WINSTON-SALEM – Starting Saturday morning, drivers will have a new option for commuting on the east side of Winston-Salem.
Contract crews plan to open the first stretch of the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway, between U.S. 421/Salem Parkway and U.S. 158/Reidsville Road, by 6 a.m.
“This is decades of planning becoming something people will use that will improve their daily lives," said Pat Ivey, the Division 9 engineer for the N.C. Department of Transportation. “We're excited for Winston-Salem and the entire Triad region to have this new, efficient option for accessing eastern Forsyth County and are looking forward to the next beltway sections that are underway."
Work on the four-mile stretch began in 2014. It will be signed as N.C. 74 until all six sections on the eastern side of the beltway project – between U.S. 52 and Interstate 74 – are complete, at which time it will be designated I-74.
Most of the eastern loop sections and several of the western sections are currently under construction. The entire project will span 34.5 miles, wrapping from U.S. 158 southwest of Winston-Salem to I-74 southeast of the city.