Once completed, the stretch of toll road, which will connect I-87 in Knightdale with I-40 south of Garner, will cap a project more than three decades in the making and mark the end of Phase 2 of "Complete 540".
Not only will the completed expressway serve as a game changer for local drivers, but nearby businesses say it's bound to have a major impact on them, too.
"For a long time we were getting so many customers from eastern North Carolina, down south, from Fayetteville, and it's pretty cool to be able to support the local community," said Mike Black, General Sales Manager of Capital Chrysler Jeep Dodge off of Highway 70 in Garner.
For Black's business and others like it in southern Wake County, the final stretch of 540 can't come soon enough.
"It's huge for us. We've always said we're just minutes from everywhere, being right off 70, and now with the 540 expansion and the completion of the project, being able to pull from all over the area and the Triangle should help our business a lot," he said.
Crews are now ramping up their work clearing land for the final stretch of the long-awaited final portions of NC 540, a project conceived more than 35 years ago that will create new connectivity with fast-growing areas around the capital city and help drivers avoid congestion around Raleigh.
"As an engineer, I take a lot of pride in it and a lot of excitement in seeing something that has been in the local plan for so long come to fruition," said Alan Shapiro, Chief Engineer with the NC Turnpike Authority.
Shapiro says the NC Turnpike Authority expects to have Phase 2 complete and open to drivers by 2028 at a total cost of roughly $740 million. Once opened, the toll road's operation and maintenance will be funded entirely by toll costs from the drivers who use it.
"It's going to be a game-changer for the entire area. We're seeing a lot of development start to spur up around the corridor," he said.
It's the latest chapter in the Triangle's growth story -- one that businesses are confident will drive new opportunity.
"We've got a lot of our sales guys that live in the Fuquay-Varina area and kind of all over. And so being able to hop on 540 not only is going to make it easier for our employees, but for our customers as well," said Black.
The final stretch of 540 will connect Phase 1, which was completed last September, with Interstate 540, which will remain untolled. The newest 10-mile stretch will include five interchanges: White Oak Road, U.S. 70, Rock Quarry Road, Auburn-Knightdale Road and Poole Road.