Why is this section of the Raleigh Beltline so rough? And when will it be fixed?
A stretch of the Raleigh Beltline where the asphalt is crumbling and sloughing off the road will soon get some overdue attention.
The N.C. Department of Transportation has hired a contractor to repave a 5-mile section of Interstate 440 from just east of Wake Forest Road to Lake Boone Trail. The Fred Smith Company plans to get started in April.
The work will come as a relief to drivers who find this section of Beltline both aggravating and puzzling because it is in so much worse shape than the rest of Raleigh’s busy circle freeway.
“Is it a bad surfacing job, a job that wasn’t completed properly, or is it actually intentional to be sure drivers stay awake?” Susan Whitledge, who drives this stretch of highway twice each weekday, wrote in an email. “It actually rattles your teeth and is a mess in both the east- and westbound lanes.”
This section of the Beltline was last repaved in 2009. Three years later, because of concerns about drivers hydroplaning, NCDOT put down a thin top layer of coarser asphalt to help water drain better and improve traction.
It’s that top layer that is falling apart, says spokesman Aaron Moody. NCDOT made repairs to the worst patches in 2019 but wasn’t scheduled to fully repave the road until 2025. With conditions getting worse, the department decided not to wait that long.
As the road is repaved, the contractor will once again put down a thin top layer to reduce hydroplaning, Moody said, but will use a different kind that tends to adhere better to the underlying surface. NCDOT has found this different type of top layer has held up well where it has been used on Interstate 40 and Capital Boulevard, Moody said.
“Our crews look at these applications on a case-by-case basis,” he wrote in an email. “Especially in a location with higher traffic volumes like this one, they are opting for something expected to last longer.”
About 140,000 cars and trucks per day used the section of I-440 between Six Forks and Glenwood Avenue in 2021, making it the busiest part of the Beltline.
In addition to repaving, NCDOT’s $26.4 million contract with the Fred Smith Company also includes bridge repairs, drainage improvements and new signs. The work isn’t expected to be complete until the fall of 2024.
This story was originally published February 22, 2023 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Why is this section of the Raleigh Beltline so rough? And when will it be fixed?."
