| Atlantic Avenue didn't exist as a completed road until 1988, although bits and pieces of it date to the early 1960s. The southernmost stretch, between Hodges Street and Whitaker Mill Road, was the first to be completed (in 1961) and was originally the only portion of the road to be called Atlantic Avenue. This part of the road ended in a cul-de-sac south of Whitaker Mill, and served only to connect businesses along the route with no provisions for through traffic.
In the early 1970s, Winton Road was completed from Harrod Street south through New Hope Church Road and almost (but not quite) to Highwoods Boulevard. Again, this was a local street, albeit originally built with extra-wide single lanes to allow a four-lane "widening" at minimal expense later.
Winton Road was renamed Atlantic Avenue when the road was pieced together and assumed its current routing in 1988, in Raleigh's largest single road project until the construction of I-540. The construction of the Atlantic Avenue extension built the railroad bridge that connected Atlantic to the Wake Forest Road/Capital Boulevard interchange, included new intersections with Millbrook and Spring Forest Roads, and necessitated the relocation of Old Wake Forest Road (more here).
Since its completion, Atlantic has served as an express route into downtown from north Raleigh. Its lack of an interchange with the Beltline keeps traffic levels well below those seen on parallel alternatives Wake Forest Road and Capital Boulevard, and it offers access to downtown on either Dawson (via Capital) or Blount (via Wake Forest) streets.
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