Interstate 77 in West Virginia

In the U.S. state of West Virginia, Interstate 77 (I-77) is a major north–south 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.

History

Exit list

References