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, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

in the eastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of

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 ...

to the rolling farmlands of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

and

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. It largely supplants the old US Route 21 (US 21) between Cleveland, Ohio, and

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the ci ...

, as an important north–south corridor through the middle Appalachians. 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. The 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 Co ...

, 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, and the 2021 population estimate was 300,137. Its county seat and largest town is Lexington. The county was chartered ...

at the junction with

I-26 I26 may refer to: * Interstate 26 Interstate 26 (I-26) is a main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Southeastern United States. Nominally east–west, as indicated by its even number, I-26 runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W ...

. 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 West, Great Plains, Midwest, ...

. Other major cities that I-77 connects to include

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

; Charleston, West Virginia; and

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

. 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 the communities of Bluefield, West Virginia, and Rocky Gap, Virginia. History Groundbreak ...

, connecting

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

and West Virginia, is one of only two instances in the United States where a mountain road tunnel crosses a state line. The other is the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, connecting

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

. I-77 is a

snowbird Snowbird is a common name for the dark-eyed junco (''Junco hyemalis''). Snowbird may also refer to: Places * Snowbird, Utah, an unincorporated area and associated ski resort * Snowbird Lake, a lake in the Northwest Territories, Canada *Snowbi ...

route to the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

for those traveling from the

Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canada, Canadian–United States, American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York (state), New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania ...

Route description

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

South Carolina

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

I-20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Bet ...

in the northeastern part of the city. This segment of I-77, combined with I-20 and I-26, form a beltway 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 Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

and then widens to 8 and 10 lanes through downtown before entering the North Carolina

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region. In Charlotte, it intersects I-85 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 the largest man-made body of fresh water in North Carolina. It was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Dam by Duke Energy. Geography Lake Norman is fed by the Catawba River, and drains ...

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 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

and US 70. Next, it crosses over US 421 in

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

and continues on through Elkin. The final intersection in the state is with a discontinuous section of I-74 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 Mountain Tunnel and the

. For , I-77 and I-81 overlap near

Wytheville Wytheville is a town in, and the county seat of, Wythe County, in southwestern Virginia, United States. It is named after George Wythe, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and mentor to Thomas Jefferson. Wytheville's p ...

. This is a wrong-way concurrency, where two roads run concurrent with each other but are designated in opposite directions. 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 a given time.

West Virginia

I-77 enters

through the

. At milepost 9, I-77 becomes cosigned with the West Virginia Turnpike for the next , a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemen ...

between Princeton and

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

. 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 Ripley may refer to: People and characters * Ripley (name) * ''Ripley'', the test mannequin aboard the first International Space Station space station Dragon 2 space test flight Crew Dragon Demo-1 * Ellen Ripley, a fictional character from the Ali ...

and

Parkersburg Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna met ...

. 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 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 United States Census results, the five-county ...

.Willow Freeway
from ''Encyclopedia of Cleveland History''

Junction list

;South Carolina : in Cayce : in Cayce : in

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

: on the Woodfield– Dentsville CDP line : in Dentsville : south of Blythewood : on the Lesslie– Rock Hill line : in Rock Hill : north of Fort Mill. 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 Chiswell , sometimes , is a small village at the southern end of Chesil Beach, in Underhill, on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. It is the oldest settlement on the island, having formerly been known as Chesilton. The small bay at Chiswell is ca ...

. The highways travel concurrently to

. : 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. ;West Virginia : east-southeast of Princeton : south-southeast of Camp Creek : southeast of Crab Orchard. The highways travel concurrently to

. : southeast of Snow Hill. The highways travel concurrently to Charleston. : northeast of Charleston : in

. The highways travel concurrently to Silverton. : east of

;Ohio : in Marietta : south-southeast of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

: east of Cambridge : northeast of Cambridge : in Newcomerstown : in New Philadelphia. The highways travel concurrently to south-southeast of Strasburg. : in

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

. I-77/US 62 travels concurrently through Canton. : south of Akron : in Akron. I-76 and I-77 travel concurrently through Akron. : West of Akron : in Richfield : on the Richfield–

Brecksville Brecksville is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb in the Greater Cleveland area. The city's population was 13,635 at the United States 2020 Census. History Brecksville was founded in 1811, four years after several me ...

line : on the

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, 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 s ...

–

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, an ...

line : in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

: in Cleveland : in Cleveland

Auxiliary routes

* I-277 – Charlotte * I-277 – Akron

References

External links

* {{Authority control 77