Interstate 81

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Interstate 81
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length: 846 mi (1361 km)
South end: I-40 in Dandridge, TN
Major
junctions:
I-26 in Colonial Heights, TN
I-77 near Wytheville, VA
I-64 in Lexington, VA
I-66 in Front Royal, VA
I-70 in Halfway, MD
I-76 in Carlisle, PA via
I-83 in Colonial Park, PA
I-80 near Hazleton, PA
I-88 near Binghamton, NY
I-90 in Syracuse, NY
North end: Ont 137 at Thousand Islands Bridge in Wellesley Island, NY/ON
(TO Ont 401)
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Interstate 81 (abbreviated I-81) is an interstate highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 near Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island (near Fishers Landing, New York) at the Canadian border where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Ontario Highway 401, the main freeway leading from Windsor-Detroit and Toronto to Montreal.

Interstate 81 largely traces the path of the Appalachian Mountains, often paralleling its older U.S. highway counterpart, U.S. Route 11. While mostly rural, it is heavily used as a trucking corridor, often as a bypass of the more urban Interstate 95 to the east.

Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs

Contents

[edit] Route description

Lengths
mi km
TN 75 121
VA 323 520
WV 23 37
MD 11 18
PA 234 377
NY 183 294

[edit] Tennessee and Virginia

Main articles: Interstate 81 in: Tennessee | Virginia

Interstate 81 begins in Tennessee at Interstate 40 near Dandridge. The route parallels the Appalachian Mountains for much of its route through Tennessee and Virginia, serving such cities as Roanoke, Lexington, and Winchester. It parallels its older counterpart, U.S. Route 11, for its entire length in Virginia.

[edit] West Virginia and Maryland

Main articles: Interstate 81 in: West Virginia | Maryland

Interstate 81 briefly enters the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, serving the city of Martinsburg. It then traverses the state of Maryland at one of its narrowest points, passing through the "Hub City" of Hagerstown where it intersects with a large number of other routes.

[edit] Pennsylvania

Main article: Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania

Interstate 81 forms a major north-south corridor through the state of Pennsylvania, serving the boroughs of Chambersburg and Carlisle, where it meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Around the state capital of Harrisburg, the route forms the northeastern section of Pennsylvania's Capital Beltway. The route then travels northeast towards the Wyoming Valley, where it serves the cities of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, then heads north through the Endless Mountains region towards the state line.

[edit] New York

Main article: Interstate 81 in New York

Interstate 81 enters the state of New York near Binghamton. It parallels U.S. Route 11 in a north-south direction, serving the cities of Syracuse, where it meets the New York State Thruway, and Watertown. The route ends at the Canada border at the Thousand Islands Bridge, where it crosses the Saint Lawrence River to become Ontario Highway 137.

[edit] Intersections with other interstates

Approaching the I-78/I-81 interchange in Union Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania).
Approaching the I-78/I-81 interchange in Union Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania).

[edit] Auxiliary routes

I-81 looking southbound near milepost 245, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
I-81 looking southbound near milepost 245, Harrisonburg, Virginia.

There are three current child routes either providing access to, or bypassing, various cities along Interstate 81's route.

[edit] Current

[edit] Past

Auxiliary routes of Interstate 81
Current and Future (F) Former
I-181 Tennessee
I-381 Virginia
I-481 New York
I-581 Virginia

[edit] External links


Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink) Interstate Highway marker
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
Browse numbered routes
< PA 80 PA PA 82 >
< NY 80 NY NY 81 >