The freeway has an interchange with Jones Franklin Road (exit 1C) just over 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from its western terminus.

Continuing northeast, the freeway runs between residential neighborhoods and has a partial interchange with Melbourne Road (exit 1D).

Exit 2 provides access Western Boulevard, a major arterial road that connects west Raleigh with north Cary.

East of there, exit 4 is a cloverleaf interchange with Wade Avenue, which provides access to Lenovo Center and Carter–Finley Stadium.

After an interchange with Six Forks Road (exit 8), which provides access to the North Hills shopping center, I-440 turns southeasterly.

[2][4] The freeway passes south of Duke Raleigh Hospital after an interchange with Wake Forest Road (exit 10).

Continuing to the southeast, the freeway crosses over Atlantic Avenue along with a railroad operated by CSX Transportation.

The freeway, along with several exit ramps, crosses over Crabtree Creek and a railroad owned by the Carolina Coastal Railway.

After an interchange with Poole Road (exit 15), the Interstate turns to the west along the southern side of Walnut Creek Park.

US 1 was then signed along the freeway from Hillsborough Street to North Boulevard, leaving its former routing through downtown Raleigh as US 1 Bus.

[12][13] The next year, US 64 was relocated to bypass Cary and connect with the US 1 freeway six miles (9.7 km) northeast of Apex.

[16] In 1975, construction began on a new extension of the beltline, which was to run from New Bern Avenue southwest to Hammond Road in south Raleigh.

[3][23] That year, work began on a seven-year, $53-million (equivalent to $106 million in 2023[24]) project to expand the beltline to six lanes (three in each direction).

[26][27] Work began in early in 1993 to widen 4.4 miles (7.1 km) from Wake Forest Road to New Bern Avenue.

[25] On July 8, 1994, the state awarded the contract for widening 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to six lanes from Wade Avenue to Glen Eden Road.

Plans called for widening the section from Wade Avenue to I-40 several years later,[26] but, even after several delays,[28][29] the 2006–2012 NC Transportation Improvement Program did not include funding for the $77.3-million (equivalent to $116 million in 2023[24]) upgrade.

[32] In 2008, State Highway Administrator W. F. Rosser asked the US Department of Transportation to remove the I-440 designation from the southern portion of the beltline, where it was cosigned with I-40.

[38] The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has designated a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) stretch of I-440, from Walnut Street to Wade Avenue, to be redesigned and widened to six lanes.

Completed in 1960, it is the oldest section of the beltline; it features the original four lanes with minimal shoulders, substandard interchanges, and a merging left-lane onramp.

A Purpose and Need Statement was completed in 2014, showing the need for the project through deficiencies in capacity, geometric (design of the roadway and interchanges), and road condition.

Concurrent with the widening of I-440 is a redesign of Blue Ridge Road, which parallels this section of I-440, as well as new overpasses for several crossing streets and railroads.