WINSTON-SALEM, NC — The City of Winston-Salem and the North Carolina Department of Transportation have now opened the newly finished portion of I-74 on the Northern Beltway Loop.

 

What You Need To Know

  • The Eastern Loop of the Northern Beltway took 20 years to complete
  • The goal is to help bring down congestion on U.S. 52
  • The section is open from University Parkway to U.S. 311 

 

The newly constructed section of I-74 in Winston-Salem, a part of the Northern Beltway, is now open.

“Major, major connector, for mainly for truckers, cause that will help divert a lot of that traffic off of U.S. 52,” said Highway Division 9 Engineer Patrick Ivey.

It’s the Eastern Loop of the beltway, and it’s been in the works for the past 20 years.

“Been working on this project since I came to Winston-Salem in 2000. A lot of challenges, at the very beginning with the lawsuit, going back through the design and environmental document,” Ivey said.

Ivey is one of the many people behind the project, finally bringing it to life.

“Not a lot of folks in my position get to see projects from beginning to end. So, it [is] very satisfying,” Ivey said.

This project is 7 miles of open road, allowing drivers to travel at 65 mph to get to and from University Parkway and U.S. 311. But University Parkway to U.S. 52 is still under construction until late summer of next year, when it’s expected to open.

“This is a modern freeway designed to interstate standards, the safest of it’s kind,” Ivey said.

It’s a six-lane freeway that’s been under construction for the past four years, costing $170 million.

“We have lighting at our interchanges, we have our traffic cameras, our message boards, all the technology is included on this highway,” Ivey said.

And even soundboards to help reduce the noise for neighborhood’s near by.

The main goal is for this new part of the freeway to help cut down time on commuting for people who travel through the area.

The entire beltway cost $1.5 billion to complete. NCDOT says I-74 is suppose to help with getting from state line to state line from North Carolina to Virginia.

Officials also want to remind drivers that this is still an active work zone.