Segment 4

Earlier Photos taken on April 21, 2019 by Site Contributor, J. Austin Carter:

Earlier photos taken on December 13, 2018 by Site Contributor, J. Austin Carter:

Business 40 to US 158 Segment:

Looking at another angle to the east, a noise wall under construction can be seen after the curve in the distance.

US 158 to US 311 Section:

Previous Photos taken on April 1, 2018 by Site Contributor, J. Austin Carter:

Previous Photos taken on October 11, 2017 by Site Contributor, J. Austin Carter:

Earlier Photos taken on April 13, 2017 by J. Austin Carter:

Recent Photos taken on March 30, 2017:

Here are a few photos of construction progress on the first segment of the Beltway taken by J. Austin Carter on August 27, 2016:

Here are a few more photos of construction progress on the first segment of the Beltway taken by J. Austin Carter on April 19, 2016:

Here's some previous photos taken by J. Austin Carter on December 14, 2015:

Eastern Section Signage Plans (Updated 12/20/19)

NCDOT plans to build the Eastern Half of the Northern Beltway in 7 segments. Based on a public relations request, AARoads Forum member Roadsguy obtained copies of the plans from NC 66 to US 311 and was kind to forward them to me. The plans feature updated signage for Exits 49 and 50 on I-74 East for when the Beltway is open west of US 311:

As can be seen on the US 311 sign, a future overlay with North is provided, indicating NCDOT is planning to further shorten the route's length, this time eliminating the route between the Beltway and US 52 in Winston-Salem.

Here's a plan for the next exit westbound, Baux Mountain Road:

The next interchange will be for NC 8, here's the 1/2 mile advance sign:

The next exit is for NC 66/University Parkway, here's a plan for a sign assembly at the NC 8 exit:

The next plan for the NC 66 exit shows what the future I-74/US 52 interchange signage will look like when the ramp opens, and later:

Plan for future ramp signage once I-74 is signed along the Beltway:

Plans for the second segment, from US 158 to US 311 were put on NCDOT's website on August 22, 2017, with a letting in October. The second segment will run almost 2 miles. Here's plans showing the new exit number for the US 311 exit:

Sign plan for US 311 interchange westbound at US 158 exit (already existing from previous contract, see plans below) showing it will be designated Exit 49.

Plan for new arrow-per-lane sign to be placed at US 158 exit when I-74 is completed east to US 311. Notice the lack of reference to Business 40 (seen on the earlier plan below) on the US 421 sign. In the spring of 2017, NCDOT announced that the official name for the Business 40 route in the future will be the US 421 Salem Parkway, implying that the Business 40 designation will be dropped.

Plans for construction of the first segment of the Beltway were put on NCDOT's website on August 19, 2014 as advertising for the project letting on October 21. The first segment will run 3 miles between Business 40/US 421 and US 158, Reidsville Road it will also include the building of approximately 1 mile of the Loop further eastward toward I-40 that will be completed in the future. The signing plans indicate the route will be temporarily signed as NC 74, until the route is connected to at least I-40. The NC 74 signs can be seen in this plan for the initial signage at the Business 40 exit:

Plan for signage on Business 40 East, showing temporary NC 74 designation, to be changed to I-74 when Loop is, at least, partially completed east to I-40.

Initial and future signs for I-74 East at the Business 40/US 421 Exit. Since these plans were published, NCDOT has announced it will remove the Business 40 designation from what will be called the US 421 Salem Parkway around 2020.

Signage plans for the US 158 exit ramp signage to I-74 East.

Signage planned for I-74 West at the US 421 interchange.

Plans for signage approaching I-74 along US 421 North at South Main St in Kernersville, the exit number is now 227.

Route shields to be featured on this segment of the Beltway. Though the signs for the Business 40 exit do not included NC 150, which is routed on the highway along with US 421, the ground signage still indicates its presence. Again, the plan is for the Business 40 designation to be removed from US 421 in 2020.

The plans indicate that the exit numbers along this segment will be 53 A&B for US 42 and 50 for US 158. The sign plan for the next segment to be constructed, from US 158 to US 311, indicates that US 311 will be Exit 49. 

Improving News for Eastern Section Construction in recent years

The remaining segments of the Beltway were unfunded, and their construction dates uncertain, until December 2014. That month NCDOT released their latest draft State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) document, formally approved in June 2015, which listed all funded projects in the state from 2016 to 2025. In the 2018-2027 STIP released in August 2017, among Forsyth County projects to be funded, included all of the remaining six Beltway segments. Next in line was (Segment C) the 1.4 mile US 158 to US 311/Walkertown Road segment which was awarded on December 6, 2017 at a cost of $68 million, work started in January 2018 with a planned completion by November 2021.¹⁰ The two segments (AA and AB) to connect these completed Beltway segments to I-74/US 311, from Business 40/US 421 to I-40 and from I-40 to I-74/US 311, will together cost $273 million and will start in 2020 and 2021. Contracts for the other 3 segments, unfunded in the previous TIP, D, US 311 to Baux Mountain Road, E, Baux Mountain Road to NC 8, and F, NC 8 to US 52, all Design-Build projects, were put out to bid in March 24, 2018, delayed 5 months in October 2017, funded due to reforms to the 2015-17 state budget that added over $700 million in new moneys for transportation over the next two years, work is to be completed in 2021.¹¹ A contract which will build the Beltway interchange with US 52 was let in August 2018, work then start in November 2018 with the project set to be completed in September 2022.¹²

