 Interstate 81 | |
|---|---|
 I-81 highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 855.02 mi[1] (1,376.02 km) |
| Existed | 1957–present |
| NHS | Entire route |
| Major junctions | |
| South end |  I-40 inDandridge, TN |
| Major intersections | |
| North end |  Highway 137 at theCanadian border onWellesley Island, NY |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| States | Tennessee,Virginia,West Virginia,Maryland,Pennsylvania,New York |
| Highway system | |
Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest)Interstate Highway in the eastern part of theUnited States. Its southern terminus is atI-40 inDandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is onWellesley Island, New York at theCanadian border, where theThousand Islands Bridge connects it toHighway 137 and ultimately toHighway 401, the mainOntario freeway connectingDetroit viaToronto toMontreal. The major metropolitan areas along the route of I-81 include theTri-Cities of Tennessee;Roanoke inVirginia;Hagerstown in Maryland;Harrisburg and theWyoming Valley inPennsylvania; andBinghamton andSyracuse in New York.
I-81 largely traces the paths created down the length of theAppalachian Mountains through theGreat Appalachian Valley by migrating animals,indigenous peoples, and early settlers. It also follows a major corridor for troop movements during theCivil War.[2] These trails and roadways gradually evolved intoUS Route 11 (US 11); I-81 parallels much of the older US 11.[3] Being mostly rural in nature, I-81 is heavily used as a trucking corridor and is often used as a bypass of busier and more congested Interstates to the east such asI-95; for this reason, it is also used heavily bydrug andhuman traffickers, as it is less monitored bylaw enforcement than I-95. This led to theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) forming a taskforce to combat the issue in 2017.[4][5]
The I-81 Corridor Coalition, a six-state coalition, was organized to handle issues along I-81, such as truck traffic andair pollution; the commission meets annually.[6] I-81 is part of the fastest route between thecapital of the US (Washington, D.C.) and the capital ofCanada (Ottawa).[7][8]
I-81 is part of theNational Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by theFederal Highway Administration (FHWA).[9]
| mi[1] | km | |
|---|---|---|
| TN | 75.66 | 121.76 |
| VA | 324.92 | 522.91 |
| WV | 26.00 | 41.84 |
| MD | 12.08 | 19.44 |
| PA | 232.76 | 374.59 |
| NY | 183.60 | 295.48 |
| Total | 855.02 | 1,376.02 |
I-81 begins in Tennessee atI-40 inDandridge, a route that connects toKnoxville to the west andAsheville to the east. I-81 meetsI-26 andUS 23, which go toKingsport andJohnson City. At milemarker 75, I-81 leaves Tennessee and enters Virginia.
I-81 in Virginia is largely a rural route with brief concurrencies withI-77 andI-64. The route parallels the Appalachian Mountains for much of its route through Tennessee and Virginia, serving such cities as thetwin cities of Bristol,Tennessee andVirginia;Wytheville;Roanoke;Christiansburg;Lexington;Staunton;Harrisonburg; andWinchester. In Harrisonburg, I-81 cuts throughJames Madison University.[10] It parallels its older counterpart,US 11, for its entire length in Virginia.[11]
I-81 briefly enters theEastern Panhandle of West Virginia for about 26 miles (42 km), serving the city ofMartinsburg. The entire routing is inBerkeley County and serves theEastern WV Regional Airport. TheWest Virginia segment was completed in 1966 and there have been no realignments since.
_just_southwest_of_Hagerstown_in_Washington_County%2c_Maryland.jpg)
I-81 runs 12.08 miles (19.44 km) inMaryland from theWest Virginia state line at thePotomac River inWilliamsport north to thePennsylvania state line nearMaugansville. I-81 is the primary north–south Interstate Highway inWashington County, connectingHagerstown, Maryland, withChambersburg andHarrisburg, Pennsylvania, to the north andMartinsburg, West Virginia, and Winchester, andRoanoke, Virginia, to the south.[12] It is the shortest mainline Interstate in Maryland and contains the shortest portion of I-81 of all six states through which the Interstate highway passes. The Interstate was dedicated as Maryland Veterans Memorial Highway in 1987.[13] I-81 passes through the state of Maryland at one of its narrowest points, the "Hub City" of Hagerstown where it intersects with a large number of other routes, most notablyI-70.Hagerstown Regional Airport is served by this Interstate Highway.[12]
I-81 forms a major north–south corridor through the state of Pennsylvania, serving the boroughs ofChambersburg andCarlisle, where it meets thePennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) but does not directly interchange with it (motorists must use US 11 to connect). Around the state capital ofHarrisburg, the route forms the northern section of Pennsylvania'sCapital Beltway. The route then travels northeast toward theWyoming Valley, where it serves the cities ofWilkes-Barre andScranton, as well as meeting the PA Turnpike's Northeast Extension,[clarification needed] then heads north through theEndless Mountains region toward the state line.
