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Silas Creek Parkway is a corridor in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that is designed as a partial loop around several neighborhoods, from northwestern Winston-Salem to the south central area of the city. The route is an expressway for a significant portion of its length, blending freeway elements such as grade-separated interchanges, shoulders, serving as a spur between its northern terminus at Bethabara Road to US 421. The route is also a vital connection to other locations in the city such as Wake Forest University, Hanes Mall, and the LJVM Coliseum. The route, especially on the southeastern stretch, uses a boulevard grade, with several at grade-intersections, and further direct accesses to several commercial districts.
Silas Creek Parkway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length | 9.4 mi (15.1 km) |
| Component highways |
|
| Major junctions | |
| North end | Bethabara Road/North Point Boulevard |
| South end | South Main Street |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | North Carolina |
| Counties | Forsyth |
| Highway system | |
Route description
editThe route starts at an intersection with Main Street as a four-lane arterial route. It then passes an access road to Interstate 40 that gives only access to eastbound before it enters into a commercially developed area. The road passes an intersection with Peters Creek Parkway (NC 150) where NC 67 now overlaps with the road. It then passes the campus of Forsyth Technical Community College before leaving the busy district where the road then meets Bolton Street at a folded diamond interchange. The road again becomes commercially developed as it passes Hanes Mall Boulevard, in a busy shopping district, and the Forsyth Medical Center. The road upgrades to an increasing expressway shortly after passing the mall, with shoulders on the side of route. It passes the Stratford Road (US 158) and the Salem Parkway (US 421) exits. The road continues north as it passes the Country Club Road interchange. Shortly after, it passes an exit with Robinhood Road. The road then passes a residential area to the east. The highway then heads toward the Wake Forest University campus, coming to an exit with Reynolda Road, via Wake Forest Road, in which NC 67 leaves the road heading west toward Yadkin County, also giving access to the campus. At this point, the speed limit increases to 50 MPH, passing an intersection with Fairlawn Drive, which also acts as an interchange connector to Reynolda Road. The route terminates at an intersection with Bethabara Road. From here, the road continues as North Point Boulevard.
History
editInitial plans
editIn 1946, the Silas Creek Parkway was first proposed. The highway was initially constructed to run from Robinhood Road to what is now Reynolds Boulevard. There were among other changes in routing before 1956 when it was finalized.[1]
Early Construction
editOn October 5, 1959, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (known as the State Highway Commission at the time) approved spending $500,000 to build a partial loop on the outskirts of Winston-Salem. It would run between the what was then the new Forsyth Memorial Hospital and the Western Electric Company plant at Reynolda Road. The parkway would be ushering in suburban development on the western side of the city and pushing the city's borders west. The parkway opened on November 4, 1961. In 1963, there were major changes to the route, the parkway was being widened to four lanes all along its route and the at grade intersections at Stratford Road and Robinhood Road were reutilized to grade-separated interchanges improving congestion along its route. In 1968, the Bolton Street intersection was also reutilized to an interchange.[2]
Extensions and reroutings
edit
During the 1980s, there were several major changes to the route. In 1988, Corporation Parkway which was a route in the city became an extension of Silas Creek Parkway. Also, there was an area plan The Polo Road-Reynolda Road Area Plan, prepared by the City-County Planning Board was adopted by the city-County Planning Board and the Winston-Salem Board of Winston-Salem Board of Aldermen following a public hearing. There was an endorsement of a new bypass of the Wake Forest University campus and areas surrounding the campus. Silas Creek Parkway adopted the 1983 study, which was planned to be finished between 1991 and 1993.[3] The bypass was completed in 1992 as a 1.7 mile freeway. Fairlawn Drive was extended to connect to the new extension with Reynolda Road, giving drivers access to and from Reynolda Road from the new highway. The former northern terminus at Reynolda Road was turned into Y-Junction, using the name Wake Forest Road. Junction signs to Reynolda Road were installed southbound at Fairlawn Drive and in both directions at Wake Forest Road. In 1995, NC 67 was rerouted from going through downtown to going onto Silas Creek Parkway between the junctions at Reynolda Road to Peters Creek Parkway (NC 150)[4][5] The extension would soon receive new development, the following few decades, while still maintaining part of its freeway characteristics.
Major junctions
editThe entire route is in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County. All exits are unnumbered.
| mi | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | South Main Street | At-grade intersection, Southern Terminus | ||
| 0.5 | 0.80 |     I-40 east to US 52 – Greensboro | |||
| 1.0 | 1.6 |     NC 150 (Peters Creek Parkway) / NC 67 ends to I-40 | Eastbound end of NC 67; at-grade intersection | ||
| 3.0 | 4.8 | Bolton Street | Folded diamond interchange | ||
| 3.3 | 5.3 | Hanes Mall Boulevard | At-grade intersection | ||
| 3.9 | 6.3 |  US 158 (Stratford Road) | Folded diamond interchange | ||
| 4.4 | 7.1 |  US 421 (Salem Parkway) | Cloverleaf interchange, US 421 exit 237 | ||
| 5.0 | 8.0 | Country Club Road | Two Quadrants Interchange; northbound via Tiseland Drive | ||
| 6.6 | 10.6 | Robinhood Road | Right-in/right-out interchange | ||
| 7.5 | 12.1 |  NC 67 west (Reynolda Road) – Wake Forest University | Westbound end of NC 67; interchange with connector roads (Wake Forest Road and Fairlawn Drive). | ||
| 9.3 | 15.0 | Bethabara Road / North Point Boulevard | At-Grade Intersection, Northern terminus, Continuation as North Point Boulevard. | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
edit- ^ Silas Creek Parkway Completetion, Winston-Salem. 1987.
- ^ HISTORIC ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY REPORT ADDENDUM: SILAS CREEK PARKWAY, PETERS CREEK PARKWAY, AND UNIVERSITY PARKWAY NATIONAL REGISTER ELIGIBILITY EVALUATION (PDF). 2016. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
- ^ Silas Creek Parkway Completion, Winston-Salem: Environmental Impact Statement (in Esperanto). 1987. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
- ^ North Carolina Department of Transportation (1993). North Carolina Transportation Map (Map) (1993–1994 ed.). 1:823,680. Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Transportation – via University of North Carolina University Libraries.
- ^ North Carolina Department of Transportation (1995). North Carolina State Transportation Map (Map) (1995 ed.). 1:823,680. Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Transportation – via University of North Carolina University Libraries.