The Salem Parkway is an freeway in the U.S. state of North Carolina, serving the cities of Winston-Salem and Kernersville. It is signed as U.S. Route 421 (US 421) for its entire length, though it is also concurrent with US 158 in downtown Winston-Salem and North Carolina Highway 150 (NC 150) between Winston-Salem and Kernersville. Originally known as the East–West Expressway, it was designated as part of Interstate 40 (I-40) and opened in 1958, becoming the first section of Interstate Highway in the state. I-40 was rerouted onto a new alignment bypassing Winston-Salem and Kernersville in 1992, at which time the road was designated Interstate 40 Business, nicknamed Business 40. Beginning in November 2018, a section of the freeway in downtown Winston-Salem between Peters Creek Parkway (NC 150) and the John Gold Memorial Expressway (US 52) was closed for reconstruction to rebuild the substandard roadway, exit and entrance ramps, and bridges. The section east of Main Street reopened August 30, 2019. As part of the project, the Business 40 designation was decommissioned and replaced with the name Salem Parkway, which had been chosen by popular vote in 2016. This included changing guide signs to include the new name, as well as renumbering exits to follow the mileage of US 421. The name change went into effect on February 2, 2020, when the road reopened, though signage outside of the project area had been changed in late December 2019. Route description The Salem Parkway runs east-west through Winston-Salem and Kernersville, though it is designated on signs as the north-south US 421, with north on the signage aligning to west, and vice versa. The parkway begins on US 421 at Exit 238, the interchange with I-40 in Winston-Salem. The road runs northeast carrying US 421, meeting Silas Creek Parkway (NC 67) at a cloverleaf interchange before reaching an interchange with Stratford Road (US 158). From here, the parkway turns east concurrent with US 158, continuing east and joining NC 150 at Peters Creek Parkway. In downtown Winston-Salem, the Salem Parkway meets Marshall Street and Cherry Street before passing under the Strollway. A half-interchange allows access to and from the one-way northbound Main Street, with only a westbound off-ramp and eastbound on-ramp. The parkway intersects the John Gold Memorial Expressway (US 52/NC 8, though NC 8 is not signed at this interchange) at a cloverleaf interchange and meets Martin Luther King Jr. Drive