Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south

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

in the

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, often abbreviated as simply the East, is a macroregion of the United States located to the east of the Mississippi River. It includes 17–26 states and Washington, D.C., the national capital. As of 2011, the Eastern ...

. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

to the rolling farmlands of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. It largely supplants the old U.S. Route 21 (US 21) between

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, and

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

, as an important north–south corridor through the middle

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

. The southern terminus of I-77 is in

Cayce, South Carolina Cayce ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, along the Congaree River. Its population was 12,528 at the 2010 census and rose to 13,789 in the 2020 United States Census, and it is the third-most populated municipality in Lexington Count ...

, in

Lexington County Lexington County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 293,991. Its county seat and largest community is Lexington. The county was chartered in 1785 and was named in commemoration o ...

at the junction with I-26. The northern terminus is in Cleveland at the junction with

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 states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

. Other major cities that I-77 connects to include Columbia, South Carolina;

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

;

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

; and

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

. The

East River Mountain Tunnel The East River Mountain Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel that carries Interstate 77 (I-77) and U.S. Route 52 (US 52) through East River Mountain between Bluefield, West Virginia, and Rocky Gap, Virginia. History Construction began on Augus ...

, connecting

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and West Virginia, is one of only two instances in the U.S. where a mountain road tunnel crosses a state line. The other is the

Cumberland Gap Tunnel The Cumberland Gap Tunnel is a dual-bore, four lane vehicular tunnel that carries U.S. Route 25E under Cumberland Gap National Historical Park near the intersection of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. The tunnel consists of two separate bo ...

, connecting

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. I-77 is a snowbird route to the Southern U.S. for those traveling from the

Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of Northern America is a binational Canadian– American region centered on the Great Lakes that includes the U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and the Ca ...

Route description

, - , SC , , - , NC , , - , , VA , , - , WV , , - , OH , , - , Total ,

South Carolina

I-77 begins as an eight-lane highway at I-26 in the far southwestern part of the Columbia metropolitan area. In the Columbia area, I-77 offers access to Fort Jackson before meeting

I-20 I20, I 20 or I-20 may refer to: * Interstate 20, a highway in the southeastern United States * I-20 (form), a United States government document that provides supporting information for the issuance of a student visa or change of status * I-20 (rap ...

in the northeastern part of the city. This segment of I-77, combined with I-20 and I-26, form a

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

around Columbia, though it is not officially designated as such. After leaving the northern Columbia suburb of Blythewood, I-77 narrows to four lanes until it widens to eight lanes at Rock Hill from exit 77 to the North Carolina state line at I-485. The final section of the entire length of I-77 was completed in Columbia in 1995.

North Carolina

I-77-US21-Woodlawn-BillyGraham-OverheadSign

I-77 through North Carolina begins at the South Carolina state line at Pineville. It narrows to six lanes on the North Carolina side south of Charlotte and then widens to 8 and 10 lanes through downtown before entering the North Carolina

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

region. In Charlotte, it intersects

I-85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, n ...

as well as intersecting each of the loops of I-485 and I-277 (twice). North of Charlotte, it skirts

Lake Norman Lake Norman is an man-made lake, artificial fresh water lake in southwest North Carolina. The largest lake in the state, it was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Hydroelectric Station, Cowans Ford Dam by ...

where it narrows again to four lanes before passing through Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, and Mooresville. At Statesville, north of I-85, it intersects I-40 and US 70. Next, it crosses over US 421 in

Yadkin County Yadkin County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 37,214 at the 2020 census. Its county seat is Yadkinville. Yadkin County is included in the Winston-Salem, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...

and continues on through Elkin. The final intersection in the state is with a discontinuous section of

I-74 Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange with I-75 ...

near Mount Airy. I-77 in Charlotte is also known as the Bill Lee Freeway; this designation stretches from exit 6 (South Tryon Street/Woodlawn Road) in Charlotte to exit 33 (US 21 north), near Mooresville. A portion south of the city is called the General Younts Expressway. When I-77 crosses over I-85 (which runs in an east–west direction through the interchange), the northbound lanes are to the west of the southbound lanes. North Carolina completed its section of I-77 in 1975.

