Looking South
A few miles in this direction this road will intersect with the US 64 bypass which opened this past summer (July 8, 2005).
This construction site was located just south of US 64 business in Knightdale, NC. 
If you ever watch NASCAR you will notice the track is tilted around the curves. This is called superelevation. It is designed for the speed and the radius of the curve on the road. Since vehicles operate at such a high speed on the NASCAR track, the tilt is very obvious, and you can see its function in holding the racecars steady around the curves. Well there is superelevation on ordinary roads also but you don't usually notice it unless you look for it, because the design speed is so much lower. This machine smooths the soil and makes the superelevation that is called for in the highway design. In addition to helping keep cars steady on the road, the superelevation keeps water running off of the road so that cars don't hydroplane over the surface of the water. In the winter this means ice does not have as much of a chance to accumulate. 
February 24, 2006 pictures from 64 Bypass and I-540 Outer Loop under construction
Did you ever wonder how they get the grooves on the road to let the water run off? They have a long metal rake to do it while the concrete is still wet. 
The wire you see next to the concrete paver above guides the machine to lay out the concrete in the proper direction and at the correct elevation, according to the Roadway plans. Here you can see the actual thickness of the concrete.
The information this paver uses to construct the road in the correct location is worked out in the office. It is interesting to see how the information on the plans is directly transferred out here into the actual road project.
On a concrete roadway they have to have cuts across the roadway every so often so that the concrete can expand and contract with the changing temperature conditions. This is being done by this man with the saw blade. The cuts have to be a certain distance apart and cut to a specific depth. An inspector comes by later and measures each cut in the road to make sure it has been done properly. 
Location of Future Ramp to I-540 Southbound
The ramp will extend the ramp over the location of these earth barriers,and go over
the low area of grass and trees to merge with Future I-540 as it heads
southbound to complete the I-540 Loop.
Top of Temporary Drainage Tube
This drains water from the construction site down the embankment to a temporary pond.
Future Location of I-540 Southbound
The roadbed on the left will extend over a bridge southbound to complete
the I-540 loop.
