Interstate 540 (North Carolina)

Interstate 540 and NC Highway 540
Raleigh Outer Loop
I-540 highlighted in red; open section of NC 540 in solid green; future section of NC 540 in dashed green
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length:	42.2 mi (67.9 km) I-540: 25.8 miles (41.5 km) NC 540: 16.4 miles (26.4 km)
Existed:	1997 – present
Component highways:	I‑540 (Durham–Knightdale) NC 540 (Apex–Durham)
Major junctions
Beltway around Raleigh
	I‑40 in Durham US 70 near Raleigh US 1 in Raleigh US 401 in Raleigh I‑495 / US 64 / US 264 in Knightdale US 1 near Apex US 64 in Apex NC 147 Toll in Morrisville
Location
Counties:	Durham, Wake
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business North Carolina Highway System Interstate U.S. State Scenic ← NC 522 NC 561 →

Interstate 540 (I-540) and North Carolina Highway 540 (NC 540) are part of a partially completed beltway around the city of Raleigh in the U.S. state of North Carolina forming the Raleigh Outer Loop.

When completed, the beltway will total 70 miles (110 km) in length, surrounding the city of Raleigh and the towns of Apex, Cary, Garner, and Morrisville. The designation from I-540 and NC 540 happens at I-40, in Durham County, where I-540 goes east and NC 540 goes west.

The beltway is further broken down into four segments:

I-540 is the designation for the northern part of the perimeter loop around Raleigh (not to be confused with the I-440 Beltline). Interstate 540 begins at Interstate 40 near the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Interstate 540 continues northeast until it reaches Aviation Parkway. Interstate 540 has an interchange with Aviation Parkway and continues along the south side of the Brier Creek neighborhood. About a mile after Aviation Parkway I-540 has an interchange with Lumley Road before having another interchange with US 70. After the US 70 interchange the freeway turns a more easterly direction. Interstate 540 has another interchange with Leesville Road, about 3 miles from the US 70 interchange and then continues toward North Raleigh. As Interstate 540 curves around to its northernmost point it starts to parallel Strickland Road, which is further to the south. The road heads north of Wildwood Green Golf Course and then has interchange with NC 50. Further east I-540 has an interchange with Six Forks Road and then Falls of Neuse Road. After Falls of Neuse Road I-540 starts to turn a more southeastern direction. As it approaches US 1 (Capital Boulevard) I-540 crosses a railroad track owned by CSX on an elevated bridge. Interstate 540 has a somewhat combined interchange between US 1 (exit 16) and Triangle Town Boulevard (exit 17). As I-540 continues east it has an interchange with US 401 (Louisburg Road). Interstate 540 continues just south of the Wake Tech campus. I-540 crosses the Neuse River and then turns south towards Knightdale. I-540 immediately has an interchange with Buffaloe Road (exit 20). I-540 continues south paralleling both the Neuse River and Forestville Road. As I-540 enters Knightdale it has an interchange with US 64 Business. About 2 miles (3.2 km) after the US 64 Business interchange Interstate 540 has its western terminus at Interstate 495/US 64/US 264.