Transportation

Freeways and primary designated routes I-40 passing through RTP. The Durham Freeway passing through downtown Durham.

The Triangle is served by three major interstate highways: I-40, I-85, and I-95, their spurs: I-440 and I-540, and seven U.S. Routes: 1, 64, 70, 264, 401, 15 and 501 which are multiplexed through much of the region as US 15-501.

Two of the three 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 northward around downtown with the formal designation as the Cliff Benson/Raleigh Beltline (co-signed 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 US 64-264 Bypass to Interstate 40 just inside Durham County, where it continues across the interstate as a state route, (NC 540), prior to its becoming a toll road from the NC 54 interchange to the current terminus at NC Highway 55 near Holly Springs. I-95 serves the extreme eastern edge of the region, crossing south-to-north through suburban Johnston County.

U.S. Routes 1, 15, and 64 primarily serve the region as limited-access freeways or multi-lane highways with 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 toward Raleigh. The two highways are co-designated for about 2 miles (3.2 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.

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 Interstate 40. The Durham Freeway is often used as a detour or alrernate 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 Interstate 40 to Toll NC 540. Both Toll NC 147 and Toll NC 540 are modern facilites which collect tolls via transponders and license plate photo-capture technology.

Public transit Triangle Transit bus Chapel Hill Transit bus

A partnering system of multiple public transportation agencies currently serves the Triangle region. Raleigh is served by the Capital Area Transit (CAT) municipal transit system, while Durham has the Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA) system. Chapel Hill is served by Chapel Hill Transit, and Cary is also served by its own public transit systems. However, Triangle Transit, formerly called the Triangle Transit Authority (TTA), works in cooperation with all area transit systems by offering transfers between its own routes and those of the other systems. Triangle Transit also coordinates an extensive vanpool and rideshare program that serves the region's larger employers and commute destinations.

There are plans to merge all of the area's municipal systems into Triangle Transit, and Triangle Transit also has proposed a regional rail system to connect downtown Durham and downtown Raleigh with multiple suburban stops as well as stops in the Research Triangle Park area. The agency's initial proposal was effectively cancelled in 2006, however, when the agency could not procure adequate federal funding. A committee of local business, transportation and government leaders currently are working with Triangle Transit to develop a new transit blueprint for the region, with various modes of rail transit, as well as bus rapid transit, open as options for consideration.

Air Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) Main article: Raleigh–Durham International Airport

(IATA: RDU, ICAO: KRDU, FAA LID: RDU)

RDU welcome sign. American Airlines Boeing 777 touches down at RDU. Southwest Airlines jet landing at RDU.

The General Assembly of North Carolina chartered the Raleigh–Durham Aeronautical Authority in 1939, which would be changed in 1945 to the Raleigh–Durham Airport Authority. The first new terminal opened in 1955. Terminal A (now Terminal 1) opened in 1981. American Airlines began service to RDU in 1985.

RDU opened the 10,000-foot (3,000 m) runway, 5L-23R, in 1986. American Airlines opened its North-South Hub operation at RDU in the new Terminal C in June 1987, greatly increasing the size of RDU's operations with a new terminal including a new apron and runway. American brought RDU its first international flights to Bermuda, Cancun, Paris and London.

In 1996, American Airlines ceased its hub operations at RDU due to Pan Am and Eastern Airlines. Pan Am and Eastern were Miami's main tenants until 1991, when both carriers went bankrupt. Their hubs at MIA were taken over by United Airlines and American Airlines. This created a difficulty in competing with US Airways' hub in Charlotte and Delta Air Lines' hub in Atlanta, Georgia for passengers traveling between smaller cities in the North and South. Midway Airlines entered the market, starting service in 1995 with the then somewhat novel concept of 50 seat CRJs providing service from its RDU hub primarily along the east coast. Midway, originally incorporated in Chicago, had some success after moving its operations to the midpoint of the eastern United States at RDU and its headquarters to Morrisville, NC. The carrier ultimately couldn't overcome three weighty challenges: the arrival of Southwest Airlines, the refusal of American Airlines to renew the frequent flyer affiliation it had with Midway (thus dispatching numerous higher fare paying businesspeople to airlines with better reward destinations), and the significant blow of September 11, 2001. Midway Airlines filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 13, 2001, and ceased operations entirely on October 30, 2003.

