Interstate 77 in North Carolina

Interstate 77
Route information
Maintained by NCDOT
Length: 102.31 mi[1] (164.65 km)
Major junctions
South end: I-77 / US 21 at the SC line near Fort Mill, SC
  I-485 in Charlotte (twice)
I-85 in Charlotte
I-40 in Statesville
I-74 near Mount Airy
North end: I-77 at the VA line near Mount Airy
Location
Counties: Mecklenburg, Iredell, Yadkin, Surry
Highway system

Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Main • Auxiliary • Business

North Carolina Highway System

US 76 NC 78

In the U.S. state of North Carolina, Interstate 77 (I-77) is a 106-mile (171 km) Interstate Highway, which serves the city of Charlotte and the Western Piedmont.

Contents

Route description

Interstate 77 begins at the South Carolina state line, near Fort Mill, in concurrency with US 21. I-77 goes through the city of Charlotte as a major north-south corridor, connecting the Center City with the suburbs of Pineville, Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson. Between I-485 (exit 2) and I-277 (exit 9), the freeway is 6-lanes that typically experience slow traffic congestion during weekday rush hours (7:00-9:30 a.m./4:00-6:30 p.m.). Just north of Center City, I-77 makes a unique interchange configuration with Interstate 85, with north and southbound lanes crisscrossing briefly. Between I-85 (exit 13) and I-485 (exit 19), I-77 features the state's only HOV lanes. After I-485, I-77 reduces to 5-lanes (3 lanes northbound), then to 4-lanes after Gilead Road (exit 23).

At Lake Norman, I-77 crosses into Iredell County and becomes a more rural interstate, passing by Mooresville and then Statesville, where it intersects with Interstate 40. After Statesville, I-77 becomes a full-fledged rural interstate, with only the town of Elkin serving as a possible rest stop in the area; the speed limit of entire stretch is 70 mph (110 km/h). The final 5 miles (8.0 km) of I-77 is concurrent with Interstate 74 to the Virginia state line (where I-74 ends), all within view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.[2]

HOV lanes

Interstate 77 has the the first and only High occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes in North Carolina, located in Mecklenburg County.[3] They are open 24-hour/7 days a week and are closed for general traffic unless otherwise posted. They are identified by a "diamond" symbol and overhead signs and are located on the leftmost lanes. Vehicles with two or more occupants can use the HOV lanes. Emergency vehicles when responding to emergencies, mass transit vehicles, privately-owned buses, and motorcycles may also use the lanes. Violators are subject to a fine of up to $100 plus court costs; two points against their driver's licenses for each HOV infraction.[3]

The northbound HOV lane begins north of I-85 interchange (exit 13) and ends north of the W.T. Harris Boulevard interchange (exit 18).[3]
The southbound HOV lane begins south of the W.T. Harris Boulevard interchange (exit 18) ends south of the exit ramp for I-277 (exit 11) and features a bypass of the I-85 interchange.[3]

Spur routes

Alternate names

Though the highway is commonly known as "Interstate 77" or "I-77" throughout the state, the highway does have other known names it uses locally in areas.


History

Interstate 77 was not part of the original plans for 714 miles (1,149 km) of the nation's Interstate Highway System in North Carolina when they were conveyed in 1956 by the then-North Carolina State Highway Commission. I-77 was added in 1957, increasing the state's mileage to 776 miles (1,249 km).[7]

On August 4, 1959, the commission selected the routing of I-77 to run between Interstate 85 in Charlotte and a point on the Virginia border Elkin. That would change in late 1960, when the commission voted to route the highway just west of Mount Airy, saying the route would serve the most people.

With construction beginning in the 1960s, I-77 would gain additional mileage in October 1964 when a two-mile (3 km) extension was granted by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads. Instead of ending at I-85, I-77 now ended at Independence Boulevard (U.S. 74) in downtown Charlotte. Another extension was granted in the late 1960s that extended I-77 from Independence Boulevard to the South Carolina border. The latest extension also included a relocation of U.S. 21 from the city's surface streets to the new interstate.

