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, 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 ...

, 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 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 ...

, north to

Pennsylvania Route 5 Pennsylvania Route 5 (PA 5) is a westward continuation of New York State Route 5 (NY 5). Located in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States, it runs from North East, Pennsylvania at the New York-Pennsylvania border ...

(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. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

. It is a primary thoroughfare through western

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and

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 ...

and makes up part of an important corridor to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, and the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

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

Greater Pittsburgh Greater Pittsburgh is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania, United States. The region includes Allegheny County, Pittsburgh's urban core county and economic hub, and seven adjacent Pennsylvania cou ...

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 39th Pennsylvania governor.

Route description

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

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau ( ) 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 into the unglacia ...

. 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 mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, 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 no ...

. 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), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

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, ...

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

West Virginia

I-79 begins at a modified full Y interchange with

along the northwest bank of the Elk River just northeast of Charleston. (Instead of the expected treatment of I-77 as the primary route at this interchange, the following traffic movements are found: northbound I-77 through traffic curves to the left, while traffic to northbound I-79 exits right; southbound I-77 through traffic curves to the right and merges on the right with traffic from southbound I-79, while traffic to northbound I-79 both exits and merges on the left; southbound I-79 traffic merges on the left with traffic from southbound I-77, while traffic to northbound I-77 both exits and merges on the left.) 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 fir ...

, I-79 is located in the

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

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 watershed has been a significant industrial region of th ...

. It crosses the Elk River at Frametown and again at

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 List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

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 ...

Hydrologic Units (Watersheds) GIS data
/ref>

Pennsylvania

I-79 enters

from

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

. South of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, it traverses mostly rural Greene County. 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 I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 appr ...

in the Washington area before heading north toward

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. I-79 is carried over the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

by the Neville Island Bridge, approximately northwest of Pittsburgh.

I-279 Interstate 279 (I-279), locally referred to as Parkway North, is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that lies entirely within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Its southern end is at I-376 at the Fort Pitt Bridge in Pittsburgh, a ...

merges into I-79 in Franklin Park, just south of

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

between mile markers 71 and 72. The freeway into Pittsburgh requires drivers to use I-376 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 pantries, pantr ...

, Lawrence,

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

, Crawford, and

Erie Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

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 states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

connects from I-79 to

, and the Canadian border. Around milemarker 100 on the northbound side are two

ghost ramp An unused highway is a highway or highway ramp that was partially or fully constructed, but went unused or was later closed or part of a future expansion. An unused roadway or ramp may often be referred to as an abandoned road, ghost road, hi ...

s that were specifically built for the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

in order to have access to

Moraine State Park Moraine State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Brady, Clay, Franklin, Muddy Creek, and Worth townships in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The park includes a man-made lake, Lake Arthur, formed by impounding Muddy Creek, which is and ...

without having to travel on US 422 for the

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

and

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, 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 (no ...

National Scout Jamborees, which were held at Moraine. The ramps were permanently closed after the 1977 event but remain visible under encroaching vegetation.

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 memb ...

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

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike, sometimes shortened to Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road which is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in Pennsylvania. It runs for across the southern part of the st ...

north to

and would have included a lateral connection between

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 ...

and

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

, what was later built as

. The Southwestern Extension, authorized in 1955, was to run south from the main line near

, where it connects with an extension of 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 ...

. Except for the section between Washington and

, 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. *

: 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 Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 17,286 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, ninth-most populous city in th ...

, has since been four-laned as

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

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 in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

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 the U.S. state of West Virginia. The Department of Transportation serves an umbrella organization for four subsidiary agencies which ar ...

. 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, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River an ...

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 ( , ), sometimes 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 nor ...

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 * W ...

). 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 (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

was widened to handle the increased load. On the same day, two lanes opened from exit 155 ( Osage) 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 Ohio State Route 32, State Route 32 from the eastern Cincinnati suburbs until a point west of Albany, Ohio, Albany, where it becomes c ...

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 Amma or AMMA may refer to: Acronym * Amhara Mass Media Agency (created in 1993), a media organisation in Amhara Region in Ethiopia * All Malaysia Malayalee Association * American Mask Manufacturers Association * American Medical Marijuana Assoc ...

) 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 I-77 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. I-79 was completely rebuilt from the West Virginia state line to Erie from 1991 to 1993. Pavement was rebuilt bridge decks replaced, and rest area rebuilt. Milepost based exit numbers were introduced to the Pennsylvania portion in 2001. In 2000, construction began on the interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Cranberry. It was opened to traffic in 2004. 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 —originally Greater Pittsburgh Airport and later Greater Pittsburgh International Airport—is a civil-military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Abou ...

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. During 2010, PennDOT undertook a $20.8 million improvement of I-79, Neville Island Bridge as well as other intersections. On December 22, 2010, WVDOT competed construction on a new interchange to serve Route 173. In 2010, construction began on improvements to exit 88. This was competed in December 2012. Construction began in 2011 on improvements to the interchange with Interstate 70 in South Strabane. They were competed in Summer 2013. In 2020, a new safety system went into effect to better warn motorists about the sharp curvature between the PA 60 interchange and PA 51 interchange. Construction of the PA 576 interchange was completed on June 24, 2022. This involved construction of a new underpass. In 2025, WVDOT expects to compete a six-lane widening between Harrison County and the Pennsylvania state line.https://transportation.wv.gov/communications/PressRelease/Pages/Work_on_Interstate_79_widening_and_bridge_projects_nearing_completion_in_Harrison_Marion_and_Monongalia_counties.aspx

Exit list

Auxiliary routes

* I-179 was a spur from

north to Erie, now absorbed into I-79 *

heads southeast from I-79 in

's northern suburbs to I-376 in

. *

I-579 Interstate 579 (I-579) is a north–south Interstate Highway entirely within Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The highway is long. I-579 is also known as the Crosstown Boulevard since it crosses the backside of Downtown Pittsburgh. The northern term ...

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 (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of the city. Some sections are part of Pennsylvania Route 885. The ro ...

just east of Downtown Pittsburgh.

References

External links