Wade Avenue

Wade Avenue is an artery corridor, located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The section between Interstate 40 (west) to Interstate 440 (east) is a freeway. East of I-440, is a high scale boulevard, which actually includes both at-grade and grade-separation. The whole route is internally designated as Secondary Road 1728 (SR 1728) from I-40 to Glenwood Avenue, however it is not signed as such. The short piece east of Glenwood Avenue carries U.S. Route 70 and North Carolina Highway 50.^[1]

Wade Avenue begins at a modified Y-interchange with I-40 in West Raleigh and continues as a four-lane freeway, known locally as the Wade Avenue Extension. From here, the freeway continues southeast along mostly wooded areas and approaches a modified diamond interchange with Edwards Mill Road, providing access to Lenovo Center and the Carter–Finley Stadium. The highway then curves to a more easterly direction as it approaches another diamond interchange with Blue Ridge Road, which provides motorists access to the State Fairgrounds (home of the annual North Carolina State Fair, North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, and the North Carolina Museum of Art. Wade Avenue continues east toward a complex interchange with I-440/US 1, resulting in the end of the freeway stretch of Wade Avenue. Continuing east, Wade Avenue becomes the four-lane arterial surface highway, coming to the pair of at-grade intersections which serve the Ridgewood section of the city, before the road downgrades and proceeds through a hilly terrain, passing by mostly residential neighborhoods for the next two miles. After coming to the cloverleaf exit with Oberlin Road, Wade Avenue returns to a southeasterly direction, near notable state offices. Another exit comes, with the U.S. Route 70 (US 70) and North Carolina Highway 50 (NC 50) interchange. From here, the two highways overlap with Wade Avenue until it ends with the interchange with U.S. Route 401 (Capital Boulevard), half mile later. In this vicinity, US 70 and NC 50 join US 401 heading south toward downtown Raleigh.

The highway was named after Senator Benjamin Wade, a prominent anti-slavery figure, at a time when it passed through a Black neighborhood built in the 1870s.^[2] The eastern mostly-boulevard section was finished by the mid 20th century, while the western freeway stretch would be finished in the 1980s. Prior to the completion of I-40 to South Raleigh (and on to Wilmington), and the southern portion of the Beltline (I-440), I-40 was temporarily signed along the then recently finished western segment, where it terminated at the Raleigh Beltline, which was then just U.S. Highway 1/64.

The entire route is in Raleigh, Wake County. All exits are unnumbered.

• Hillsborough Street, which runs parallel to Wade Avenue to the south.

• Wade Ave on Wake County Roads
• Southeast Roads - I-440 (Exit Signs)
• Southeast Roads - Misc Roads - Wade Avenue