Complete 540 Update
The 540 Loop has at least three years to go before its southern section can move forward, according to a new project timeline.
The Complete 540 project has been referred to as “priority one”, a designation previously held by efforts such as the East End Connector and the Wake Transit Referendum.
Currently, it’s scheduled to start moving forward in 2020, but there are plans to accelerate that timeline by two years.
NCDOT is trying to move through preconstruction, which mainly consists of environmental planning. There are plans to extend the six-lane toll road beyond what had initially been proposed to start in 2018. Instead of just one project section, from Highway 55 in Apex to Highway 401, NCDOT will be pushing ahead on two segments – meaning construction all the way from 55 to I-40. That second segment to I-40 had originally been scheduled for right-of-way acquisition in 2024.
Further work on the loop toward Knightdale is now scheduled to happen in 2027.