Project History

Western Half of Beltway Construction Stopped by Lawsuit in 1999

The building of a beltway around Winston-Salem was first proposed in 1965 but was not seriously planned until the early 1990's. The first hearings over choosing alternative paths for the route were held from 1992 to 1996. All permits for the western half of the freeway, from US 52 to I-40, were approved and construction was set to start in 1999. However, in February 1999 a lawsuit was filed by 'Friends of Forsyth,' a citizens group that opposed construction of the highway, halting construction. Though the initial lawsuit was thrown out, subsequent court decisions delayed the start of construction until a judicial review of NCDOT's environmental impact study was completed. With the review complete, the combined eastern and western-half Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) report was released in September 2004 and public hearings on the report were held in November and December 2004.¹⁴

Support Builds for Constructing Eastern Half of Beltway

While waiting for NCDOT to wrap up its work, supporters of speeding up construction of the Beltway and upgrading US 52 north of Winston-Salem to interstate status formed the 'I-74 Piedmont Corridor Group' in 2003 and enlisted the support of former Governor Jim Hunt to help lobby legislators and NCDOT board members to build the highway.¹⁴ In March 2003, the Winston-Salem Journal wrote an editorial encouraging NCDOT to build the eastern half of the Beltway (I-74) first, arguing that there was less opposition to this part of the highway and the increased traffic on US 52 since the completion of the I-74 connector from I-77 to US 52 was leading to increased traffic congestion and accidents in downtown Winston-Salem.¹⁶ The FHWA signed off on the final environmental impact plans in December 2006. NCDOT then announced in March 2005 that construction on the western half would be postponed to 2015 at the earliest.**¹⁷ Money saved from the postponement would be used to construct the eastern half, I-74, which was listed in the 2009-2015 STIP as Project No. U-2579, and scheduled to start construction by 2009. However, in 2008 another lawsuit was filed regarding the accuracy of the environmental study done for the western portion.¹⁸ Since NCDOT had combined the west and east portions in the document sent to the FHWA, the lawsuit stopped any activity on the Eastern segment as well, even right- of-way acquisition.

New Construction Schedule set in 2009

While the new lawsuit was being settled, NCDOT moved forward on planning to build the eastern segment. According to the 2009-2015 STIP, about $224 million was to be used to acquire the right-of-way while about $450 million had been set aside for construction, a total of $702 million.¹⁹ This new total cost was substantially higher than that quoted in previous TlPs. The increased costs were due to a few years since the last cost estimate, higher material costs, and the agreement by NCDOT to build more bridges along the route to help aide local traffic, plus expenses for environmental mitigation.¹⁹ Construction was to start first on the 3.4 mile portion of the highway from US 158 (Reidsville Road) to US 421 (Business 40), the 2009 cost estimate was $165 million. The 3.1 mile section between Business 40 and I-40 would start next with a cost of $160 million. Work would then start on the 1.4 mile section between US 158 and US 311 at a cost of $52 million.²⁰ The remaining segments were unfunded but officials at the time were confident moneys would be found to complete them after the original three segments were complete.²¹ A final alternative to what was originally called the Eastern Half extension south of Bus. 40 to US 311 was chosen in March 2005. Construction was to start on this 4.4-mile segment after the other segments were completed.²² The chosen alignment puts the location of the interchange between the Beltway (I-74) and US 311 to the east of the current US 311/I-40 interchange and between the Ridgewood and Union Cross Road exits.²³ The decision by Dell to locate a new company facility in Winston-Salem helped impact the choice of alternatives for the one chosen (N2-S1) kept the Union Cross Road interchange open to access the industrial park where the Dell plant was built. Ironically, Dell decided to close the plant in 2009, before a final decision on the Beltway was made. The NCDOT Winston-Salem Northern Beltway website has Maps of the chosen alternative, along with a Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Statement document released in January 2007.¹⁷ The last lawsuits were finally dismissed on May 20, 2010 by Federal District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder who said neither the Friends of Forsyth nor the NC Alliance for Transportation Reform could prove that the environmental studies performed for the FHWA were inadequate.

