North Carolina Highway System

North Carolina Highway 295 (Future Interstate 295), also known as the Fayetteville Outer Loop, is a partially completed Interstate-grade bypass around the western side of Fayetteville, North Carolina.

NC 295 (Future I-295) currently begins at US 401, in Fayetteville. Heading east, it crosses the Cape Fear River and connects with River Road before ending at its northern terminus at Interstate 95/US 13, near Eastover. The entire 7-mile (11 km) route is a divided four-lane highway with a maximum speed limit of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h). There are no mile markers along the route, which is currently signed as Future Interstate 295.

The designation Interstate 295 was approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in May 2005 following an earlier approval by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Signs designation "Future I-295" were put up along the route when the section between Interstate 95 and River Road was opened in July 2005. The first short section of this highway was opened in June 2003, and it extended only from River Road to US 401. Then, the only mentions of a highway number were on street signs at the entrance ramps that said I-295 (with an additional "FUTURE" on some). This highway will be marked as a full Interstate Highway once two parts of it (namely the bridge that crosses the Cape Fear River and its interchange with I-95) are improved up to Interstate Highway standards.

Construction on the next section of Interstate 295, located from US 401 to the "All-American Freeway", was scheduled to start in the later months of 2008, and then probably completed by early 2012, but this construction project was put on hold in November 2008 due to the severe shortage of money for highway construction in North Carolina at that time and extending though 2011. Instead of constructing this segment as one contract, work was split up into 3 smaller segments. Work first started in 2009 on the section from Bragg Boulevard (North Carolina Highway 24, NC 24) to Murchison Road (NC 210) using federal stimulus monies. This is to be completed in 2012. In March 2011 a contract to construct the portion of Interstate 295 between US 401 and Murchison Road was awarded to a construction company. The contract for the final segment, from Bragg Boulevard to the All-American Freeway, is scheduled to be awarded during the summer of 2011. The first two segments are not to receive pavement until the final contract is awarded. Work should be completed by April 2014. The remainder of the route south to Interstate 95 near St. Paul's may not be constructed until after 2020.

Interstate 295 has over the years had a variety of proposed highway designations. Its first proposed Interstate designation, rejected by AASHTO in 2003, was Interstate 195. Other earlier designations have included extensions of US 13 (in some newspaper articles) or as NC 24. This highway also has been shown as NC 13 on state maps in 2004 and 2005.

On July 23, 2011, NCDOT officially designated the Fayetteville Outer Loop as North Carolina Highway 295. The circumstances for the rule change was that was necessary for public safety and welfare. This marks its official establishment, six years after the first section of the new freeway was completed.

The entire route is in Cumberland County.