Silas Creek Parkway (Winston-Salem)
Silas Creek Parkway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length | 9.4 mi (15.1 km) |
| Component highways |
|
| Major junctions | |
| North end | Bethabara Road/North Point Boulevard |
| South end | South Main Street |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | North Carolina |
| Counties | Forsyth |
| Highway system | |
Silas Creek Parkway is a corridor located in the Piedmont Triad. The parkway is the partial loop, which encircles around the western and central areas around Winston-Salem, North Carolina the city in its core segments. The route is the expressway spur between Bethabara Road to Salem Parkway (US 421), serving Wake Forest University and Northern Forsyth County. The stretch between Salem Parkway to Bolton Street, is the hybrid of boulevard and expressway. While between Bolton Street to South Main Street, the parkway is boulevard grade. The section south of Salem Parkway is also adjacent to Hanes Mall, Forsyth Medical Center, and Forsyth Tech.
Route description
The route starts at an intersection with Main Street as a four-lane arterial route, in the south outskirts of Downtown Winston-Salem. Continuing in an east-west alignment, the parkway follows parallel with Interstate 40, which features two small ramps connecting with I-40 in both directions of Silas Creek Parkway. With the route continuing, it transforms into a divided boulevard, entering into the suburban districts further into the outskirts of Downtown, meeting with an intersection with Peters Creek Parkway (NC 150). It is in this vicinity, NC 67, in its eastern terminus, begins its concurrency with Silas Creek Parkway. Direct access to Forsyth Technical Community College is present, shortly after traversing the district. South of the Ardmore district, the parkway enters into the Hanes Mall district, becoming expressway grade upon having a folded diamond interchange with Bolton Street, which leads to the retail located in the distrixt. The parkway comes to the at-grade intersection with Hanes Mall Boulevard, where the parkway comes to the mall and Forsyth Medical Center. The expressway continues, with the interchanges with Stratford Road (US 158) and Salem Parkway (US 421). Leaving the Hanes Mall district, is the exit to Country Club Road. The Parkway skirts the western edges of the Buena Vista district, coming to the exit with Robinhood Road. The parkway approaches the Wake Forest University campus, with the exit to Reynolda Road giving direct access. NC 67 leaves the parkway here, heading west and crossing over the parkway. Silas Creek Parkway continues north in the largely rural forestry landscape, until it terminates with the intersection with Bethabara Road, which leads to the titular Historic District. The Parkway continues along North Point Boulevard, with the section being the four-lane expressway which connects Silas Creek Parkway to University Parkway, leading to the LJVM Colisuem and the areas further into the northern areas of Forsyth County.
History
Initial plans
In 1946, the Silas Creek Parkway was first proposed. The highway was initially constructed to run from Robinhood Road to what is now Reynolds Boulevard. There were among other changes in routing before 1956 when it was finalized.[1]
Early Construction
On October 5, 1959, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (known as the State Highway Commission at the time) approved spending $500,000 to build a partial loop on the outskirts of Winston-Salem. It would run between the what was then the new Forsyth Memorial Hospital and the Western Electric Company plant at Reynolda Road. The parkway would be ushering in suburban development on the western side of the city and pushing the city's borders west. The parkway opened on November 4, 1961. In 1963, there were major changes to the route, the parkway was being widened to four lanes all along its route and the at-grade intersections with Stratford Road and Robinhood Road were rebuilt to grade-separated interchanges improving congestion along its route. In 1968, the Bolton Street intersection was also reutilized to an interchange.[2] The Parkway is named after the nearby and parallel nearby creek, located on the west edges of the Buena Vista district.
Extensions and reroutings

During the 1980s, there were several major changes to the route. In 1988, Corporation Parkway which was a route in the city became an extension of Silas Creek Parkway. Also, there was an area plan The Polo Road-Reynolda Road Area Plan, prepared by the City-County Planning Board was adopted by the city-County Planning Board and the Winston-Salem Board of Winston-Salem Board of Aldermen following a public hearing. There was an endorsement of a new bypass of the Wake Forest University campus and areas surrounding the campus. Silas Creek Parkway adopted the 1983 study, which was planned to be finished between 1991 and 1993.[3] The bypass was completed in 1992 as a 1.7-mile (2.7 km) freeway. Fairlawn Drive was extended to connect to the new extension with Reynolda Road, giving drivers access to and from Reynolda Road from the new highway. The former northern terminus at Reynolda Road was turned into Y-Junction, using the name Wake Forest Road. Junction signs to Reynolda Road were installed southbound at Fairlawn Drive and in both directions at Wake Forest Road. In 1995, NC 67 was rerouted from going through downtown to going onto Silas Creek Parkway between the junctions at Reynolda Road to Peters Creek Parkway (NC 150)[4][5] The extension built northwest of Wake Forest University, would eventually receive new development alongside the roadway, becoming expressway standard.
Major junctions
The entire route is in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County. All exits are unnumbered.
| mi | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | South Main Street | At-grade intersection, Southern Terminus | ||
| 0.5 | 0.80 | ||||
| 1.0 | 1.6 | Eastbound end of NC 67; at-grade intersection | |||
| 3.0 | 4.8 | Bolton Street | Folded diamond interchange | ||
| 3.3 | 5.3 | Hanes Mall Boulevard | At-grade intersection | ||
| 3.9 | 6.3 | Folded diamond interchange | |||
| 4.4 | 7.1 | Cloverleaf interchange, US 421 exit 237 | |||
| 5.0 | 8.0 | Country Club Road | Two Quadrants Interchange; northbound via Tiseland Drive | ||
| 6.6 | 10.6 | Robinhood Road | Right-in/right-out interchange | ||
| 7.5 | 12.1 | Westbound end of NC 67; interchange with connector roads (Wake Forest Road and Fairlawn Drive). | |||
| 9.3 | 15.0 | Bethabara Road / North Point Boulevard | At-Grade Intersection, Northern terminus, Continuation as North Point Boulevard. | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
- ^ Silas Creek Parkway Completetion, Winston-Salem. 1987.
- ^ HISTORIC ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY REPORT ADDENDUM: SILAS CREEK PARKWAY, PETERS CREEK PARKWAY, AND UNIVERSITY PARKWAY NATIONAL REGISTER ELIGIBILITY EVALUATION (PDF). 2016. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
- ^ Silas Creek Parkway Completion, Winston-Salem: Environmental Impact Statement (in Esperanto). 1987. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
- ^ North Carolina Department of Transportation (1993). North Carolina Transportation Map (Map) (1993–1994 ed.). 1:823,680. Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Transportation – via University of North Carolina University Libraries.
- ^ North Carolina Department of Transportation (1995). North Carolina State Transportation Map (Map) (1995 ed.). 1:823,680. Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Transportation – via University of North Carolina University Libraries.