Project Halted Again, This Time by NCDOT, in 2010

Before any of the work activity outlined above began in 2010, however, NCDOT committed to a reform process which included devising a new STIP process and a priority list for construction of the state's 21 beltway projects. Only the top eight projects on the list would go forward at the present time given limits in funding. When the list was produced in late July 2010 the Northern Beltway was listed last, 21st out of 21 projects. This meant not only that the project was not funded but that no work of any kind would happen until at least 2020, even work on obtaining the right-of-way, which affected citizens were promised would start in 2010.²⁴ Citizens affected by the ruling vowed to fight it. They got NCDOT to change it's priority formula in 2011 allowing loop projects to be broken up and evaluated in segments. The good news was the Winston-Salem Beltway was moved up, the bad news was that it now ranked 13th, still not eligible for funding. The project again looked to be in limbo. NCDOT meanwhile appeared to be 'hedging its bet' where the next Segment of I-74 would start by placing I-74 mileposts and I-74 exit numbers along the US 311 freeway east of Winston-Salem in late 2010 starting at its interchange with I-40, not where the Beltway is planned to tie in. This could be if either I-74 ends up being routed through downtown on US 52, or on an proposed extension on the US 311 freeway across I-40 and into Winston-Salem.

NCDOT Puts Beltway Back on Priority Track

Outcry by citizens affected by the Beltway's path and threats of lawsuits by Winston-Salem and other cities with delayed loop projects in 2010 and 2011 forced the governor to intervene. In March 2011, under political pressure, the NCDOT Board of Transportation requested that its department staff conduct a limited segment analysis of ten Urban Loop projects, including Winston-Salem's. The loop projects were rated as to their needs and benefits. Each factor under Needs and Benefits was given a score. Those points were then added up and divided by the project's total cost. NCDOT then used the resulting numbers to rank the projects. Six projects, including Winston-Salem's, were then 'accelerated' into the state's TIP Plan using $400 million in Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle, or GARVEE, bonds.²⁶ The new schedule for the Beltway started property acquisition in 2012 and started construction on the first segment from Business 40 to US 158 after the project was let in December 2014, including a bridge to carry I-74 over Business 40 (see sign plans above).²⁷ In November 2016 NCDOT announced further acceleration of the Eastern Section project segments, with each segment getting advance 2 to 3 years. From the NCDOT press release, here's a table of the new construction schedule:³⁰

The project has been further accelerated since, with work starting on the 2 mile section from US 158 to US 311 on January 20, 2018 with completion anticipated for November 2021.⁶ The letting of the remaining projects from US 311 to US 52, design-build contracts covering 6.9 miles from US 311 to just east of US 52 was delayed until March 2018, work started in April 2018 and no delay in completion is expected. NCDOT has also let a design-build contract to build the future Beltway interchange with US 52. Work started in October 2018 with an anticipated completion date of September 2022, the project is 15.0% complete as of June 30, 2019.³¹

For the latest official information on the Beltway, go to NCDOT's Winston-Salem Northern Beltway project page.

*In November 2004, NCDOT released, as part of its Strategic Highway Corridors initiative, a map of existing and proposed Triad area highways showing an I-285 extending from I-85 in Lexington to I-40 in Winston-Salem with a note saying it would be extended to I-74 if US 52 was upgraded to interstate standards.²⁸ Finally, in 2019, I-285 from I-85 to I-40 was signed, after all projects to upgrade the highway to interstate standards were completed. In May 2019, NCDOT got permission from AASHTO to designate US 52 from I-40 to the future Northern Beltway interchange as Future I-285. It is unknown at this time when projects to upgrade this part of the highway will be funded. For more information, visit my Future I-285 page.

**On the same SHC Triad map²⁹ the western half of the Beltway, from US 52 (I-74) to I-40, is signed as:

(information on I-274 is on the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway main page.)

***There seems to have been some confusion over the years as to the actual Eastern Beltway mileage. The 2004- 2010 TIP listed the distance for the Beltway from US 52 to I-40 as 12.6 miles and the extension to US 311 as 1.6 miles (for a total of 14.2 miles). Then the subsequent TIP listed the entire length as 12.6 miles (used in the map below). The Strategic Corridors list says the total mileage is 16.2. A 2006 newspaper article listed the distance as 17.4 miles. The 2009-2015 STIP listed the project distance from US 52 to I-40 as 14.3 miles. A document released at a public hearing on August 14, 2008 indicated the Eastern section as 12.4 miles and the Eastern Extension as 4.4 miles, for a total of 16.8.³¹ This, however, doesn't include the interchange at US 52. The Draft STIP released in December 2014 and all subsequent STIPs, lists the combined mileage for projects U-2579 and U-2579A as 17.1 miles, so this is the mileage number I am using.³²

Here's a map showing the then newly funded Beltway segments, from the Winston-Salem Journal, the numbers refer to all the funded projects in the Draft NCDOT 2015-2024 STIP:

 Graphic by Cassandra Sherrill¹⁶

If anyone else has photos of the current roads in the vicinity of this segment, feel free to E-mail me.

A detailed map from 1999 showing part of the proposed I-74 route between Bus. 40 and US 311 in more detail: