Interstate 77

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Interstate 77
Main route of the Interstate Highway System

Length:

611 mi (984 km)

South end:

I-26 in Columbia, SC

Major
junctions:

I-20 in Columbia, SC

I-85 in Charlotte, NC

I-40 in Statesville, NC

I-81 near Wytheville, VA

I-64 near Beckley, WV

I-70 in Cambridge, OH

I-80 in Richfield, OH

North end:

I-90 in Cleveland, OH

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Interstate 77

Interstate 77 (abbreviated I-77) is an interstate highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the old U.S. Highway 21 between Cleveland, Ohio and Columbia, South Carolina as one of the best north-south corridors through the middle Appalachians. The southern terminus of Interstate 77 is in Columbia at the junction with Interstate 26. The northern terminus is in Cleveland at the junction with Interstate 90.

1 Route description
2 Cities
3 Major intersections
4 Spur routes
5 Notes
6 References

[edit] Route description

[edit] South Carolina

I-77 starts out as six lanes in and throughout the Columbia metropolitan area. Through the northeastern part of the city, it passes very close to Fort Jackson. The skyline of Columbia can be seen on the southern loop of I-77 just before reaching I-26. I-77 in Columbia meets I-20 and ends at I-26 forming a beltway around the Columbia area. After leaving the Columbia area, I-77 reduces to four lanes between southern Fairfield County and Rock Hill. From Exit 75 near Rock Hill to the North Carolina line (bypassing Fort Mill in the process), the highway widens to eight lanes following a recent widening project.

[edit] North Carolina

Main article: Interstate 77 in North Carolina

Interstate 77 through North Carolina begins at the South Carolina state line at Pineville within sight of the Carowinds theme park. It then belies its true scenic nature as it travels through the industrial southern side of Charlotte past the tall banking spires of that city's downtown before breaking through into the scenic rolling foothills of piedmont North Carolina. In Charlotte it intersects Interstate 85 as well as intersecting each of the loops of Interstate 485 (once in the south, as well as a planned intersection with I-485's uncompleted northern section) and Interstate 277 (twice). North of Charlotte, it skirts scenic Lake Norman at Davidson. Forty miles north of Interstate 85, at Statesville it intersects Interstate 40. The final intersection is with a discontinuous section of Interstate 74 near Mount Airy within sight of the looming wall of the Southern Blue Ridge that Interstate 77 will climb shortly after leaving the state of North Carolina. Interstate 77 between Charlotte and Wytheville, Virginia is truly a destination in its own right.

[edit] Virginia

Main article: Interstate 77 in Virginia

Interstate 77 through Virginia is quite unique in that it passes through two tunnels. The Big Walker Mountain Tunnel and the East River Mountain Tunnel provide quick interstate access with minimal environmental disruption. For eight miles, Interstate 77 overlaps with Interstate 81 near Wytheville.

The highway passes through "Virginia's Technology Corridor" despite its very rural and isolated settings. Outside of Wytheville, there is little in the way of development.

[edit] West Virginia


Miles	km	state
90	145	South Carolina
105	169	North Carolina
67	108	Virginia
187	301	West Virginia
162	261	Ohio

611	984	Total

See also: List of roads in Charleston, West Virginia

Interstate 77 enters from Virginia through the East River Mountain Tunnel. At milepost 9, Interstate 77 becomes co-signed with the West Virginia Turnpike for the next 88 miles (142 km), a toll road between Princeton and Charleston. It is concurrent with Interstate 64 to Charleston at Beckley. The speed limit is 70 MPH for most of the length, with a 60 MPH limit for the section between Marmet and the second toll plaza.

It enters Charleston via the Yeager Bridge and passes by the state capitol complex before splitting off at a four-level junction with Interstate 64 in the downtown. Two miles north of the city center, it junctions with Interstate 79 before proceeding northward towards Ripley and Parkersburg. It leaves the state at Williamstown for Ohio.

North of Charleston, Interstate 77 is known as the "Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway". Within the city limits of Charleston, it is labeled as the "Nurse Veterans Memorial Highway" although not signed or mentioned as such. The toll-free section south of Princeton to Virginia is known as the "Hugh Ike Shott Memorial Highway" although scant signage exists to identify it as such. In practice, none of these terms are used by the general public.

[edit] Ohio

Entering from West Virginia at Marietta, Interstate 77 passes through rolling Appalachian terrain.

The interchange with I-70 at Cambridge is (or at least at one time was) thought to be the largest interchange in the world, covering over 300 acres of land.

Other major interstate highways I-77 connects with in Ohio are I-76, I-80 (Ohio Turnpike), and I-90. The interchange with the Ohio Turnpike was completed in the early 2000s, providing direct access-previously traffic had to exit at Ohio State Route 21 to get to the Turnpike.

