'Rough Roads' Voters Give Thumbs Down To Raleigh Beltline, Wake County Road

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The Raleigh Beltline packs a punch in many places. The jolting experience, especially between South Saunders Street and Rock Quarry Road puts Interstate 440 at No. 4 on the "Rough Roads" list.

"Well, the road condition itself is just torn up," said driver Ron Prouls. "It's deteriorated over the years and unfortunately, they're not willing to spend the additional money they need to spend to get it up to standards."

The state Department of Transportation said the Beltline has a chemical problem.

"(It's) an alkali silica reaction in the concrete. (It's a) real technical term, but it means the concrete's not behaving well together, and we're starting to get cracks through it," said DOT engineer Jon Nance.

It will take several years and several million dollars to fix the trouble on southeastern I-440. Engineers are still working on a plan.

Work will start this summer on another section of the beltline from U.S. Business 64 to Wake Forest Road. Motorists can expect night-time lane closures.

Banks Road, located near the intersection with Highway 401 in southern Wake County, pulled in enough votes to beat the Beltline, ending up No. 3 on the "Rough Roads" list. However, DOT officials said help is on the way.

"We do have the particular sections of Banks that are in worse shape than the others, and that's actually under contract as well, so we'll be paving that this calendar year as well if all goes well," Nance said.