Recently, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has stated that it will be adding safety measures at the eastern end of I-540 in Knightdale, North Carolina to stem the tide of numerous traffic wrecks that drivers have had after running off the end of this particular stretch of highway. The safety measures call for a second set of barricades to be installed in front of the existing barricades that are already in place at the end of the roadway. Additionally, there will be three more "road closed" signs to be placed.
Over the course of the next few weeks, road crews are to place three sets of flexible posts in front of the newly installed barricades, as to provide added warning in regards to the paved roadway ending. Along with this will be six sets of rumble strips set up in a horizontal manner going across the eastbound lanes for about 1,500 feet prior to where the interstate ends. This will serve to alert drivers that they will need to exit onto the east or westbound ramps for U.S. Highway 64/264 Bypass.
Accentuating further safety precautions, additional signs will be incorporated along this stretch of I-540. The signs that are already in place on the roadway will be changed to reflect the warning. North Carolina’s Department of Transportation is reacting in part to at least six wrecks that have occurred fairly recently at the end of Wake County’s I-540, including a couple weeks ago when a Dollar General tractor trailer ran down an embankment there. The cost for the added safety measures is approximately $10,000, but the investment into the public’s safety is invaluable.