I-77 opened to traffic in the following segments:

By 1972, I-77 was open from Exit 28 (NC 73) to Exit 73 north of Elkin. The last two sections of the highway to open to traffic was the stretch from Cornelius to Charlotte in 1975 and from Exit 73 to the Virginia state line in 1977.

In April 2001, I-74 was overlapped with I-77 from the Virginia state line to exit 101.[8]

On December 17, 2004, I-77 was widen to six-lanes with HOV lanes, between I-85 to the proposed location of I-485 (later opened December 8, 2008).[3]

Future

Interstate 77 is planned to have its existing southbound travel lanes widen (not add more lanes), between I-277/NC 16 (Brookshire Freeway) to I-85 in Charlotte. Estimated to cost $16.5 Million, the purpose of the project is to widen the lanes back to proper Interstate standards as agreed with FHWA, when NCDOT were given design exceptions when adding the HOV lanes in 2004. Construction is tentatively scheduled for 2016.[9]

Currently in the development stage, HOT lanes are planned to be added along Interstate 77. The project is broken into two parts: the first is constructing a new travel lanes from I-485 interchange (exit 19) to West Catawba Avenue (exit 28), it has an estimated cost of $57 million with construction beginning in 2014. The second would be to convert the existing HOV lanes from Brookshire Boulevard (exit 11) to I-485 (exit 19). After completion, drivers and motorcyclists can still use the lane for free if qualified under HOV rules, non-compliant drivers will be charged a toll.[10][11][12][13]

The I-40/I-77 interchange (exit 51) is planned for major upgrade in three phases: reconstruction of nearby intersections on both interstates, reconstruction and widening of I-40/I-77 interchange, and construction of fly-overs at interchange. The estimated cost for the entire project is $251 million with construction to begin in March, 2012. It will replace the current interchange, which was built in the late 1960s.[14][15][16]

Exit list

County Location # Destinations Notes
Mecklenburg Charlotte 1A Westinghouse Boulevard Formerly exit 1 before August, 2010
1B I-485 – Huntersville, Pineville Formerly exit 2 (southbound) before August, 2010
3 Arrowood Road Formerly exit 2 (northbound) before August, 2010
4 Nations Ford Road
5 Tyvola Road
6A Woodlawn Road south – Queens University To Pfeiffer University
6B NC 49 (South Tryon Street) / Billy Graham Parkway To Billy Graham Library
7
To NC 49 / Clanton Road
8
To NC 160 / Remount Road
Northbound exit and southbound entrance
9A NC 160 (West Boulevard) Southbound exit and northbound entrance
9B I-277 north (John Belk Freeway) / US 74 east
9C US 74 west (Wilkinson Boulevard)
10A US 29 / NC 27 (Morehead Street) Northbound exit is via exit 9C
10 Trade Street, Fifth Street Signed as exits 10B (Trade Street east) and 10C (Trade Street west, Fifth Street) southbound
11A I-277 south / NC 16 south (Brookshire Freeway east) – Downtown Charlotte
11B NC 16 north (Brookshire Freeway west) Northbound left exit
12 Lasalle Street
13 I-85 – Greensboro, Spartanburg Signed as exits 13A (north) and 13B (south)
16
US 21 north (Sunset Road) to NC 115
North end of US 21 overlap; signed as exits 16A (north/east) and 16B (west)
To Historic Latta Plantation/Carolina Raptor Center
18 NC 24 (W.T. Harris Boulevard) To Northlake Mall
Huntersville 19
I-485 south to NC 115 – Spartanburg
Signed as exits 19A (to NC 115) and 19B (I-485 south)
23 Gilead Road – Huntersville
25 NC 73 – Concord, Huntersville
Cornelius 28 US 21 south – Cornelius, Lake Norman South end of US 21 overlap
Davidson 30 Davidson, Davidson College
Iredell Mooresville 31 Langtree Road
33 US 21 north – Lake Norman North end of US 21 overlap
Brawley School Road Future exit (under construction, to be completed 2013)[17]
36 NC 150 – Lincolnton, Mooresville
42 US 21 / NC 115 – Troutman
45 Troutman, Barium Springs
Statesville 49A US 70 (G. Bagnal Boulevard)
49B Downtown Statesville
50 East Broad Street – Downtown Statesville
51 I-40 – Winston-Salem, Hickory Signed as exits 51A (east) and 51B (west)
54 US 21 – Turnersburg
59 Tomlin Mill Road – Olin
65 NC 901 – Harmony, Union Grove
Yadkin 73 US 421 – Yadkinville, Winston-Salem, Wilkesboro, Boone Signed as exits 73A (south) and 73B (north)
79
US 21 south / US 21 Bus. north – Jonesville
South end of US 21 Byp. overlap
Jonesville 82 NC 67 – Jonesville, Boonville, Elkin
Surry Elkin 83
US 21 Byp. north – Sparta, Roaring Gap
North end of US 21 Byp. overlap; southbound exit is via exit 85
85
NC 268 Byp. – Elkin
93 Zephyr Road – Dobson
Oak Grove 100 NC 89 – Mount Airy, Galax
Pine Ridge 101 I-74 east – Mount Airy, Winston-Salem South end of I-74 overlap
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
     Concurrency terminus     Closed/Former     Incomplete access     Unopened

