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How bad is Triangle traffic, and how tough is it to find your way around? The answer often depends on where you came from and how bad the traffic was there.

YOU'LL LEARN QUICKLY THAT:

• Interstate 40 is the default Main Street linking Chapel Hill, Durham, Research Triangle Park, Cary and Raleigh.

• Raleigh's Inner (clockwise) and Outer (counterclockwise) Beltlines are really just two different directions on the same I-440 Beltline.

• And Raleigh's bigger circle is the Outer Loop, but it's only a semicircle also known as I-540

Everybody agrees we need to come up with better ways to describe how we drive around in circles, but nobody has come up with the solution.

SCOPE OUT TRAFFIC CONDITIONS WITH THE HELP OF:

• NCDOT Travel Reports for Triangle Highways: with updates on weather, accidents and construction that might complicate traffic, speed information for I-40, and traffic cameras that show you how bad the traffic is, right now, on the route you'll be taking home from work. Or dial 511 to get similar updates by telephone.

• Traffic.com: with real-time conditions for Triangle freeways and customized traffic alerts

TRACK THE PRICE OF GAS ONLINE TO FIND:

• The cheapest gas stations (as reported by GasBuddy's roving volunteers) in Raleigh | Durham-Chapel Hill | North Carolina

• Average prices (via AAA) reported in the Triangle and other NC metro areas

• How much you'll pay for gas on an upcoming trip

• A civilian-friendly, big-picture explanation (from the federal Energy Info Administration) of price and supply trends this week in petroleum.

CHECK ON CURRENT, PLANNED OR PROMISED HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS:

• When do they expect to finish? How far behind schedule are they? Try NCDOT’s construction progress reports database. These reports do not always provide consistent and reliable details. But you'll find the name and phone number of the DOT engineer in charge of the job, so you can call with your gripes or questions.

• NCDOT's building plans for the next seven years are spelled out in the State Transportation Improvement Program

• Learn about major Triangle area road projects under study by the NCDOT, including:

1. Durham's East End Connector
2. Chapel Hill's US 15-501 "Superstreet"
3. The US 70 Clayton Bypass
4. The Raleigh-to-Franklinton US 1 Corridor Study
5. The US 64 - NC 49 Corridor Study

• The N.C. Turnpike Authority is a state agency charged with building new expressways and bridges that will be financed with tolls collected electronically from drivers. The state's first modern toll roads will be built here in the Triangle, a pair of roads called the Western Wake Parkway and the Triangle Parkway, known together as the Triangle Expressway.

Learn more about the Triangle's roads by going to the Crosstown Traffic blog.