Since Interstate 485 is a beltway, the compass orientation of the freeway is not uniform around the loop. To remedy the uniformity issue, the inner/outer orientation system was implemented and became the primary method of signing the direction of travel around the loop. Some sections of the loop are signed with additional north/south or east/west labels (depending on the general direction of travel along a particular stretch) to aid drivers familiar with compass directions. Usually when both systems are utilized on signs, the compass directional banner is placed above the number shield and the inner/outer banner is placed below. Officials originally decided to use only "north" and "south" compass directions when signing the route, but because this would be confusing with multiple "norths" and "souths", "inner" and "outer" designations were included. Although "east" and "west" signs exist, these will be phased out in favor of "inner" and "outer" designations. Traffic traveling in a clockwise direction around the city of Charlotte is on the "Inner" loop and traffic traveling in a counterclockwise direction is on the "Outer" loop. This system can be confusing, but it is logical; since traffic in the United States generally travels on the right side of the road, the clockwise traveling lanes will always be the "Inner" lanes of a loop. There are three control cities along the route: Huntersville, Matthews and Pineville. Secondary control cities, which include Spartanburg, Statesville, Greensboro and Columbia, are also listed at various interchanges for travelers that want to bypass Charlotte to other destinations, via Interstates 77 and 85. I-485 in North Carolina is split into four dedicated or memorialized stretches of freeway. The first section of what became I-485 was completed around 1967, connecting a newly opened section of I-85 with US 29 near the Cabarrus-Mecklenburg county line. This section became a part of Interstate 485 on May 5, 1999, the first section of the highway on the north end of the county. In 1975, planning began for the Charlotte outerbelt. On July 8, 1988, Gov. Jim Martin and state transportation secretary Seddon Goode attended a groundbreaking near US 521, marking the start of construction on the first section between US 521 and NC 51. Martin also announced the designation "Interstate 485" for what had previously been called the outerbelt. The section opened November 1, 1990, two months earlier than planned.