Salem Parkway (North Carolina)

Business loop of the Interstate Highway System
Route information
Existed	1992–present
Location
Major cities	Winston-Salem, NC
Interstate Highway System

Interstate 40 Business (colloquially Business 40) is a 16-mile (27 km) loop highway that serves the downtown area of Winston-Salem. It is a freeway (though not completely up to Interstate standards) for its entire length, which is rare for Business Interstates. This is because it travels the old route of Interstate 40 through the city.

Route description

I-40 BUS/US 421/NC 150 near Kernersville.

The freeway connects to Interstate 40 (I-40) in western Winston-Salem. It then proceeds east through Winston-Salem, and returns to I-40 just east of Kernersville near Colfax.

This was the original alignment of I-40, which ran through the city of Winston-Salem from 1957 until 1992, when the main route was moved onto a new bypass further south. A Greensboro section was created later when the main I-40 route was moved onto the new Greensboro Urban Loop south of that city in February 2008. Exit numbers for the new Greensboro part of the route reflected a continuation of the mileage of the original Business I-40 highway (24-31). Part of its routing included the infamous Death Valley, where it ran concurrent with Business I-85 through downtown. This Greensboro portion though was decommissioned in September 2008 (see below).

Currently, the original Winston-Salem portion is undergoing a major upgrade to repair and replace many of the freeway's old design flaws which include rudimentary roadbed grading, narrow ramps, and short merging areas. In the late 1990s, the locally famous "Hawthorne Curve" near the North Carolina Baptist Hospital was rebuilt, softening the curve's angle. Additionally, a new interchange is planned to connect to Interstate 74, which is proposed to run on the eastern half of the Winston-Salem Beltway.

Former Greensboro extension

Since 2004, the Greensboro-area freeways have undergone various designation changes. After 2008, I-40 will follow its former routing through Greensboro, while I-73, I-85 (and now US 421) will continue to use the southern half of the Greensboro Urban Loop.

After leaving Winston-Salem Business 40 traveled unsigned for 6 miles (10 km) along I-40 to the junction of I-840 and I-40/73 where it continued 7 more miles to where it met Interstate 85 Business (Business 85). Interstate 85 Business through Greensboro was the former alignment of Interstate 85 (I-85) that was demoted in 2004 when the first section of the Greensboro Urban Loop opened up. Business 40 then traveled with Business 85 eight more miles to its eastern terminus at the intersection of Interstates 85 and 40.

Greensboro I-40 relocation

On September 12, 2008, after complaints by local residents and motorist on the confusion between Interstate 40, and Business Interstate 40 through Greensboro, NCDOT officials got permission from the FHWA to reroute Interstate 40 back through the city of Greensboro and decommission Business Interstate 40. This placed Interstate 40 on its original route while leaving I-73 and I-85 signed along the Greensboro Urban Loop. By the end of Fall 2008 Business Interstate 40 signs through Greensboro will be replaced back with Interstate 40 signs, and US 421 will be rerouted to replace most of the I-40 route along the Loop.

As of April 2009, few changes to note the re-designation have been made. At the I-40/85 interchange east of Greensboro, I-40 is signed as going through Greensboro, while all other signs along the Urban Loop show I-40 on the loop, including at the southern I-85/73 interchange and the western I-40/73/840 interchange. Overhead signs through Greensboro were never changed to reflect Business 40 and still show I-40, while Business 40 shields are still placed along Business 85. Between Business 85 and I-73, reassurance markers were never changed to Business 40 shields, but directional signs at interchanges were, and still reflect Business 40. Mile markers and exit numbers (with the exception of overhead signs) were briefly changed between Business 85 and I-73, but have been reverted, while mile markers and exit numbers along the Urban Loop have not changed since its original opening. US 421 is still signed through Greensboro rather than along the Loop.

Exit list

Mile	#		Destinations	Notes
	Old
			US 421 north – Wilkesboro, Yadkinville	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		1	I-40 – Statesville, Greensboro	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	189	2	NC 67 (Silas Creek Parkway) to US 52	Signed as exits 2A (east/south) and 2B (west/north)
	190	3A	Knollwood Street
	191	3B	US 158 west (Stratford Road)	West end of US 158 overlap; signed as exits 3B (west/south) and 3C (north) westbound
	192A	4A	Cloverdale Avenue	Signed as exit 4 eastbound
	192B	4B	West First Street, Hawthorne Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	193A	5A	NC 150 west (Peters Creek Parkway)	West end of NC 150 overlap
	193B	5B	Broad Street – Downtown Winston-Salem
		5C	Cherry Street – Convention Center
		5D	Main Street, First Street - Downtown Winston-Salem, Old Salem
	194	6	US 52 / US 311 / NC 8 – Lexington, Mount Airy	Signed as exits 6A (south) and 6B (north)
	194C	6C	To NC 109 – Walkertown, High Point	Former US 311
	195	7	Lowery Street, Fifth Street
	196	8	US 158 east – Reidsville, Walkertown	East end of US 158 overlap; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	198	10	Linville Road
	202	14	South Main Street – Kernersville
	204	15	NC 66 / NC 150 east – Kernersville	East end of NC 150 overlap
	205	16	Colfax	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			I-40 west – Winston-Salem, Statesville	West end of I-40 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance

See also

• Greensboro Urban Loop
• Interstate 40
• Interstate 73
• Business I-85
• Interstate 840

External links

• NCRoads - Green 40
• Greensboro News & Record - Death Valley Reference
• I-73 in NC Segment 4 and 5 Page