New Bern Avenue is an arterial thoroughfare connecting Downtown Raleigh to the town of Knightdale. Named for the eastern North Carolina city of New Bern, one of the former capitals of the state during its colonial years, the roadway is one of the four streets radiating out from the state capitol building (the other three being Halifax, Fayetteville, and Hillsborough Streets.) New Bern Avenue is a former alignment of US 64; it is signed as Business US 64 east of I-440.

Route Description

New Bern Avenue begins at Person Street in Downtown Raleigh as a continuation of Morgan Street. It is three-lane one way street traveling eastbound, connecting to mostly residential development along its route through Downtown. East of  Downtown, New Bern Avenue becomes a four-lane urban boulevard; the westbound lanes follow Edenton Street towards the State Capitol. New Bern continues east through more residential development, then turns to the northeast as it passes the WakeMed Main Campus. At the I-440 interchange, US 64 Business begins, following New Bern Avenue through a retail-heavy development, returning to six lanes. The roadway then reverts back to four lanes as it crosses the Neuse River into Knightdale. New Bern Avenue then ends at Old Milburne Road, while US 64 Business continuing east along  Knightdale Boulevard.

Projects

As part of the Wake County Transit Plan adopted by GoTriangle in 2016, New Bern Avenue is one of four proposed corridors for Bus Rapid Transit lines connecting to Downtown Raleigh. Intended to improve bus schedule times by constructing dedicated bus lanes and prioritizing buses at signalized intersections, the project would make improvements to New Bern from Raleigh Boulevard to Sunnybrook Road near the WakeMed Hospital. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2023, with the service planned to be operational by 2027.