In February 2000, RDU was ranked as the nation's second fastest growing major airport in the United States, by Airports Council International, based on 1999 statistics. Passenger growth hit 24% over the previous year, ranking RDU second only to Washington Dulles International Airport. RDU opened Terminal A south concourse for use by Northwest and Continental Airlines in 2001. The addition added 46,000 square feet (4,300 m2) and five aircraft gates to the terminal. Terminal A became designated as Terminal 1 on October 26, 2008. In 2003, RDU also dedicated a new general aviation (GA) terminal. RDU continues to keep pace with its growth by redeveloping Terminal C into a new state-of the-art terminal, now known as Terminal 2, which opened in October 2008.

Other carriers at RDU International Airport:

Air Canada, the airport's first international carrier, introduced service to Toronto in 1996. Southwest Airlines, the nation's largest low-cost carrier, began service to RDU in 1999. America West (merged with US Airways in 2005) began service at RDU in 2002 with flights to Phoenix and Las Vegas. JetBlue began nonstop service between RDU and New York and Boston in 2006, with additional service to Fort Lauderdale, which began in January 2008. Public general-aviation airports

In addition to RDU, several smaller publicly owned general-aviation airports also operate in the metropolitan region:

Horace Williams Airport in Chapel Hill Triangle North Executive Airport (IATA: LFN, ICAO: KLHZ, FAA LID: LHZ), Louisburg Raleigh Exec (ICAO: KTTA, FAA LID: TTA), Sanford Johnston County Airport (IATA: JNX, ICAO: KJNX, FAA LID: JNX), Smithfield Horace Williams Airport (IATA: IGX, ICAO: KIGX, FAA LID: IGX), Chapel Hill Harnett Regional Jetport (IATA: HRJ, ICAO: KHRJ, FAA LID: HRJ), Erwin Person County Airport (ICAO: KTDF, FAA LID: TDF), Roxboro Siler City Municipal Airport (ICAO: K5W8, FAA LID: 5W8), Siler City Private airfields

There are numerous licensed private general-aviation and agricultural airfields in the region's suburban areas and nearby rural communities:

Lake Ridge Airport (8NC8) in Durham Bagwell Airport (FAA LID: NC99), Garner Ball Airport (FAA LID: 79NC), Louisburg Barclaysville Field Airport (FAA LID: NC44), Angier Brooks Field Airport (FAA LID: 8NC6), Siler City CAG Farms Airport (FAA LID: 87NC), Angier Charles Field Airport (FAA LID: NC22), Dunn Cox Airport (FAA LID: NC81), Apex Crooked Creek Airport (FAA LID: 7NC5), Bunn Dead Dog Airport (FAA LID: 8NC4), Pittsboro Deck Airpark Airport (FAA LID: NC11), Apex Dutchy Airport (FAA LID: 5NC5), Chapel Hill Eagle's Landing Airport (FAA LID: 9NC8), Pittsboro Field of Dreams Airport (FAA LID: 51NC), Zebulon Fuquay/Angier Field Airport (FAA LID: 78NC), Fuquay-Varina Hinton Field Airport (FAA LID: NC72), Princeton Kenly Airport (FAA LID: 7NC3), Kenly Lake Ridge Aero Park Airport (FAA LID: 8NC8), Durham Miles Airport (FAA LID: NC34), Chapel Hill North Raleigh Airport (FAA LID: 00NC), Louisburg Peacock Stolport Airport (FAA LID: 4NC7), Garner Raleigh East Airport (FAA LID: 9NC0), Knightdale Riley Field Airport (FAA LID: 1NC5), Bunn Ron's Field Ultralight Airport (FAA LID: 1NC1), Pittsboro Triple W Airport (ICAO: K5W5, FAA LID: 5W5), Raleigh Womble Field Airport (FAA LID: 3NC9), Chapel Hill Heliports

The following licensed heliports serve the Research Triangle region:

NC92 helipad at Duke University Medical Center Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital Heliport (FAA LID: NC96), Dunn—publicly owned; medical service Duke University North Heliport (ICAO: NC92, FAA LID: NC92), Durham—privately owned; public medical service Garner Road Heliport (FAA LID: 3NC2), Raleigh—publicly owned; state government service Holly Green Heliport (FAA LID: 83NC), Durham—private Sky-5 Heliport (FAA LID: 2NC3), Raleigh—private, owned by Sky-5 Inc. (WRAL-TV) Sprint MidAtlantic Telecom Heliport (FAA LID: 11NC), Youngsville—private; corporate service Wake Medical Center Heliport (FAA LID: 0NC4), Raleigh—publicly owned; medical service Western Wake Medical Center Heliport (FAA LID: 04NC), Cary—publicly owned; medical service

A number of helipads (i.e. marked landing sites not classified under the FAA LID system) also serve a variety of additional medical facilities (such as UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill), as well as private, corporate and governmental interests, throughout the region.