construct the project. Considered as a $100 million do-over, the project included: replacing the existing roadway pavement, modernizing entrance and exit ramps, replacing nine vehicular bridges, adding two pedestrian bridges, lengthening the acceleration and deceleration lanes between ramps and widening existing roadway shoulders and adding new ones. When Salem Parkway opens, contractors will still be working on final touches. The opening speed limit will be . Once the project is totally completed, the speed may increase to . NCDOT had also decided that once construction was completed, that I-40 Business would be decommissioned and a new name would be given to the freeway alongside the existing US 421 designation. The rationale was the continued confusion locals and travelers have between I-40 and I-40 Business. In November 2015, the residents of Winston-Salem metro area were allowed to submit a nomination for a new name, with a January 30, 2016, deadline. A selection committee, which included appointments from Winston-Salem and Kernersville, whittled the list to just four for another public vote. The eventual four finalist names were: Golden Leaf Parkway, alluding to the region's tobacco-growing and processing heritage; Innovation Highway, showing the high-tech aspirations of the area; Piedmont Corridor, identifying geographic location in a highly developed part of the state, and Salem Parkway, which refers to the Moravian settlement founded in 1766. On October 21, 2016, Governor Pat McCrory announced, at the project's ground breaking event, the new name of the freeway as the Salem Parkway; which was the overwhelming favorite, receiving 53% of the vote. This name change took place when the highway reopened on February 2, 2020, though new signs will show the Salem Parkway name once they are installed. Downtown reconstruction First phase of construction was focused on and around Peters Creek Parkway (NC 150), which included lowering the freeway to establish a minimum vertical clearance of at the new Fourth Street two-lane bridge and at the new seven-lane Peters Creek Parkway bridge. After two years of intermittent closures, the new Peters Creek Parkway bridge was opened on November 12, 2018. On November 17, the second phase began with the complete shutdown of Business 40 between Peters Creek Parkway and John Gold Memorial Expressway (US 52/US 311/NC 8); three alternate routes were set up through the downtown area for locals while travelers are encouraged to remain on mainline I-40. During construction, Business 40 was lowered to establish a minimum