page_title: Interstate 295 (North Carolina)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Interstate 295 (North Carolina) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: North Carolina Highway 295 shown in the 2013-2014 North Carolina Transportation Map.
context_page_description: Interstate 295 and North Carolina Highway 295, also known as the Fayetteville Outer Loop, is a partially completed Interstate-grade planned 34-mile bypass around the western side of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Currently, it stretches for 22 miles from US 401 in western Fayetteville to I-95 and US 13 near Eastover. The final section between US 401 and I-95 near Parkton is being constructed in segments and is expected to be completed around 2025.
context_section_description: The future designation of the Fayetteville Outer Loop as Interstate 295 was approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in May 2005 following an earlier approval by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Signs designation "Future I-295" were put up along the route when the section between Interstate 95 and River Road was opened in July 2005. The first short section of this highway had opened earlier in June 2003, and it extended only from River Road to US 401. Then, the only mentions of a highway number were on street signs at the entrance ramps that said I-295 (with an additional "FUTURE" on some). In May 2019 the FHWA officially added the then open 14.1 miles of NC 295 to the Interstate System, this follows up on approval by AASHTO in the fall of 2018. NCDOT may have received a waiver since two parts of it (namely the bridge that crosses the Cape Fear River and its interchange with I-95) are not quite up to Interstate Highway standards.
  Construction on the next section of Interstate 295, located from US 401 to the "All-American Freeway", was scheduled to start in the later months of 2008, and then probably completed by early 2012, but this construction project was put on hold in November 2008 due to the severe shortage of money for highway construction in North Carolina at that time and extending though 2011. Instead of constructing this segment as one contract, work was split up into 3 smaller segments. Work first started in 2009 on the section from Bragg Boulevard (North Carolina Highway 24, NC 24) to Murchison Road (NC 210) using federal stimulus monies. This was completed in 2014. In March 2011 a contract to construct the portion of the Loop between US 401 and Murchison Road was awarded to a construction company, however this did not include final paving. The contract for paving was issued in 2014 and is scheduled to be completed during the summer of 2016, delayed from April 2014.
  On August 4, 2014, a 1.7-mile (2.7 km) new section of the Fayetteville Outer Loop opened between Murchison Road and Bragg Boulevard.  Considered critical in relieving congestion around Fort Bragg, this section traverses eastbound along collector-distributor lanes between the two exits, while westbound uses an actual stretch of the freeway.  Signage along this stretch reflected a rerouting of NC 24/NC 87. On August 11, 2016, a 6.5-mile (10.5 km) new section opened between Murchison Road and Ramsey Street, connecting the two existing segments of the Fayetteville Outer Loop together. Another segment continuing the Loop to All-American Freeway was opened on December 2, 2016.
  The remainder of the route from All-American Freeway south to Interstate 95 near Parkton is to be completed in segments, with construction starting between 2018 and 2020 with the Loop not scheduled to be totally complete until around 2025. NC Governor McCrory announced in December 2015 that the remaining segments would now be funded under changes to the state's method of apportioning transportation funds. These changes were approved by the NCDOT Board in January 2016. On November 25, 2019, a 5.5-mile (8.9 km) segment opened between the All American Freeway and Cliffdale Road. On August 19, 2020, a 2.7-mile (4.3 km) segment between Cliffdale Road and US 401 (Raeford Road) was opened to traffic.
caption: NC 295 appears in the 2013-14 State Transportation Map
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