NIEHS Main Entrance Gate

New main gate at NIEHS

The NIEHS campus entrance has three (3) lanes. From left to right they are “VISITOR”, “BADGED”, and “TRUCK” and are to be used as follows.

VISITOR (Left Lane) BADGED (Middle Lane) TRUCK (Right Lane)
  • All Visitors
  • Carpool Drivers
  • EPA employees
  • Any non-badged person
  • Badged personnel who have lost or forgotten their badge
  • Badged personnel with an unbadged occupant
  • All NIEHS employees and contractors with NIH access badges
  • NOTE: All vehicle occupants are required to swipe their badge at the badge reader. Although the gate arm will open upon the first badge reading, please continue to swipe the badges of all personnel inside the vehicle. The arm will lift, or remain in the raised position, for 30 seconds after each badge reading.
  • All delivery vehicles that require inspection
  • Semi-trucks (with or without trailers)
  • Construction related vehicles such as dump trucks, cranes, excavation equipment, and similar
  • Any vehicle that is higher than the 12’ – 6” clearance indicated in the VISITOR and BADGED lanes

Should there be a back-up in the Visitor (left) lane, Carpool drivers with badge access occupants can use another lane to swipe their badges and enter. They will however need to get the attention of the second officer for a carpool preferred parking pass.

All three lanes are provided with badge readers. Should there be a back-up in the Badged (middle) lane, NIEHS employees and contractors with badge access can use any lane to swipe their badge and enter.

Security Measures for Visitors to NIEHS

NIEHS sign

Welcome to the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). To visit the NIEHS campus, you will need to meet these security requirements:

  • If you are coming for official business, your NIEHS host must register you as a visitor.
  • If you are attending a scientific seminar or other event open to the public, please be prepared with the name of the seminar and with your official photo I.D.
  • Visitors must show a photo ID at the campus entrance. A valid photo ID may include:
    • driver’s license
    • company ID
    • government ID
    • school ID
  • Visitors may be required to consent to a search of their vehicles.

We apologize for any inconveniences these security measures may cause. We have increased the security measures for our facilities and personnel, in an effort to keep you and our NIEHS staff safe. If you have any questions, please contact 984-287-4500.

Directions and Parking - NIEHS Main Campus

NIEHS is located in Durham, North Carolina, USA. The NIEHS Main Campus/Rall Building is located at 111 T.W. Alexander Drive, Durham. Please check in with NIEHS Security upon your arrival.

For information about mail delivery, please see Shipping and Delivery Information.

Airport (RDU) Arrivals or Driving from Raleigh or Cary using I-40 West:

  • Take Exit 280 (Davis Drive)
  • Turn left onto Davis Drive
  • Turn right at the 2nd traffic light onto NC 54 East
  • Continue on NC 54 East and turn left onto T.W. Alexander Drive
  • The NIEHS main campus will be on your left
  • Check in with campus entrance security
  • Follow the signs to "Conference & Cafeteria - Bldg 101". Building 101 is located next to Discovery Lake
  • Sign in at the security desk inside the Building 101 Main Lobby

From Durham on the Durham Freeway (NC Highway 147):

  • Take the Durham Freeway (NC-147) South to Research Triangle Park
  • Take Exit 7/T.W. Alexander Drive
  • At the top of the exit ramp, turn right onto T.W. Alexander Drive
  • A mile after crossing NC 54, turn left onto the NIEHS campus at 111 T.W. Alexander Drive
  • Check in with the campus entrance security
  • Follow the signs to "Conference & Cafeteria - Bldg 101". Building 101 is located next to Discovery Lake
  • Sign in at the security desk inside the Building 101 Main Lobby

From Chapel Hill using I-40 East:

  • Take Exit 278 (NC 55)
  • Turn right onto NC 55 South
  • Turn left onto NC 54 West
  • Continue on NC 54 West through and turn right onto T.W. Alexander Drive
  • The NIEHS main campus will be on your left
  • Check in with the campus entrance security
  • Follow the signs to "Conference & Cafeteria - Bldg 101". Building 101 is located next to Discovery Lake
  • Sign in at the security desk inside the Building 101 Main Lobby

