Interstate 77 in West Virginia

This article is about the section of Interstate 77 in West Virginia. For the entire route, see Interstate 77.

Interstate 77 marker

Interstate 77
Route information
Maintained by West Virginia Department of Transportation and West Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority
Length: 187.21 mi[1] (301.29 km)
Existed: 1956 – present
Major junctions
South end: I77 / US 52 at Virginia state line
  US 460 near Princeton
I64 from Beckley to Charleston
WV 16 / WV 97 at Beckley
US 19 near Beckley
US 60 at Charleston
I79 near Charleston
US 33 from Ripley to Ravenswood
WV 2 from Ravenswood to Parkersburg
US 50 at Parkersburg
North end: I77 at Ohio state line
Highway system
WV 76WV 78

In the U.S. state of West Virginia, Interstate 77 (I-77) is a major northsouth Interstate highway. It extends for 187.21 miles (301 km) between Bluefield at the Virginia state line to Williamstown at the Ohio state line.

The highway serves Charleston, the capital and largest city in West Virginia; it also serves the large cities of Beckley, Bluefield, and Parkersburg. I-77 uses the entire length of the West Virginia Turnpike between Princeton and Charleston, and it is concurrent with Interstate 64 between Beckley and Charleston.

Route description

Interstate 77 enters West Virginia from Virginia via the East River Mountain Tunnel; it is concurrent with U.S. Route 52 within the tunnel. It surfaces in Mercer County to the east of Bluefield. I-77's first exit in West Virginia is 0.6 miles (0.97 km) north of the state line; US 52 leaves the highway here. I-77 continues north to Princeton. In Princeton, I-77 becomes the West Virginia Turnpike, which it remains through Charleston. The highway continues northward through rural Mercer County, roughly following U.S. Route 19. It crosses the Bluestone River in Eads Mill and passes Camp Creek State Park in Camp Creek. I-77 enters Raleigh County near the community of Ghent. I-77's northbound and southbound lanes separate here; they do not reunite until a point south of Daniels. I-77 meets I-64 south of Beckley, and the two highways become concurrent. The highways bypass the west side of Beckley and pass the turnpike's Beckley Service Area, which includes Tamarack, Best of West Virginia, at exit 45. I-77 heads north from Beckley into the Appalachian Mountains. It enters Fayette County near Pax, and it crosses into Kanawha County near Standard shortly afterwards. The highway continues north until it reaches the Kanawha River near Cabin Creek, where it turns northwest to follow the river into Charleston. I-77 crosses the river between exits 95 and 96 in Port Amherst. The West Virginia Turnpike ends after exit 96, and I-77 becomes a freeway. I-77 continues into downtown Charleston after the turnpike ends. It crosses the Elk River before separating from I-64 at an interchange in north Charleston. I-77 heads northeast along the river until it meets the southern terminus of Interstate 79 near Yeager Airport. I-77 then heads north into rural Kanawha County. It enters Jackson County near Goldtown. The highway continues north through Ripley, where it intersects U.S. Route 33. It becomes concurrent with US 33 and remains so through Silverton, where US 33 leaves the interstate and West Virginia Route 2 joins it. I-77 turns northeast toward Rockport, where it enters Wood County and turns north toward Parkersburg. It runs through the southeast corner of Parkersburg, bypassing the center of the city. It crosses the Little Kanawha River south of Parkersburg and heads northeast from the city. WV 2 leaves I-77 soon after, at exit 179 in North Hills. I-77 heads north towards Williamstown, where it crosses the Ohio River into Marietta, Ohio on the Marietta-Williamstown Interstate Bridge.

