Fayetteville Outer Loop
Opened: 2003
Full Completion Date: 2012-20?

COMPLETION STATUS
Section between River Road & US 401 Opened: June 2003
Section from I-95 to River Road
Opened: July 2005
Next Section US 401 to the All-American freeway to Start Construction in 2008

Seven and 1/2 miles of Future Interstate 295, the Fayetteville Outer Loop, are now open to traffic. The total 35-mile route's projected path (1) will take the freeway from I-95 at its current intersection with US 13 to the west and south of Fayetteville reconnecting with I-95 north of St. Pauls in Robeson County.
   
A western bypass of Fayetteville has been in the planning stages for decades. Construction, however, did not begin until 2001.  The opened portion consists of the first segment of the highway completed in June 2003 which runs 3 miles from US 401 (Ramsay Street) across the Cape Fear River to River Road (2) and the newest segment, about 4 miles connecting I-95 to River Road that was completed in July 2005 (more about these segments below). (3) Here are some photos taken along the route from US 401 east to I-95:


Sign assembly at the current beginning of the Outer Loop at US 401, showing the future I-295 signage, currently none of the 295 shields have a directional banner.
 

This is going eastbound just west of the US 401 interchange headed toward the bridge over the Cape Fear River. (Feb. 2005)

View from the Cape Fear River bridge with the first sign for the River Road exit, where the Outer Loop ended before the next section was completed in July. Notice the narrowness of the right and, particularly the left shoulders, which appear to not meet Interstate standards. (Feb. 2005) The exits still do not have numbers.
 
New signage at the Outer Loop interchange at River Road (July 2005).


Here's the end of Northbound Future I-295 at the I-95 interchange. There is a high-speed flyover to I-95 North (Photo Courtesy of Adam Prince).



The End 295/Begin US 13 sign at the eastern (northern) end of the Loop, beyond the I-95 interchange.


This is the current end going westbound (south) at US 401 (notice the 0 on the shield doesn't quite mix with the other numbers (photo courtesy of Adam Prince).

NCDOT originally petitioned to have this roadway designated as I-195. The odd-number designation as an interstate spur route probably was chosen (at least as a temporary designation) because a funding source was not secured at the time to construct the entire 35-mile loop. The I-195 designation, however, was rejected by AASHTO in June 2003. Later in that year funds were secured to extend the route further south making it a true loop back to I-95. (4) NCDOT then decided the route should be called I-295 and this number subsequently appeared on several NCDOT publications.* AASHTO followed the FHWA's lead and approved the I-295 number designation at the May 6, 2005 meeting of the organization's Special Committtee on U.S. Route Numbering. (5)  Though the Interstate 295 number is now official, NC is currently signing the road as Future I-295. This is probably due to design aspects of the highway that do not meet interstate standards (such as the narrow shoulders on the Cape Fear River bridge (noted in the photo above) and the US 13 interchange (see photo below) which does not at present allow freeway to freeway access from I-95 North.  There are no projects in the current 2007-2013  STIP to upgrade the roadway, so the Future I-295 designation may be around for a while.
 
The photo below shows that traffic coming from I-95 south must take a left turn crossing the west (south)bound Loop, courtesy of Adam Prince:
 


Here's Future I-295's first appearance on a map,
the 2006 North Carolina State Transportation Map, that is:


Though construction of the remainder of the loop is scheduled to start in 2008 and is funded until 2012, through a significant proportion ($258 million, 19%) of highway trust fund moneys (2,6), actual completion may be several more years away. The current NCDOT schedule has the next portion of the loop, US 401 to the All-American freeway, starting in late 2008. Work on the next section to Raeford Road (US 401) is scheduled for late 2011. (7) Construction of the remainder of the route is currently not scheduled and may not be finished until 2020. (8) The proposed path and potential interchanges for the unbuilt sections are in the map below:

Map courtesy of Winston-Salem Journal 6/18/04 (8)
 
* Though several other route numbers appear for the Loop on other documents. The official 2005 state highway map lists it as NC 13. NCDOT called the route the 'NC 24 extension' on its contract listing for the US 301 to I-95 section in previous TIP documents. (9)
Sources:
(1) NCDOT. July 2005. Fayetteville Outer Loop Ribbon Cutting. Transcript of Secretary Tippett's Remarks, July 8. (downloaded from http://www.ncdot.org/public/speeches/i-295ribboncutting.html)
(2) WRAL.com. 2003. Fayetteville Outer Loop Slowly Takes Shape. http://www.wral.com/traffic/2248975/detail.html. June 11.
(3)  Burks, Bobbie. 2005. "Second Phase of Fayetteville Outer Loop Opens." Fayetteville Observer. July 9. (Downloaded from http://www.fayettevillenc.com/updates.php, July 10).
(4) The General Assembly made 28-miles of the Outer Loop route, previously not qualified for highway trust fund money, eligible in July 2003. This funds the highway from the project from US 401 back to I-95. See Lowry, Michael. 2003. "Legislature Adds to Roads List." Carolina Journal Online. July 23.
(5) AASHTO. 2005. SCOH Special Committee on US Route Numbering, - Member Departments Application Results, May 7, p. 4.
(6) Ingram, David. 2005. "Left Out of the Loop: Winston-Salem Falls Behind on DOT List for Financing." Winston-Salem Journal, May 1.
(7) Barnes, Greg. 2005. "Loop Segment Finish in Sight." Fayetteville Observer. April 19.
(8) Fayetteville Observer. 2004. NCDOT Plans Public Meetings to Discuss Fayetteville Outer Loop. http://www.fayettevillenc.com/story.php?Template=local&Story=6386023 June 16.
(9) NCDOT. 2003. Transportation Improvement Program, 2004-2010, Division 6 listing.
Background image courtesy of Castleberry Arts, http://www.castleberryarts.com/wp/backn31.html

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Last updated: 9/29/07