 Interstate 77 | |
|---|---|
 I-77 highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 610.10 mi[1] (981.86 km) |
| NHS | Entire route |
| Major junctions | |
| South end |  I-26 inCayce, SC |
| Major intersections |
|
| North end |  I-90 inCleveland, OH |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| States | South Carolina,North Carolina,Virginia,West Virginia,Ohio |
| Highway system | |
Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–southInterstate Highway in theEastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state ofWest Virginia to the rolling farmlands ofNorth Carolina andOhio. It largely supplants the oldU.S. Route 21 (US 21) betweenCleveland, Ohio, andColumbia, South Carolina, as an important north–south corridor through the middleAppalachian Mountains. The southern terminus of I-77 is inCayce, South Carolina, inLexington County at the junction withI-26.[2] The northern terminus is in Cleveland at the junction withI-90. Other major cities that I-77 connects to include Columbia, South Carolina;Charlotte, North Carolina;Charleston, West Virginia; andAkron, Ohio. TheEast River Mountain Tunnel, connectingVirginia 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 theCumberland Gap Tunnel, connectingTennessee andKentucky.[3] I-77 is asnowbird route to theSouthern U.S. for those traveling from theGreat Lakes region.[4]
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| mi[1] | km | |
|---|---|---|
| SC | 91.05 | 146.53 |
| NC | 105.50 | 169.79 |
| VA | 69.40 | 111.69 |
| WV | 187.21 | 301.29 |
| OH | 160.13 | 257.70 |
| Total | 610.10 | 981.86 |
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I-77 begins as an eight-lane highway at I-26 in the far southwestern part of theColumbia metropolitan area. In the Columbia area, I-77 offers access toFort Jackson before meetingI-20 in the northeastern part of the city. This segment of I-77, combined with I-20 and I-26, form abeltway around Columbia, though it is not officially designated as such.
After leaving the northern Columbia suburb ofBlythewood, I-77 narrows to four lanes until it widens to eight lanes atRock Hill from exit 77 to the North Carolina state line atI-485.
The final section of the entire length of I-77 was completed in Columbia in 1995.
I-77 through North Carolina begins at the South Carolina state line atPineville. It narrows to six lanes on the North Carolina side south ofCharlotte and then widens to 8 and 10 lanes through downtown before entering the North CarolinaPiedmont region. In Charlotte, it intersectsI-85 as well as intersecting each of the loops ofI-485 andI-277 (twice). North of Charlotte, it skirtsLake Norman where it narrows again to four lanes before passing throughHuntersville,Cornelius,Davidson, andMooresville. AtStatesville, 40 miles (64 km) north of I-85, it intersectsI-40 andUS 70. Next, it crosses overUS 421 inYadkin County and continues on throughElkin. The final intersection in the state is with a discontinuous section ofI-74 nearMount 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.
I-77 through Virginia passes through two tunnels: theBig Walker andEast River mountain tunnels. For eight miles (13 km), I-77 andI-81 overlap nearWytheville. This is awrong-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 orconcurrent withUS 52. It will have a concurrency withI-74 throughout the state.
On March 31, 2013, there was a nearly 100-car pileup on I-77 nearFancy 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.
I-77 entersWest Virginia through theEast River Mountain Tunnel. At milepost 9, I-77 becomes cosigned with theWest Virginia Turnpike for the next 88 miles (142 km), atoll road betweenPrinceton andCharleston. It is concurrent withI-64 to Charleston atBeckley. 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 betweenMarmet and the toll plaza nearPax.
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 withI-79, before proceeding north toRipley andParkersburg.
North of Charleston, I-77 is known as the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.
Entering fromWest Virginia atMarietta, I-77 passes through rolling Appalachian terrain.
Theinterchange 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 throughCanton 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;[5][6] previously, traffic had to exit atState 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[7] and the Willow Freeway inGreater Cleveland.[8]
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I-26 inCayce
US 21 /US 176 /US 321 in Cayce
US 76 /US 378 inColumbia
I-20 on theWoodfield–Dentsville CDP line
US 1 in DentsvilleUS 21 south ofBlythewoodUS 21 on theLesslie–Rock Hill lineUS 21 in Rock HillUS 21 north ofFort Mill. The highways travel concurrently toCharlotte, North Carolina.
I-485 in Charlotte
I-277 /US 74 in Charlotte
US 29 in CharlotteI-277 in Charlotte
I-85 in CharlotteI-485 inHuntersvilleUS 21 inCornelius. The highways travel concurrently toMooresville.US 21 southeast ofTroutman
US 70 inStatesville
I-40 in StatesvilleUS 21 north of Statesville
US 421 west-northwest ofHamptonvilleUS 21 south-southeast ofJonesville. The highways travel concurrently toElkin.
I-74 west-southwest ofPine Ridge. The highways travel concurrently to theVirginia state line north-northwest of Pine Ridge.
US 58 /US 221 inWoodlawn
I-81 /US 11 inFort Chiswell. The highways travel concurrently toWytheville.
US 52 in Fort Chiswell. The highways travel concurrently to Wytheville.US 52 west ofBlandUS 52 inRocky GapUS 52 north-northwest of Rocky Gap. The highways travel concurrently toBluefield, West Virginia.
US 460 east-southeast ofPrinceton
US 19 south-southeast ofCamp Creek
I-64 southeast ofCrab Orchard. The highways travel concurrently toCharleston.
US 60 southeast ofSnow Hill. The highways travel concurrently to Charleston.
I-79 northeast of Charleston
US 33 inRipley. The highways travel concurrently toSilverton.
US 50 east ofParkersburg
SR 7 inMarietta
I-70 south-southeast ofCambridge
US 40 east of Cambridge
US 22 northeast of Cambridge
US 36 inNewcomerstown
US 250 inNew Philadelphia. The highways travel concurrently to south-southeast ofStrasburg.
US 30 /US 62 inCanton. I-77/US 62 travels concurrently through Canton.
I-277 /US 224 south ofAkron
I-76 /SR 8 in Akron. I-76 and I-77 travel concurrently through Akron.
SR 21 West of Akron
I-271 inRichfield
I-80 on the Richfield–Brecksville line
I-480 on theIndependence–Brooklyn Heights line
I-490 inCleveland
US 422 in ClevelandI-90 in Cleveland
Geographic data related toInterstate 77 atOpenStreetMap PrimaryInterstate Highways | |
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| Signed | |
| Unsigned | |
| Lists | |
| Other | |
Routes initalics are no longer a part of the system. Major Interstates are highlighted. | |
| International | |
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| Geographic | |