Virginia

I-77 through Virginia passes through two tunnels: the Big Walker and

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

mountain tunnels. For , I-77 and

I-81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Isla ...

overlap near Wytheville. This is a

wrong-way concurrency Wrong way may refer to: * a traffic sign to warn of wrong-way driving * nickname of Douglas Corrigan (1907–1995), an American aviator who flew east from New York to Ireland instead of west to California in 1938 * nickname of Roy Riegels (1908–1 ...

, where two roads run concurrent with each other but are designated in opposite directions. For its entire length in Virginia, I-77 is either parallel to or concurrent with US 52. It will have a concurrency with

throughout the state. On March 31, 2013, there was a nearly 100-car pileup on I-77 near Fancy Gap; as a result of that crash, electronic variable speed limit signs are now in place along that stretch of I-77. The speed limit can be adjusted according to driving conditions at any given time.

West Virginia

I-77 enters

through the

. At milepost 9, I-77 becomes cosigned with the

West Virginia Turnpike Interstate 77 (I-77) in the US state of West Virginia is a major north–south Interstate Highway. It extends for between Bluefield, West Virginia, Bluefield at the Virginia state line and Williamstown, West Virginia, Williamstown at the ...

for the next , a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

between

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

and Charleston. It is concurrent with I-64 to Charleston at Beckley. The speed limit is for most of the length, with a limit for the section between Marmet and the toll plaza near Pax. It enters Charleston via the Yeager Bridge before splitting off at a four-level junction with I-64. north of the city center, it junctions with I-79, before proceeding north to Ripley and Parkersburg. North of Charleston, I-77 is known as the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway.

Ohio

Entering from

at Marietta, I-77 passes through rolling Appalachian terrain. The

interchange Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

with I-70 at Cambridge is (or at least at one time was) thought to be the largest interchange in the world, covering over . I-77 continues north through Canton and then Akron, where it connects with I-76. The interchange with I-80, the Ohio Turnpike, between Akron and Cleveland was completed in December 2001; previously, traffic had to exit at State Route 21 (SR 21) to access the turnpike. I-77 ends at I-90 in Cleveland. I-77 is also known as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway in Ohio and the Willow Freeway in

Greater Cleveland The Cleveland metropolitan area, or Greater Cleveland as it is more commonly known, is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio, United States. According to the 2020 census results, the six-county Cleveland, OH ...

History

Junction list

;South Carolina : in Cayce : in Cayce : in Columbia : on the Woodfield– Dentsville CDP line : in Dentsville : south of Blythewood : on the Lesslie– Rock Hill line : in Rock Hill : north of

Fort Mill Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 24,521. Some businesses and residents in the ...

. The highways travel concurrently to

. ;North Carolina : in Charlotte : in Charlotte : in Charlotte : in Charlotte : in Charlotte : in Huntersville : in Cornelius. The highways travel concurrently to Mooresville. : southeast of Troutman : in Statesville : in Statesville : north of Statesville : west-northwest of Hamptonville : south-southeast of Jonesville. The highways travel concurrently to Elkin. : west-southwest of Pine Ridge. The highways travel concurrently to the

state line north-northwest of Pine Ridge. ;Virginia : in Woodlawn : in Fort Chiswell. The highways travel concurrently to Wytheville. : in Fort Chiswell. The highways travel concurrently to Wytheville. : west of Bland : in Rocky Gap : north-northwest of Rocky Gap. The highways travel concurrently to

Bluefield, West Virginia Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield micropolitan area extending into Virginia, which had a populatio ...

. ;West Virginia : east-southeast of

: south-southeast of Camp Creek : southeast of Crab Orchard. The highways travel concurrently to Charleston. : southeast of Snow Hill. The highways travel concurrently to Charleston. : northeast of Charleston : in Ripley. The highways travel concurrently to Silverton. : east of Parkersburg ;Ohio : in Marietta : south-southeast of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

: east of Cambridge : northeast of Cambridge : in Newcomerstown : in New Philadelphia. The highways travel concurrently to south-southeast of Strasburg. : in Canton. I-77/US 62 travels concurrently through Canton. : south of

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

: in Akron. I-76 and I-77 travel concurrently through Akron. : West of Akron : in Richfield : on the Richfield– Brecksville line : on the

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

–

Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south ...

line : in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

: in Cleveland : in Cleveland

Auxiliary routes

* I-277 –

References

External links

* {{Authority control 77