NC 540 Extension Good News for Pittsboro

Pittsboro, North Carolina – NC 540, the Triangle’s Outer Loop roadway, just opened Phase II of it’s western extension earlier this month. That’s could prove good news for home values right here in Pittsboro.

NC 540 Extension

The new extension connects RTP with NC 64. For commuters who currently use NC 55, the new road could save sitting through 18 traffic lights.

NC 540 is North Carolina’s first modern toll road. Drivers who get a transponder pay about 15¢ a mile. If you don’t have a transponder, you can still use the road, albeit at a slightly higher rate. The tolling apparatus (there are no toll booths on 540) take a picture of your license plate and NCDOT mails you a bill.

BTW – “freeway” means free of traffic lights. Not free of cost 😉

540 and Pittsboro

I’m thinking the new road will increase demand for homes in Pittsboro.

Previously, a drive from RTP to Pittsboro via NC 55 at rush hour could take 50 minutes or more. Now? Probably closer to 30 minutes (depending upon where you live in town).

The distance from the 540 exit at NC 64 in Apex to downtown Pittsboro is around 15 miles.

Suddenly, living in Pittsboro and working in RTP is a snap. And who works in RTP? Scientists, software engineers, executives and PhDs.

Cary is nice, but there’s something magical about driving across Jordan Lake and leaving it all behind for your own wooded paradise. Neighborhoods like Monterrane and Briar Chapel are likely to benefit from the new high-speed road.

You may not like toll roads, but you could enjoy a jump in property values based on the opening of 540 Phase II.

I’ll keep you posted if I start selling houses to RTPers.

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Photo by Doug Kerr.