Tolls

History

Postcard view of the Yeager Bridge

Exit list

CountyLocationmi[2][3]kmExitDestinationsNotes
East River Mountain0.00.0East River Mountain Tunnel
I77 / US 52 continues south into Virginia
MercerBluefield0.61.01 US 52 north BluefieldNorth end of US 52 overlap
Ingleside5.08.05 WV 112 InglesideSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
6.710.87 CR 27 (Ingleside Rd.) InglesideNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
Princeton8.814.29 US 460 PrincetonWest Virginia Tourist Welcome Center and Vietnam War Memorial; south end of West Virginia Turnpike
13.621.914 CR 7 to WV 20 (Athens Road) AthensConcord University
19.631.520 US 19 Camp CreekCamp Creek State Park
RaleighGhent28.846.328 CR 48 Ghent, Flat Top
Toll Plaza A
Beckley39.363.240 I64 east LewisburgSouth end of I-64 overlap
41.867.342 WV 16 / WV 97 (Robert C. Byrd Dr.) MabscottTwin Falls Resort State Park
44.371.344 WV 3 (Harper Rd.) Beckley
45.673.445Tamarack: The Best of West Virginia
47.476.348 To US 19 (Corridor L) North Beckley, SummersvilleToll plaza on northbound exit and southbound entrance
FayettePax54.487.554 CR 232 Pax
Toll Plaza B
Mossy59.495.660 WV 612 east Mossy, Oak Hill
 66.0106.266 CR 15 Mahan
Kanawha 74.0119.174 CR 83 (Paint Creek Rd.) Standard
 79.3127.679 CR 793 (Cabin Creek Road) Sharon
Chelyan84.5136.085 US 60 / WV 61 Montgomery, Chelyan, Cedar Grove
87.7141.1Toll Plaza C
Marmet89.3143.789 WV 94 to WV 61 Marmet, Chesapeake
Charleston94.3151.895 WV 61 (MacCorkle Avenue)
94.6152.2Chuck Yeager Bridge over the Kanawha River
95.5153.796 US 60 east (Midland Trail) BelleSouth end of US 60 overlap; north end of West Virginia Turnpike
96.6155.597 US 60 west (Kanawha Boulevard)North end of US 60 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
98.0157.798 To WV 61 / 35th Street BridgeSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
98.9159.299 WV 114 (Greenbrier Street) State Capitol
100.0160.9100Leon Sullivan Way, Capitol Street
100.7162.1101 I64 west HuntingtonNorth end of I-64 overlap
101.4163.2102 US 119 (Westmoreland Road)
102.7165.3104 I79 north Clarksburg
Sissonville105.9170.4106 CR 27 (Edens Fork Road)
109.9176.9111 CR 29 (Tuppers Creek Road) Sissonville
112.4180.9114 WV 622 Sissonville, Pocatalico
115.0185.1116 CR 21 (Haines Branch Road) Sissonville
Jackson 118.9191.4119 CR 21 Goldtown
 123.9199.4124 WV 34 Kenna
Ripley131.4211.5132 CR 21 Fairplain, Ripley
136.9220.3138 US 33 east / WV 62 south Ripley, Point PleasantSouth end of US 33 overlap
Silverton145.0233.4146 US 33 west / WV 2 south Silverton, RavenswoodNorth end of US 33 overlap; south end of WV 2 overlap
 153.4246.9154 CR 1 (Medina Road)
Wood 160.7258.6161 CR 21 Rockport
Parkersburg169.0272.0170 WV 14 Mineral Wells, Parkersburg
172.2277.1173 WV 95 (Camden Ave.) Downtown Parkersburg
172.9278.3174 WV 47 (Staunton Ave.) Parkersburg
175.4282.3176 US 50 (7th Street, Corridor D) Downtown Parkersburg
179.0288.1179 WV 2 north / WV 68 south (Emerson Avenue) Vienna, North ParkersburgNorth end of WV 2 overlap
Williamstown184.8297.4185 WV 14 to WV 31 Williamstown, Vienna
Ohio River187.21301.29Marietta–Williamstown Interstate Bridge
I77 continues north into Ohio
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 77 in West Virginia.

Route map: Bing / Google

Interstate 77
Previous state:
Virginia
West Virginia Next state:
Ohio
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, July 05, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.