It also bothers me (while we’re talking about I-87) that it has that designation. I’m originally from the Albany, NY area, and I-87 is a longstanding major highway that basically connects Montreal (different route # in Canada obviously) to NYC. Then out of nowhere this little stretch of 64 (also called 264) between 40, 440, and 540 suddenly is this tiny interstate with the same I-87 designation that just stops in the middle of nowhere. It impacts me in no way, but it still bothers me! LOL
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lol the plan is for it to continue on 64 to Norfolk, VA and 264 will be I-587. Maybe one day it could do something like this…
I think the only part that isn’t physically a road now would be over the Del. Bay
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Holy crap, are you serious? That’s both awesome and nuts! I’m trying to wrap my head around this. I’ll probably be dead before that comes to fruition, but I get it now. Thanks!
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Only the part from here to Norfolk has legs but it’d be so useful to be able to get to New York without going through DC
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What will really make your head explode is this: The numbering for N/S interstates is West to East, low to high odd number…I5 in Cali, I 95 on East Coast, etc. I 87 theoretically ought to be West of 95, but it’ll go diagonal up to Norfolk someday…but then if they build it farther North, it’ll be East of I-97 going from Annapolis up to Baltimore, which is all kind of messed up!.
There are entire forums for this kind of stuff I’ve run across; it’s kinda interesting. KIND OF.
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To bounce off that Interstates ending in 5 are the primary north-south border to border ones and ending in 0 are coast to coast. Any other ending number are primarily shorter city connectors.
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Connecting Raleigh to Montreal, of course.
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They did recently revise it a little and say that if NCDOT is going to do a project and the city already has a pedestrian/bicycle plan showing that sidewalks or bike facilities are supposed to go in along the project, NCDOT will construct those facilities at no cost to the municipality (so that’s one area where cost sharing has gone away).
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Who needs a plane? Lol. I’d totally take this route tho
yeah, all kinds of numbering conventions like even/odd, 2 digits vs 3 digits, if the road is a bypass or a “spur”. For a few years, interstate 87 was interstate 495. Go figure
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/traffic/article10288631.html
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Interstate corridors and federal roadway funding is also a great master class for how much a lot of this is political! (Remember the Alaskan “bridge to nowhere” scandal?)
I also have thoughts about I-87, though it's off-topic for this thread. (click me if you care)
Beyond what the federal government currently recognizes as the future (southern) I-87 corridor, I was thinking this could be politically doable-ish in the distant future:
This route would:
- Follow current I-87 future corridor up to I-64/464 interchange in Chesapeake (outside of Norfolk), VA
- Run concurrently with I-64 up to US-13 (exit 282)
- Upgrade US-13 to interstate standards along the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland, as well as connecting Delaware’s capital (Dover) and largest city (Wilmington)
- Divert off to DE-1 (exit 156) at Wilmington and run concurrently on it up to I-95
- Run concurrently with I-95 northwards to I-476 (exit 7) in Chester, PA
- Run concurrently with I-476 up to I-276 (exit 20), and turn eastward
- Run concurrently with I-276 until you’re forced to turn northward on I-95/New Jersey Turnpike
- Run concurrently with NJTP/I-95 until I-278 (exit 13) in Elizabeth, NJ, and turn towards Staten Island
- Run concurrently with I-278 until you reach the “other” I-87 near Randall’s Island (exit 47)
The bolded parts above need to be (re)constructed, but literally everything else is just overlapped interstates! I’d imagine that the opportunity to connect one of America’s major ports to often-forgotten parts of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware could be pretty nice for politicians?
As an added bonus, this could also be an excuse to extend I-97! Maybe you could do this by upgrading US-50 and smaller roads in Maryland/Delaware to interstate standards, increasing frequency for the Cape May-Lewes ferry, and reshielding the Garden State Parkway.
Sure, the numbering of exits would be awkward (interstate exits on both sides of the DE-NJ ferry have to be #1). But this is the only place in the country where a north-south interstate has to turn in a V-like shape… The Eisenhower commission shoulda planned their number system better if they have a problem with this, since we’re already violating quite a number of their guidelines here ¯_(ツ)_/¯
To bring this back on topic and to riff off of what @Deb posted earlier, what do y’all think about having formal gateway areas around Raleigh? How important is it for places like that (around WakeMed and the I-87 area to the east, along Capital Blvd. to the north, along Western Blvd. etc.) to be specifically planned around “welcoming” visitors into the Raleigh area?
I’ve said it many, many, many times. I think the awkward shaped lot behind Longleaf Hotel where Capital splits into Dawson and McDowell would make a great location for a signature fountain, welcoming folks into DRT from the north. 
Or even stealing an idea from RVA and having a large Raleigh sign as you enter DTR from either north or south.
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Also - 540 is technically mis numbered. Any 3 digit interstate that starts with an odd number is supposed to be a spur. Loops are supposed to start with an even number like 440
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540 isn’t yet a complete loop. There were talks years ago about renaming it to 640 once it was completed. Also the part of 540 heading south which is a toll road is technically named NC-540. Haven’t heard anything on that front recently.
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They’d have to drop the toll to carry the “interstate” name so probably will always have half being I and half NC
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I keep waiting for them to add some tress and other plantings on the newly redone Capital Blvd. Seems like a huge missed opportunity to beautify that road.
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I’m hoping after the redo the rest with the Corridor study recommendations they will. It may seem insignificant but that type of stuff can really leave an impression on visitors and just make you feel like you’re somewhere nice and important
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They weren’t required to drop the toll, but they would have been required to send some of the toll money to the Feds. The state did not want to give the Feds any of the money, so the tolled portion of the road is a NC highway not an Interstate.
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I wonder if they’ll have to give the feds a portion of Express lane money once they build those?
If they are part of an existing Interstate, I would think that they would have to. 540 was all new road, so the state could thumb their nose at the Feds.
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