Editing Research Triangle (section)

=== Freeways and primary designated routes ===
[[File:2008-07-25 I-85 from Davis Dr in RTP.jpg|thumb|[[Interstate 40|I-40]] passing through the [[Research Triangle Park]]]]
The Triangle proper is served by four major [[interstate highway]]s: [[Interstate 40|I-40]], [[Interstate 42|I-42]], [[Interstate 85|I-85]], and [[Interstate 87 (North Carolina)|I-87]] along with their [[spur route|spurs]]: [[Interstate 885|I-885]], [[Interstate 440 (North Carolina)|I-440]], and [[Interstate 540 (North Carolina)|I-540]], and seven [[United States Numbered Highways|U.S. Routes]]: [[U.S. Route 1 in North Carolina|1]], [[U.S. Route 15|15]], [[U.S. Route 64|64]], [[U.S. Route 70 in North Carolina|70]], [[U.S. Route 264|264]], [[U.S. Route 401|401]], and [[U.S. Route 501|501]]. US Highways 15 and 501 are multiplexed through much of the region as [[U.S. Route 15/501 in North Carolina|US 15-501]]. [[Interstate 95|I-95]] passes 30 miles east of Raleigh through Johnston County, with I-87 connecting I-95 at [[Rocky Mount, NC]] to Raleigh via the [[Knightdale Bypass|US 64–264 Bypass]].

The two interstates diverge from one another in Orange County, with I-85 heading northeast through northern Durham County toward [[Virginia]], while [[I-40]] travels southeast through southern Durham, through the center of the region, and serves as the primary freeway through Raleigh. The related loop freeways I-440 and I-540 are primarily located in Wake County around Raleigh. I-440 begins at the interchange of US 1 and I-40 southwest of downtown Raleigh and arcs as a multiplex with US 1 northward around downtown with the formal designation as the Cliff Benson/Raleigh Beltline (cosigned with US 1 on three-fourths of its northern route) and ends at its junction with I-40 in southeast Raleigh. I-540, sometimes known as the Raleigh Outer Loop, extends from the [[Knightdale Bypass|US 64–264 Bypass]] to I-40 just inside Durham County, where it continues across the interstate as a [[state route]] (NC 540), prior to it becoming a [[toll road]] from the NC 54 interchange to the current terminus at I-40 and I-42 near Garner. I-95 serves the extreme eastern edge of the region, crossing north–south through suburban Johnston County.

U.S. Routes 1, 15, and 64 primarily serve the region as limited-access freeways or multilane highways with [[frontage road|access roads]]. US 1 enters the region from the southwest as the Claude E. Pope Memorial Highway and travels through suburban Apex where it merges with US 64 and continues northeast through Cary. The two highways are codesignated for about {{convert|2|mi|km}} until US 1 joins I-440 and US 64 with I-40 along the Raleigh–Cary border. Capital Boulevard, which is designated US 1 for half of its route and US 401 the other is not a limited-access freeway, although it is a major thoroughfare through northeast Raleigh and into the northern downtown area.
[[File:2008-07-23 Morning Durham from Fayetteville St over NC 147.jpg|thumb|[[Durham Freeway]]]]
[[North Carolina Highway 147]] is a limited-access freeway that connects I-85 with Toll Route NC 540 in northwestern Wake County. The older, toll-free portion of the four-lane route—known as the Durham Freeway or the I.L. "Buck" Dean Expressway—traverses downtown Durham and extends through Research Triangle Park to I-40. The Durham Freeway is often used as a detour or alternate route for I-40 through southwestern Durham the Chapel Hill area in cases of traffic accident, congestion or road construction delays. The tolled portion of NC 147, called the Triangle Expressway—North Carolina's first modern toll road when it opened to traffic in late 2011—continues past I-40 to Toll NC 540. Both Toll NC 147 and Toll NC 540 are modern facilities which collect tolls using transponders and license plate photo-capture technology.