Interstate 79 (I-79) is an

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

in the eastern United States, designated from

I-77 Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 2020 census and an estimated population of 48,018 in 2021. The Charlesto ...

, north to

Pennsylvania Route 5 Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5) is a westward continuation of New York State Route 5 (NY 5) in Pennsylvania. It runs from North East, Pennsylvania at the New York-Pennsylvania border to Springfield Township in western Erie County, for a total of ...

(PA 5) and PA 290 in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 at ...

. It is a primary thoroughfare through western

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mary ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

and makes up part of an important corridor to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Southe ...

, and the

Canadian border Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

. Major metropolitan areas connected by I-79 include Charleston and Morgantown in West Virginia and

Greater Pittsburgh Greater Pittsburgh is a populous region centered around its largest city and economic hub, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The region encompasses Pittsburgh's urban core county, Allegheny, and six adjacent Pennsylvania counties: Armstrong, Beaver, ...

and Erie in Pennsylvania. In West Virginia, I-79 is known as the Jennings Randolph Expressway, named for the West Virginia representative and senator. In the three most northern counties, it is signed as part of the High Tech Corridor. For most of its Pennsylvania stretch, it is known as the Raymond P. Shafer Highway, named for the Pennsylvania governor.

Route description

, - , , , - , , , - , Total , Except at its northern end, I-79 is located on the

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divided ...

. Despite the somewhat rugged terrain, the road is relatively flat. Most of the highway is at an elevation of about above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised ...

, with some lower areas near both ends and higher areas near

Sutton, West Virginia Sutton is a town in Braxton County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 876 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Braxton County. Sutton is situated at a center of transportation in West Virginia. Interstate 79, a major nor ...

. In the hillier areas, this flatness is achieved by curving around hills, along ridges, and in or partway up river valleys.

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States government. The scientists of the USGS study th ...

topographic map In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but histori ...

s and aerial photos, accessed via

Terraserver-USA Microsoft Research Maps (MSR Maps) was a free online repository of public domain aerial imagery and topographic maps provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The site was a collaboration between Microsoft Research (MSR), Bing Maps, an ...

From Sutton north, I-79 generally parallels the path of US Route 19 (US 19).

West Virginia

I-79 begins at a three-way directional Y interchange with

along the northwest bank of the Elk River just northeast of Charleston. For its first , to a point just south of

Flatwoods Flatwoods, pineywoods, pine savannas and longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystem are terms that refer to an ecological community in the southeastern coastal plain of North America. Flatwoods are an ecosystem maintained by wildfire or prescribed fire a ...

, I-79 is located in the watershed of the Elk River, which drains into the

Kanawha River The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its valley has been a significant industrial region of the stat ...

. It crosses the Elk River twice—at Frametown and

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a location * Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire * Sut ...

—and never strays more than about from it.

National Atlas of the United States The ''National Atlas of the United States'' was an atlas published by the United States Department of the Interior from 1874 to 1997. Older editions were printed, but the most recent edition was available online. Since it is a publication of t ...

Hydrologic Units (Watersheds) GIS data

Pennsylvania

I-79 enters Pennsylvania after leaving

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as the home of West Virginia Universit ...

. South of Washington, I-79 traverses the mostly rural Greene County area. Between milemarkers 34 and 38, I-79 overlaps

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the c ...

in the Washington area before heading north toward

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylv ...

. I-79 is carried over the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illi ...

by the Neville Island Bridge, approximately northwest of Pittsburgh. The freeway into Pittsburgh requires drivers to use

I-376 Interstate 376 (I-376) is a major auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System in the US state of Pennsylvania, located within the Allegheny Plateau. It runs from I-80 near Sharon south and east to a junction with the Pennsylvania Tur ...

while I-79 completely bypasses the city. Beyond the Pittsburgh area, I-79 traverses more rural areas in

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some al ...

, Lawrence,

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trade ...

, Crawford, and

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

counties before arriving at its termination point in

. In Erie,

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, an ...

provides an important connection from I-79 to

, and the Canadian border. Ghost ramp I-79

Around milemarker 100 on the northbound side are two

ghost ramp Ghost Ramp is an American record label based in Los Angeles. It was founded by Wavves frontman Nathan Williams. The label started as a music blog, later expanding into a record label. It currently has nine artists signed, including Wavves and his s ...

s that were specifically built for the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

in order to have access to Moraine State Park without having to travel on US 422 for the

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

and

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic Re ...

National Scout Jamborees, which were held at Moraine. The ramps were permanently closed after the 1977 event but remain visible under encroaching vegetation. I-79 was completely rebuilt in the Pittsburgh area in the early 1990s.

History

The

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...

authorized the

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) is an agency created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate, and maintain the Pennsylvania Turnpike (both the mainline and the Northeast Extension). The commission consists of five members. Four membe ...

to build two extensions in the 1950s. The Northwestern Extension, authorized in 1953, was to stretch from the main

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike) is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for across the state. The turnpike's we ...

north to Erie and would have included a lateral connection between

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

(later built as

). The Southwestern Extension, authorized in 1955, was to run south from the main line near Pittsburgh to West Virginia, connecting there with an extension of the

West Virginia Turnpike West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

. Except for the section between Washington and the Pittsburgh area, which was included as part of

, the first portion of I-79 to be added to the plans was north from Pittsburgh to Erie, along the US 19 corridor. In September 1955, two short urban portions were designated: * I-179: A spur from I-90 north to Erie, currently absorbed into I-79 * I-279: A western bypass of Pittsburgh, connecting I-70 with I-80S (now I-76); it and I-79 later swapped designations The number 79 was assigned in 1958, and an extension south along I-70 to Washington and beyond to Charleston was approved on October 18, 1961. This extension also paralleled US 19 to near

, where it turned westerly to reach Charleston. (The part of US 19 from Sutton south to

Beckley, West Virginia Beckley is a city in and the county seat of Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. It was founded on April 4, 1838. This city is the home of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology or West Virginia University, Beckley Campus. ...

