I took a little day trip to the outskirts of Raleigh and back this afternoon, doing a big loop: I-85 to Henderson, then south on US 1 to Raleigh, where I stopped for an hour or two for food and drink, then east on I-540 to its end at US 64/264/I-87/495/whatever else, then 64 east to Rocky Mount, and finally 95 back home. Wasn’t really for much of anything other than I hadn’t done a road trip in a few months, and hadn’t been to Raleigh since I was a child. (As such, this was my first time driving everything between Henderson and Rocky Mount.) Traffic wasn’t an issue until I got to Wake Forest, but even then it wasn’t that bad. Some observations:
-I-495, not 87, is still posted at the end of I-540. I-87 posting is spotty and its current end is unclear. There are two reassurance shields eastbound before the end of the six-lane segment and a single future I-87 corridor sign east of Wendell.
-The reconstruction of I-85 from the Virginia state line to Henderson has progressed a bit since the last time I went that way back in the fall, with about 10-12 miles of completed highway before the first lane closure, and even then the shifts to the other side of the median are gone.
-I-540 is neat. I liked it. It’s like a nicer version of I-295.
-North Carolina interstates generally seem to be in better shape than Virginia’s. Fewer potholes and such.
-Emporia has a construction zone northbound on 95 between exits 8 and 11, with a speed limit drop to 55. There was a single police car sitting on the side of the road at exit 11. Last time I drove through Emporia I didn’t see any police cars at all.
-Overall I saw North Carolina police cars a little more frequently than I did Virginia ones, both local and state. The brief 45 MPH section of US 1 south of Henderson seemed to have the heaviest enforcement as I saw three state troopers there in a short time.
-North Carolina seems to like to add little supplemental signs to exit signs instead of using greenout. Also, I saw no Clearview whatsoever there. Bonus point for that.
-There’s a detour for I-85 posted to follow US 64 and I-95, which I assume comes from the 85/40 split and is for bypassing the construction in the north of the state. I also noticed an alternate route for I-40 posted to follow US 264.
Quote-Emporia has a construction zone northbound on 95 between exits 8 and 11, with a speed limit drop to 55.
That'd likely be for the bridge replacement over the Meherrin River not far south of Exit 11.