Interstate 77

Template:Infobox road Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south 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. Route 21 (US 21) between Cleveland, Ohio, and Columbia, South Carolina, as an important north–south corridor through the middle Appalachian Mountains. The southern terminus of I-77 is in Cayce, South Carolina, in Lexington County at the junction with I-26. The northern terminus is in Cleveland at the junction with I-90. Other major cities that I-77 connects to include Columbia, South Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Charleston, West Virginia; and Akron, Ohio. The East River Mountain Tunnel, connecting Virginia and West Virginia, is one of only two instances in the U.S. where a mountain road tunnel crosses a state line. The other is the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, connecting Tennessee and Kentucky. I-77 is a snowbird route to the Southern U.S. for those traveling from the Great Lakes region.

Route description

Template:Lengths table |- |SC |style="text-align:right;"|91.05 |style="text-align:right;"|146.53 |- |NC |style="text-align:right;"|105.50 |style="text-align:right;"|169.79 |- ||VA |style="text-align:right;"|69.40 |style="text-align:right;"|111.69 |- |WV |style="text-align:right;"|187.21 |style="text-align:right;"|301.29 |- |OH |style="text-align:right;"|160.13 |style="text-align:right;"|257.70 |- |Total |style="text-align:right;"|610.10 |style="text-align:right;"|981.86 |}

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Southern terminus of I-77 at I-26 in Cayce, South Carolina

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I-77/US 21 southbound at I-485 in Charlotte, North Carolina

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I-74/I-77 entering North Carolina from Virginia

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Northbound at the East River Mountain Tunnel, at the border of Virginia and West Virginia

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I-77 crossing the Kanawha River on the Chuck Yeager Bridge in Charleston, West Virginia

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Aerial view of I-77 passing through Kanawha County, West Virginia near Sissonville

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Northern terminus at I-90 in Cleveland, Ohio

South Carolina

Main article: Interstate 77 in South Carolina

I-77 begins as an eight-lane highway at I-26 in the far southwestern part of the Columbia metropolitan area. In the Columbia area, I-77 offers access to Fort Jackson before meeting I-20 in the northeastern part of the city. This segment of I-77, combined with I-20 and I-26, form a beltway around Columbia, though it is not officially designated as such.

After leaving the northern Columbia suburb of Blythewood, I-77 narrows to four lanes until it widens to eight lanes at Rock Hill from exit 77 to the North Carolina state line at I-485.

The final section of the entire length of I-77 was completed in Columbia in 1995.

North Carolina

Main article: Interstate 77 in North Carolina

I-77 through North Carolina begins at the South Carolina state line at Pineville. It narrows to six lanes on the North Carolina side south of Charlotte and then widens to 8 and 10 lanes through downtown before entering the North Carolina Piedmont region. In Charlotte, it intersects I-85 as well as intersecting each of the loops of I-485 and I-277 (twice). North of Charlotte, it skirts Lake Norman where it narrows again to four lanes before passing through Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, and Mooresville. At Statesville, 40 miles (64 km) north of I-85, it intersects I-40 and US 70. Next, it crosses over US 421 in Yadkin County and continues on through Elkin. The final intersection in the state is with a discontinuous section of I-74 near Mount Airy.

I-77 in Charlotte 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 six-mile (9.7 km) portion south of the city is called the General Younts Expressway. When I-77 crosses over I-85 (which runs in an east–west direction through the interchange), the northbound lanes are to the west of the southbound lanes.

North Carolina completed its section of I-77 in 1975.

Virginia

Main article: Interstate 77 in Virginia

I-77 through Virginia passes through two tunnels: the Big Walker and East River mountain tunnels. For eight miles (13 km), I-77 and I-81 overlap near Wytheville. This is a wrong-way concurrency, where two roads run concurrent with each other but are designated in opposite directions. For its entire length in Virginia, I-77 is either parallel to or concurrent with US 52. It will have a concurrency with I-74 throughout the state.

On March 31, 2013, there was a nearly 100-car pileup on I-77 near Fancy Gap; as a result of that crash, electronic variable speed limit signs are now in place along that stretch of I-77. The speed limit can be adjusted according to driving conditions at any given time.

West Virginia

Main article: Interstate 77 in West Virginia

I-77 enters West Virginia through the East River Mountain Tunnel. At milepost 9, I-77 becomes cosigned with the West Virginia Turnpike for the next 88 miles (142 km), a toll road between Princeton and Charleston. It is concurrent with I-64 to Charleston at Beckley. The speed limit is 70 mph (110 km/h) for most of the length, with a 60-mile-per-hour (97 km/h) limit for the section between Marmet and the toll plaza near Pax.

It enters Charleston via the Yeager Bridge before splitting off at a four-level junction with I-64. Two miles (3.2 km) north of the city center, it junctions with I-79, before proceeding north to Ripley and Parkersburg.

North of Charleston, I-77 is known as the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.

Ohio

Main article: Interstate 77 in Ohio

Entering from West Virginia at Marietta, I-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 (120 ha).

I-77 continues north through Canton and then Akron, where it connects with I-76. The interchange with I-80, the Ohio Turnpike, between Akron and Cleveland was completed in December 2001; previously, traffic had to exit at State Route 21 (SR 21) to access the turnpike. I-77 ends at I-90 in Cleveland.

I-77 is also known as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway in Ohio and the Willow Freeway in Greater Cleveland.

Junction list

South Carolina

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North Carolina

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Virginia

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Module:Jct error: Invalid route type north-northwest of Rocky Gap. The highways travel concurrently to Bluefield, West Virginia.

West Virginia

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Module:Jct error: Invalid route type southeast of Crab Orchard. The highways travel concurrently to Charleston.

Module:Jct error: Invalid route type southeast of Snow Hill. The highways travel concurrently to Charleston.

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Module:Jct error: Invalid route type in Ripley. The highways travel concurrently to Silverton.

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Ohio

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Module:Jct error: Invalid route type in New Philadelphia. The highways travel concurrently to south-southeast of Strasburg.

 / Module:Jct error: Invalid route type in Canton. I-77/US 62 travels concurrently through Canton.

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 / Module:Jct error: Invalid route type in Akron. I-76 and I-77 travel concurrently through Akron.

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Auxiliary routes

• I-277 – Charlotte, North Carolina
• I-277 – Akron, Ohio

External links

• Template:Osmrelation-inline