[citation needed] S. T. Wooten Corp. of Wilson, North Carolina built the 3.4-mile (5.5 km) northern section, an extension of NC 147, called the Triangle Parkway, at a cost of $137.5 million, including an electronic toll plaza on I-540.

[2][3][4] Originally envisioned as part of I-540, because of rules against tolls on Interstate Highways, this section is now called NC 540.

[4] The Triangle Expressway is built as an all-electronic toll road with billing by license plate,[4] similar to Maryland's Route 200 (InterCounty Connector, largely opened to traffic in 2011).

Drivers can open an account and use a North Carolina Quick Pass transponder, which results in a lower rate.

An additional $29 million could be spent extending that highway 1.3 miles (2.1 km) to McCrimmon Parkway in Morrisville, whose leaders opposed the idea.

[19] At the groundbreaking ceremony in 2009, Representative David Price pointed out that using tolls to finance this road "was not our first choice."

[20] The 12.5-mile (20.1 km) Western Wake Expressway from RTP to Holly Springs had been delayed earlier in the year, and the legislature had increased the number of toll projects allowed from four to nine.

[5] The name "Triangle Expressway" became official in May 2007, and turnpike board member Perry R. Safran said the committee also wanted the nickname "TriEx".

[3] On December 20, 2012, the section from U.S. 64 to NC 55 in Holly Springs opened with toll collection beginning in January.

[8] Toll rates change almost annually as required by the bond covenant created for the funding of the Expressway.

Planning for the route started in 2010, but was put on hold in March 2011 by the enactment of North Carolina Session Law 2011-7 (N.C. S.L.

The Federal Highway Administration then approved the final environmental impact study for the roadway, which was published in December 2017.

Fish and Wildlife Service did not properly analyze the project's environmental impacts, noting two species of endangered freshwater mussels that could be at risk.

[42] This delayed progress until August 2019, when the group agreed to drop the lawsuit in exchange for a number of concessions from NCDOT, including roughly $5 million in spending on "high quality land" within the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico river watersheds, and $4.6 million for studies on the propagation and restoration of endangered freshwater animals.

However, Tropical Storm Debby, reportedly, caused significant erosion along the unopened portion of the expressway further delaying the opening to vehicles.

Public input over the growth and development of a 15,000-acre area of eastern Wake County along the lower Neuse River as well as the future southern loop of NC 540 was requested on June 23, 2023.

[50][51] The process of completing the final segment was sped up after the N.C. Turnpike Authority (NCTA) was able to get a single environmental permit, allowing for utility work to begin.

That coupled with strong local support and expected toll revenues moved the project up NCDOT’s list of priorities and the bidding process for the segment began much earlier than anticipated in Summer 2023.

[53] In September 2023, it was announced that Flatiron-Fred Smith Company Joint Venture had been awarded a $450 million contract to complete the first segment;[52][53][54] S.T.

[53][55] In December 2023, the Local Government Commission (LGC) approved an application by the NCTA for revenue bonds and a Transportation Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan through US-DOT to start construction.