In New York, I-81 crosses thePennsylvania state line southeast ofBinghamton. The freeway runs north–south throughCentral New York, serving the cities of Binghamton,Syracuse, andWatertown. It passes through theThousand Islands in its final miles and crosses two bridges, both part of the series of bridges known as theThousand Islands Bridge. South of Watertown, I-81 closely parallelsUS 11, the main north–south highway in Central New York prior to the construction of I-81. At Watertown, US 11 turns northeastward to head across New York'sNorth Country while I-81 continues on a generally northward track to the Canadian border. From there, the road continues into the province ofOntario asHighway 137, a short route leading north to the nearbyHighway 401.[14]
I-81 roughly parallels theGreat Indian Warpath, an old Indian trail that connected New York to thePiedmont region of the southeastern United States via Virginia and West Virginia.[15] A series of roads linking Virginia to Maryland through Martinsburg were present on maps as early as 1873.[16] New York was originally served byNew York State Route 2 (NY 2), a road built in 1924;[17] NY 2 was replaced byUS 11 in 1927. A highway that largely followed the path of US 11 was built and became known as thePenn-Can Highway.[18] On August 14, 1957, the highway was redesigned as I-81.[19] In New York, the first segments of what would become I-81 were begun in 1954.[20] In Maryland, the Interstate was begun with the Hagerstown Bypass in the mid-1950s.[21] After several bouts of expansion, the freeway was completed from US 40 (nowMaryland Route 144 [MD 144]) to the Pennsylvania state line in 1958[22] and marked as I-81 in 1959.[23] Bidding on contracts in West Virginia opened in July 1958.[24] In Virginia, the first Interstate hearing was held in February 1957. At the end of 1957, construction began on a one-mile (1.6 km) stretch nearBuchanan, Virginia. A four-mile (6.4 km) section of the Interstate opened in 1959. A stretch inHarrisonburg was opened as well. By late 1963, 85 miles (137 km) in Virginia were open.[25]
The first statewide segment to be completed was that of West Virginia, which was finished in 1966. The section opened on October 19, 1966.[26] In western Maryland, various parts of I-81 were built in the early 1960s, and the remainder of the highway south to the Potomac River was under construction by 1965[27] and opened in 1966.[13] Since then, I-81 in Maryland has remained largely unchanged. In Tennessee by 1965, 336 (541) of the 997 miles (1,605 km) of Interstate Highways were completed. Construction was expected to be finished in 1969,[28] but a large portion of the work would not be completed until 1974, and most of the road was open by December 1974.[29] The final major segment of the Interstate in the north to be built was a 17-mile (27 km) section in New York, opened in October 1968.[30] That same year, work in Pennsylvania was completed.[31] The road would not be completely built in Tennessee until August 1975.[32] Construction on parts in Virginia dragged on until it was finished in July 1987.[25] The segment in New York cost $270 million (equivalent to $638 million in 2024[33]) to build.[20]
I-40 nearDandridge, northeast ofKnoxville
US 25E at theWhite Pine–Morristown line
US 11E inMosheim
I-26 /US 23 inKingsport
US 11W inBristol
US 58 /US 421 inBristol. I-81/US 58 travels concurrently to east ofAbingdon
I-381 in Bristol
US 11 /US 19 in BristolUS 11 east of AbingdonUS 11 at various locations
US 21 /US 52 inWytheville. I-81/US 52 travels concurrently toFort Chiswell
I-77 in Wytheville. The highways travel concurrently to Fort Chiswell.
US 11 /US 460 inChristiansburg
Future I-73 /I-581 /US 220 inRoanoke
US 60 southeast ofLexington
I-64 east of Lexington. The highways travel concurrently toStaunton.
US 250 inPeyton
US 33 inHarrisonburg
US 211New Market
I-66 southwest ofMiddletown
US 17 /US 50 /US 522 inWinchesterUS 11 north-northeast ofFalling Waters
US 30Chambersburg
US 11 /US 15 north ofEnola
US 22 /US 322 inHarrisburg. I-81/US 322 concurrent throughout Harrisburg.
I-83 /US 322 in Harrisburg
I-78 nearJonestown
US 209 west ofTremont
I-80 nearHazleton
I-476 inDupont (nearPittston)
I-84 /I-380 /US 6 inDunmoreI-476 /US 6 /US 11 inClarks Summit
I-86 inBinghamton
I-88 in Binghamton
US 11 /US 20 inLaFayette
I-481 inSyracuse
I-690 in Syracuse
I-90 inNorth SyracuseI-481 inCiceroUS 11 inAdams
I-781 inWatertown
Highway 137 toHighway 401; freeway ends at Canada–US border (Thousand Islands Bridge)I-81 has six related,auxiliary Interstate Highways that connect the main freeway to downtowns and other cities.I-381 runs 1.5 miles (2.4 km), connectingBristol, Virginia, to I-81.[35]I-581 is a 6.35-mile-long (10.22 km) spur that connectsRoanoke, Virginia, to I-81. It is proposed to be overtaken byI-73.[36]Pennsylvania Route 581 (PA 581) connectsHarrisburg, Pennsylvania, to I-81. It runs 7.36 miles (11.84 km).I-481 serves as an eastern bypass ofSyracuse, New York.NY 481 is a northwestern extension of I-481 that ends inOswego.[37]I-781 extends for 4.9 miles (7.9 km), that connectsFort Drum, New York, to the Interstate.[38]NY 281 is a north–southstate highway inCentral New York that extends for 16.56 miles (26.65 km) acrossCortland andOnondaga counties, roughly paralleling I-81 and connecting at both ends.[39]
I-181 was a 23.85-mile (38.38 km) offshoot of I-81, linking toKingsport, Tennessee. It was decommissioned in August 2005 whenI-26 took over I-181's entire length.[40] I-281 was replaced in January 1970 byI-481. I-81E was replaced by the currentI-380.[41]
The university straddles Interstate 81, an outlet to several major East Coast cities.
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Geographic data related toInterstate 81 atOpenStreetMap PrimaryInterstate Highways | |
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| Lists | |
| Other | |
Routes initalics are no longer a part of the system. Major Interstates are highlighted. | |
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| Geographic | |