Parking:

  • Follow the road to the traffic circle and go around the circle (traffic flows counterclockwise in the circle). Take the 2nd exit onto Lakeview Dr.
  • Signs will direct you to visitor parking in front of the Rall Building
  • Visitors may park for up to 2 hours in marked visitor spaces
  • Visitor spaces are reserved for NIEHS off-site employees and visitors
  • Visitor spaces are marked with a sign showing parking time limits
  • Visitors can park for longer periods in employee lots, as shown on the map below
  • Sign in at the security desk inside the Building 101 Main Lobby

Maps to NIEHS Campus and Facilities

Download maps of the NIEHS campus and surrounding area (219KB)

Directions and Parking - NIEHS Clinical Research Unit (CRU)

The Clinical Research Unit (CRU) is a new 14,000 square foot facility on the NIEHS Research Triangle Park, North Carolina campus. For directions and parking for the facility, please see Visiting the CRU. The CRU will accommodate outpatient research only. The CRU will offer routine patient evaluation, fluoroscopy, ultrasound imaging, basic sample collection and processing.

Directions and Parking - Keystone Building

Keystone Building is located at 530 Davis Drive, at the edge of Research Triangle Park (near the intersection with Hopson Road). NIEHS occupies the entire building. Please check in with NIEHS Security in the building’s main lobby upon arrival. There is parking available in the lot adjacent to Keystone.

From the NIEHS Main Campus – Rall Building:

  • Exit the NIEHS main campus through the main entrance
  • Turn left onto T.W. Alexander Drive
  • Turn left onto Hopson Road
  • Go to the first intersection and turn left to stay on Hopson Road
  • Turn right onto Davis Drive
  • Turn immediately right into the driveway between 430 and 530 Davis Drive
  • NIEHS occupies 530 Davis Drive on your left

From Raleigh, Cary, or RDU Airport using I-40 West:

  • From I-40 West, take Page Road exit (282)
  • Turn right onto Page Road
  • Page Road becomes Hopson Road
  • Turn left onto Davis Drive
  • Turn immediately right into the entrance drive between 430 and 530 Davis Drive
  • NIEHS occupies 530 Davis Drive on your left

From Durham on the Durham Freeway (NC Highway 147):

  • From the Durham Freeway (NC 147) south, take exit 5a to merge onto I-40 East
  • After merging onto I-40, take the Davis Drive exit (280)
  • Turn left onto Davis Drive
  • Go through the stoplights at the intersections of NC HWY 54 and Hopson Road
  • Turn right into the driveway between 430 and 530 Davis Drive
  • NIEHS occupies 530 Davis Drive on your left

From Chapel Hill using I-40 East:

  • From I-40 East, take the Davis Drive exit (280)
  • Turn left onto Davis Drive
  • Go through the stoplights at the intersections of NC HWY 54 and Hopson Road
  • Turn right into the driveway between 430 and 530 Davis Drive
  • NIEHS occupies 530 Davis Drive on your left

Bike Racks

NIEHS has bicycle racks in front of the main campus building outside of the C module loading zone, near the MRI unit, and near the Clinical Research Unit. There are also bicycle racks at the south end of the Keystone Building.

Tobacco-Free NIEHS

NIEHS Is now Tobacco-Free.

On July 21, 2012, NIEHS officially became tobacco-free as part of our efforts to improve the health of our employees and all who visit us. All NIEHS campus buildings, grounds and walking trails are tobacco-free. All federal staff, contractors and visitors should be aware that we are now tobacco-free. The use of tobacco products is not permitted in or on any NIEHS owned or leased facilities or property, including privately owned vehicles, while on campus.

Our goal at NIEHS is to help employees by preventing exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the workplace and promoting tobacco use cessation programs. Those who host or sponsor visitors to our campus should ensure they understand and follow the policy. Thank you for helping us keep the NIEHS campus a smoke-free and healthy environment for all who work and visit here.