6][needs update] At the time, construction on the interchange with US 52, which began in 2019,[16] was scheduled to be completed in 2022,[6] but was then delayed to mid-2023.[6] It was later delayed again, this time to around Thanksgiving 2023.[17]
On January 22, 2022, another contract was awarded.[18] This section runs from the Salem Parkway (formerly known as I-40 Bus.) to I-40, a length of 3.1 miles (5.0 km). The last section of the eastern leg (I-40 to the existing I-74) is scheduled to begin in October 2022. Both of these projects apparently had to be postponed due to the cash crunch caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic.
The first phase of the project to be constructed was the northeastern quadrant, starting at US 421 (Salem Parkway) and extending north and west. It was completed in four segments. The first segment, from US 421 to US 158, was completed on September 5, 2020.[1] The second segment, extending the route to US 311, was opened on December 23, 2020.[2] The third segment, to NC 66, was completed on November 7, 2022.[3] The southbound exit and northbound entrance from US 52 on the fourth segment was scheduled to open to traffic on November 18, 2023; the rest of the interchange remains under construction.[4] On January 14, 2025, NCDOT extended NC 74 onto the segment between NC 66 (University Boulevard) and US 52.[19]
A "Southern Beltway" connecting the eastern and western segments in Forsyth County and northernDavidson County is in the initial planning stages, as its general proposed routing appears on some Winston-Salem Department of Transportation (WSDOT) long-range planning maps.[20][21] As of January 2007[update], no preferred alternatives for this southern section have been officially submitted, and NCDOT does not include the Southern Beltway on its vision maps. The WSDOT plans for this final section of the beltway to start construction sometime after 2030. If completed as planned, the Southern Beltway would serve as a connector for the communities ofMidway,Wallburg, andArcadia and would not necessarily be utilized as a bypass for I-40 due to the freeway's southward dip. The southern section would have an approximate length of 15 miles (24 km) and would intersectI-285/US 52/NC 8 near its midway point. Once the northern segments of the loop are completed, I-40 through Winston-Salem would technically complete the beltway loop without the southern section.
 | This sectionis missing mileposts for junctions. Please helpadd them. |
The entire route is inForsyth County.
| Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clemmons |  US 158 (Stratford Road) | Western section of Winston-Salem Northern Beltway (funded)[14][22][23] | |||
| Winston-Salem |  I-40 | ||||
| US 421 / Peace Haven Road | |||||
| Shallowford Road | |||||
| Robinhood Road | |||||
| Yadkinville Road | |||||
| Bethania |  NC 67 (Reynolda Road) | ||||
| Doral Drive/Bethania–Tobaccoville Road | |||||
| Winston-Salem | 41 A-B |   US 52 toNC 65 –Winston-Salem,Rural Hall | Southbound exit and northbound entrance from US 52 opened to traffic on November 19, 2023;[4] rest of the interchange currently under construction | ||
| Stanleyville | 42 |  NC 66 (University Parkway) | Opened to traffic on November 7, 2022[14][16][24][3] | ||
| Winston-Salem | 43 |  NC 8 (Germanton Road) | |||
| 45 | Baux Mountain Road | ||||
| Walkertown | 49 |  US 311 (New Walkertown Road) | Opened to traffic on December 23, 2020[2] | ||
| 50 | US 158 (Reidsville Road) | Opened to traffic on September 5, 2020[1] | |||
| Kernersville | 53 | US 421 /NC 150 (Salem Parkway) | |||
| 55 | Kernersville Road | Future interchanges (contract awarded December 2021; currently under construction with a completion date of November 2026) | |||
| Winston-Salem | 56 | I-40 | |||
| Union Cross | 57 |   I-74 /NC 192 | Future interchange (contract awarded October 2022, to be completed tentatively 2026)[14][16][24] | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
  Future Interstate 274 | |
|---|---|
| Location | Winston-Salem |
| Length | 16.83 mi (27.09 km) |
Interstate 274 (I-274) is the future designation for the western half of the beltway, currently designated as NC 452. When completed, it will connectUS 158, nearClemmons, toFuture I-74/Future I-285/US 52, inBethania. I-274 first appeared onNCDOT planning maps in the early 2000s but was later disused for over a decade since. On May 20, 2019, theAmerican Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved a request to establish Future I-274. Justification given byNCDOT was that the 16.83-mile (27.09 km) section would satisfy a great need to alleviate congestion in Winston-Salem and connect the western portion of the urbanized area.[14][23][25][26]
Media related toNorth Carolina Highway 452 at Wikimedia Commons