Interstate 77 is also known as the "Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway" in Ohio.

[edit] Cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

[edit] Major intersections

The southern terminus of I-77 at I-26

Interstate 26 in Columbia, South Carolina
Interstate 20 in Columbia, South Carolina
Interstate 485 in Charlotte, which is the city's outerbelt
Interstate 277 in Charlotte, which is the outerbelt of the city's downtown area
Interstate 85 in Charlotte, North Carolina
Interstate 40 in Statesville, North Carolina
Interstate 74 for 4 miles (6.4 km) near Mount Airy, North Carolina
Interstate 81 for 9 miles (14.5 km) around Wytheville, Virginia
Interstate 64 in Beckley, West Virginia. They stay joined until Charleston, West Virginia.
Interstate 79 in Charleston, West Virginia
Interstate 70 in Cambridge, Ohio
Interstate 277 in Akron, Ohio (a connector route to Interstate 76 on the south side of Akron)
Interstate 76 in Akron, Ohio (I-76 runs concurrently with I-77 for a few miles in downtown Akron)
Interstate 271 in Richfield, Ohio
Interstate 80 in Richfield/Brecksville, Ohio
Interstate 480 in Independence, Ohio
Interstate 490 in Cleveland, Ohio
Interstate 90 in Cleveland, Ohio

[edit] Spur routes

	edit Auxiliary routes of Interstate 77
	Current and Future (F)	Former
	North Carolina - Ohio

[edit] Notes

I-77 entering North Carolina from Virginia

Pilot Mountain in the distant haze, from I-77 near Fancy Gap, Virginia.

In South Carolina, the southern terminus of Interstate 77 in Columbia, South Carolina was originally the interchange with SC 12 (Percival Road) with mile markers signed accordingly. In 1986, an interstate spur to be named Interstate 326 between SC 760 (Fort Jackson Boulevard) and Interstate 26 was planned. The decision to extend Interstate 77 from SC 12 and SC 760 (five miles between the two roads) was made before I-326 was opened, so the southern portion was never signed as such and the mile markers for Interstate 77 were adjusted accordingly when the extension was opened in 1995. Because of this, SC 12 and Interstate 77 run parallel for a stretch of three miles from Exit 15 until Exit 12. This added a northbound exit only at the 13-mile point at Decker Boulevard.

Interstate 77 in Charlotte, North Carolina is also known as the "Bill Lee Freeway"; this designation stretches from Exit 6 (South Tryon Street/Woodlawn Road) in Charlotte to Exit 33 (US 21 North), near Mooresville. A 6-mile (9.6-km) portion south of the city is called the "General Younts Expressway". The junction between I-77 and I-85 in Charlotte is a rather odd configuration. When I-77 crosses over I-85 (which runs in an east-west fashion through the interchange), the northbound lanes are to the west of the southbound lanes. Likewise, southbound I-77 is to the east of northbound I-77. The lanes return to their proper positions north and south of this interchange.

As Interstate 77 crosses over Lake Norman in northern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, spectacular views of the largest man-made lake in North Carolina can be seen. In fact, I-77 splits Lake Norman into two noncontiguous sections.

The East River Mountain Tunnel is one of only two instances in the United States where a mountain road tunnel crosses a state line. The other one is the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, connecting Tennessee and Kentucky.

During the 9 mile (14.4 km) stretch where Interstate 77 and Interstate 81 concurrency in Virginia, the driver is heading "both north and south" on a wrong-way concurrency. In actuality, the road runs east and west at this point.

The part of Interstate 94 from Detroit northeast to Port Huron, Michigan was originally planned as I-77 in 1957; the current I-77 was I-79.^[1] When the current Interstate 79 was added in Pennsylvania, the I-77 designation was moved to its current route, but the I-77 in Michigan also remained in the 1958 numbering plan.^[2] It soon became part of I-94.

[edit] References

edit Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)
4	5	8	10	12	15	16	17	19	20	22	24	25	26	27	29	30
35	37	39	40	43	44	45	49	55	57	59	64	65	66	66 (W)		68
69	70	71	72	73	74	75	76 (W)		76 (E)		77	78	79	80	81	82
83	84 (W)		84 (E)		85	86 (W)		86 (E)		87	88 (W)		88 (E)		89	90
91	93	94	95	96	97	99	(238)		H-1		H-2		H-3
Unsigned			A-1		A-2		A-3		A-4		PRI-1		PRI-2		PRI-3
Lists		Main - Auxiliary - Suffixed - Business - Proposed - Unsigned Gaps - Intrastate - Interstate standards - Replaced

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