Glenwood Avenue in Downtown Raleigh, looking north
Glenwood Avenue is a major thoroughfare connecting Downtown Raleigh to its northwest suburbs and the city of Durham. It is signed as US 70 for the majority of its route.

Route Description

Glenwood Avenue begins at Morgan Street on the west side of Downtown Raleigh as a four-lane undivided street. It travels north through the busy Glenwood South district. After an intersection with Peace Street, Glenwood Avenue transitions to a four-lane median-divided suburban boulevard as it passes through Raleigh's oldest suburbs, with numerous driveways connecting to large houses. Midway through the development lies a partial cloverleaf interchange with Wade Avenue, where US 70/NC 50 join the roadway. About a half mile to the north, Glenwood Avenue reaches the Five Points intersection, then continues northwest towards I-440. West of the I-440 interchange, Glenwood Avenue becomes a six-lane urban boulevard as it passes by Crabtree Valley Mall, where NC 50 leaves Glenwood Avenue to follow Creedmoor Road. Glenwood Avenue then continues northwest through a mixture of commercial, office, and residential development, returning to four lanes after an intersection with Millbrook and Duraleigh Roads. After roughly 7.5 miles of travel, Glenwood Avenue travels past the Umstead State Park entrance and a series of Fred Anderson car dealerships before having an interchange with I-540. West of I-540, Glenwood Avenue takes a trip through the Brier Creek subdivision, then leaves Raleigh at the Durham County line, with US 70 continuing to Durham.

Future Projects

Improvements in Brier Creek

As part of a larger effort to improve the core freeway network in the Triangle, the North Carolina Department of Transportation proposes to upgrade US 70 to a freeway from I-540 in Raleigh to Page Road in Durham, which will include interchanges at T.W. Alexander Drive and Brier Creek Parkway. The freeway will eventually extend to the East End Connector in Durham; work is scheduled to begin in 2025.

Improvements at Crabtree Valley Mall

In 2018, NCDOT announced a project that will make improvements to Glenwood Avenue near Crabtree Valley Mall. The $231.3 million project would reconfigure the interchange between Glenwood Avenue and I-440, replace the bridge that carries Blue Ridge Road across Crabtree Creek, and redesign Glenwood's intersection with Blue Ridge and Lead Mine Roads. The project originally proposed extending Crabtree Valley Avenue to connect to I-440, but was reconsidered due to backlash from nearby residents. Originally scheduled to commence in 2019, the project has been pushed back to 2028 due to funding concerns; due to economic hardships NCDOT faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the project is not expected to begin until after 2029. Despite this, NCDOT made seven preliminary plans for the project available for public viewing in June 2019.

Glenwood Avenue Widening

Another project involving Glenwood Avenue will widen the existing roadway between I-540 and Duraleigh Road in Raleigh. NCDOT is considering two alternatives for the project, one that widens the road to eight lanes with traditional full movement intersections and one that widens the road to six lanes with superstreet intersections. Both alternatives propose a sidewalk along the westbound lanes and a multi-use path along the eastbound lanes. The project will begin construction in 2028.

See Also

• Capital Boulevard, another major thoroughfare carrying a US highway for much of its length.
• Leesville Road, another major thoroughfare in the area
• I-40, another major link between Raleigh and Durham
• US 64, another major east/west US highway running through Raleigh