For one day only, runners and cyclists can take over new stretch of Triangle Expressway
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to run or bike down an empty six-lane highway, now’s your chance to find out.
An 18-mile stretch of N.C. 540, also known as the Triangle Expressway, is set to open this summer. But before the road becomes the exclusive domain of cars and trucks, the N.C. Turnpike Authority is hosting a road race and cycling events on the new pavement.
The authority calls it 540 Fest, a chance to celebrate completion of a $1.3 billion highway that’s been under construction since late 2019. It takes place Saturday, June 22, from 8 a.m. to noon.
The event is a natural culmination of efforts by the Turnpike Authority to keep people informed about the project over the years, says J.J. Eden, executive director of the agency that builds and operates toll roads in the state.
“We’ve met with HOAs and community organizations or people individually to talk about what impact these roads would have on them,” Eden said in an interview. “And now they get to actually see the end result.”
There will be music, ice cream and people answering questions about the highway. But the main events are a 5K running race, 10K individual and team cycling time trials and something organizers call “The Duathlon Challenge,” where participants run the 5K and immediately jump on their bike for the 10K time trial.
“We didn’t just want people wandering around on the roadway,” Eden said. “We wanted to have a couple of events so people had kind of a mission for being there.”
Participants in the race and time trials must register in advance and pay a fee, at 540fest.itsyourrace.com/event.aspx?id=16268. Road race registration is limited to 1,000, and fewer than 200 spots remain open. There’s no limit on bike registrations.
Organizers note that there aren’t many hills on the expressway and call the courses “FLAT and FAST.”
Pedestrians before cars, if only for a day
There’s a long tradition of letting people on new bridges and highways before opening them up to cars.
The day before President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared the Golden Gate Bridge open in 1937, an estimated 200,000 people showed up for “Pedestrian Day” to walk, sprint, roller-skate and even tap-dance across the 1.7-mile span over the entrance to San Francisco Bay.
In that vein, the N.C. Department of Transportation held “a “community day” on the new Rodanthe Bridge on the Outer Banks two years ago, with road races and free time for walkers and cyclists on the 2.4-mile bridge.
When the first leg of the Triangle Expressway opened in 2011, more than 450 people took part in the Triangle Expressway Trot, a 5K road race paired with children’s activities meant to introduce the public to what was then North Carolina’s first toll road.
The section of the Triangle Expressway set to open this summer will extend the highway from Apex to the confluence of Interstate 40 and U.S. 70 near Johnston County. Construction has just begun on the next phase of N.C. 540, the final 10 miles from I-40 up to I-87 in Knightdale. It’s expected to open sometime in 2028.
Perhaps fitting for a day dedicated to runners and cyclists, the public won’t be able to drive onto N.C. 540 to get to 540 Fest. Those wishing to take part will park at Wake Technical Community College’s southern campus at 9101 Fayetteville Road and either ride their bike or a shuttle bus to and from the festivities.