See also

References

  1. ^ Route Log - Main Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 1
  2. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – I-77 in NC (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=I-77+N&daddr=I-77+N&hl=en&geocode=Ff6hFwIdDBct-w%3BFffiLQId6e4v-w&mra=me&mrcr=0&mrsp=1,0&sz=19&sll=36.561482,-80.743844&sspn=0.001609,0.003484&ie=UTF8&ll=35.724218,-79.524536&spn=3.330966,7.13562&z=8. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 
  3. ^ a b c d e "NCDOT: HOV Lanes". http://www.ncdot.org/projects/hov/. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
  4. ^ "NCDOT: NC Blue Star Memorial Marker Locations". http://www.ncdot.gov/programs/environmental/bluestar/. Retrieved 2011-06-19. 
  5. ^ a b c "North Carolina Memorial Highways and other Named Facilities". http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruct/traffic/TEPPL/Topics/N-01/Sorted%20by%20County.pdf. Retrieved 2011-06-19. 
  6. ^ "General Paul R. Younts Expressway". http://www.hmdb.org/Marker.asp?Marker=16789. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 
  7. ^ North Carolina Department of Transportation. Facts: Interstate 77, NCDOT Web site. Accessed April 21, 2007.
  8. ^ "I-74 Segment 1". http://web.duke.edu/~rmalme/i74seg1.html. Retrieved 2011-01-02. 
  9. ^ "NCDOT: I-77 Improvements - Mecklenburg County". http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/i77Improvements/. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 
  10. ^ "NCDOT: Project I-5405". http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/search/details.html#id=1289. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
  11. ^ "HOV lanes will change to toll lanes on I-77". http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/05/12/2290470/i-77-hov-lanes-will-change-to.html. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
  12. ^ "I-77 HOV lanes in NC could add toll". http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/10/04/3419640/i-77-hov-lanes-in-nc-could-add.html. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
  13. ^ "I-77 Feasibility Study HOV-to-HOT Lanes Conversion". http://www.mumpo.org/PDFs/Agenda_Minutes/2010/Presentations/TCC_2010_05_May_Presentation_04.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
  14. ^ "NCDOT: Project I-3819". http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/search/details.html#id=1111. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
  15. ^ "DOT Report: Interchange At I-40, I-77 To Cost $250M". http://www.wsoctv.com/news/28420901/detail.html. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
  16. ^ "The Construction of I-40/I-77 Interchange". http://www.wsoctv.com/download/2011/0701/28420941.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 
  17. ^ "NCDOT: Brawley School Road Widening Project in Iredell County". http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/BrawleySchoolRoad/. Retrieved 2011-11-01. 

External links

Interstate 77
Previous state:
South Carolina
North Carolina Next state:
Virginia