Field Guide to Raleigh's Roads: 11/12/05

For the next few days, I'll be explaining about the roads in Raleigh. Raleigh has a lot of interesting roads and most of those roads include features that many out of towners are unfamiliar with.

Today I'll compare the Inner Beltline to the Outer Beltline.

The Beltline consists of Interstate 440, Interstate 40, US-64, and US-1. All of these roads except for I-440 aren't always on the Beltline though.

Believe it or not, the locals of Raleigh don't call the Beltline Interstate 440. They call it the "Beltline". If you go to Raleigh and call it I-440, you'll have "tourist" written all over you. The section that has Interstate 40, Interstate 440, and US-64 is just called I-40. Nothing else.

But what's the difference between the Inner Beltline and the Outer Beltline? The Outer Beltline is the lane of traffic that is the furthest away from downtown and the Inner Beltline is the lane of traffic that is the closest to downtown. This also appeals to the I-440 designation.










Most of the signage for I-440's cardinal directions are "Inner" and "Outer" instead of "North", "South", "East", or "West". This road is the only road in the United States that has this "Inner" and "Outer" feature. There are a few signage exceptions like on Wade Avenue when it approaches the Beltline. I think it has cardinal directions on the signs.

Next time I'll talk about the new beltway called Interstate 540.