, has since been four-laned as Corridor L of the

Appalachian Development Highway System The Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) is a series of highway corridors in the Appalachia region of the eastern United States. The routes are designed as local and regional routes for improving economic development in the historica ...

.) On December 21, 1967, the first section of I-79 in West Virginia, between exits 125 (Saltwell Road) and 132 (South Fairmont), opened to traffic. This section bypassed part of West Virginia Route 73 (WV 73) between

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonn ...

and Fairmont. Another opened in July 1968, extending the highway on a bypass of downtown Fairmont to exit 137 (East Park Avenue). It was further extended toward Morgantown on October 15, 1970, bypassing more of WV 73 to exit 146 (Goshen Road) south of that city.Release Date Report.

West Virginia Department of Transportation The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) is the state agency responsible for transportation in West Virginia. The Department of Transportation serves an umbrella organization for seven subsidiary agencies which are directly respons ...

. August 2003. On June 29, 1970, the swap of I-79 and I-279 was approved. At the same time, I-76 was extended west from

Downtown Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River whose ...

over former I-79 to the new location of I-79 west of Pittsburgh, so I-279 only ran north from Downtown Pittsburgh. On December 3, 1971, I-76 was rerouted to bypass Pittsburgh, and I-279 was extended to I-79 utilizing the former section of I-76. The changes took effect on October 2, 1972. On June 29, 1973, I-79 was extended from West Virginia exit 146 to exit 148 ( I-68), where, at one point, traffic was forced onto the newly opened west end of Corridor E (now I-68) to exit 1. A further extension of , including the Uffington Bridge over the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-cen ...

southwest of Morgantown, was opened on August 30, 1973, leading north to exit 155 ( Star City). This completed I-79 from north of Bridgeport to north of Morgantown. To the south of Bridgeport, the first two sections were both opened on December 22, 1971. One of these ran from exit 51 ( Frametown) to exit 62 (Sutton), and the other from exit 105 ( Jane Lew) to exit 115 ( Nutter Fort). On September 19, 1973, another stretch was opened, from exit 105 (Jane Lew) south to exit 99 (

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia ...

). In 1973, significant portions of the Interstate were completed. I-79 opened from exit 62 to exit 99. Another , from exit 67 (

) north to exit 91 ( Roanoke), opened on November 28, 1973, along with the section from exit 115 north to exit 117 ( Anmoore), completing the route between Frametown and Morgantown except in the Bridgeport area. A extension from exit 51 south to exit 46 ( Servia) opened on February 1, 1974, and County Route 11 to WV 4 near

Duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ta ...

was widened to handle the increased load. On the same day, two lanes opened from exit 155 (

Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage". Osage can also refer to: * Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation * Osage (Unicode b ...

) north to the state line. On October 16, 1974, two pieces of I-79 were opened: the other two lanes of the from exit 155 to the state line and between exits 117 (Anmoore) and 125 (north of Bridgeport). On the same day, the eastern end of

Corridor D In the United States, Corridor D is part of the Appalachian Development Highway System. In Ohio, it follows State Route 32 from the eastern Cincinnati suburbs until a point west of Albany, where it becomes concurrent with U.S. Route 50. After ...

and the western end of Corridor E, both connecting to I-79 (at exits 119 and 148), were opened. This completed I-79 in West Virginia north of exit 46 (Servia); it was extended south to exit 25 ( Amma) in late November and to US 119 north of Clendenin (exit 19) on November 13, 1975. It was opened from exit 19 to exit 9 ( Elkview) on November 18, 1977, and finally completed to

in 1979.

On July 25, 1975, I-79 was opened between exits 1 and 14 in Pennsylvania. The last piece of I-79 between West Virginia and Erie—the Neville Island Bridge over the

—opened on September 3, 1976. In 1984, the route was extended about further to the north, with the opening of a new segment between US 20 and PA 5 in Erie. In late 2008, the missing ramps of the I-79/I-376 interchange (PA 60 was designated as the route for southbound traffic seeking to go to

Pittsburgh International Airport Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, is a civil–military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Located about 10 miles (15 km) west of downtown Pittsbu ...

and for airport traffic seeking to go northbound on I-79) were completed. In June 2009, I-376 was extended west and north of Downtown Pittsburgh, and I-279 was truncated back to the section only running from Downtown Pittsburgh north to I-79.

Exit list

Auxiliary routes

* I-279 heads southeast from I-79 in

's northern suburbs to

. * I-579 heads south from I-279 in Pittsburgh's North Side to the Liberty Bridge and the

Boulevard of the Allies The Boulevard of the Allies is a mostly four-lane road in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, connecting Downtown Pittsburgh with the Oakland neighborhood of the city. Because of its lengthy name, locals sometimes refer to it as simply "The Boulevard ...

just east of Downtown Pittsburgh.

References

External links