Interstate 77 (I-77) in

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 ...

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. T ...

that runs for through the state. The highway crosses into Ohio on the

Marietta–Williamstown Interstate Bridge The Marietta–Williamstown Interstate Bridge is a four-lane truss bridge carries Interstate 77 between Williamstown, West Virginia and Marietta, Ohio. The bridge was completed in 1967 and it was rehabilitated in 2003. History See also *Lis ...

over the Ohio River near Marietta. The northern terminus is 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 ...

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, ...

Route description

Entering from

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 ...

at Marietta via the

, I-77 passes through rolling Appalachian terrain. The interchange with I-70 at

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 ...

was noted on the cover of the 1969

Ohio Department of Highways The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT; ) is the administrative department of the Ohio state government responsible for developing and maintaining all state and U.S. roadways outside of municipalities and all Interstates except the Ohio T ...

(ODOT) official highway map as being the "World's Largest Interchange", covering over of land. Other major Interstate Highways I-77 connects with in Ohio are I-76,

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as o ...

(Ohio Turnpike), and I-90. The interchange with the Ohio Turnpike was completed December 3, 2001, providing direct access; previously, traffic had to exit at State Route 21 (SR 21) to get to the Turnpike. 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 ...

History

Planned route

Originally planned to run from

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

, to

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 ...

, I-77 appeared on the original Interstate System route numbering plan in 1957. The part of I-94 from

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, northeast to Port Huron was originally planned as I-77 in 1957; the current I-77 was I-79. When the current I-79 was added in

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, Ma ...

, the I-77 designation was moved to its current route, but the I-77 in Michigan also remained in the 1958 numbering plan, so the designation followed

and

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

in order to keep it continuous; the designation north of I-77's westward turn was to have been Interstate 177 (I-177). I-77 in Michigan later became part of I-94. Initially, US Route 21 (US 21) traveled from Marietta to Cleveland. In 1962, I-77 debuted in

Akron 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 pro ...

and

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 ...

. Soon, it drastically grew in the process as time went on. By the end of 1971, US 21 was decommissioned in Ohio in favor of I-77 which was nearly complete. It was eventually finished in 1976 with the final connection being opened in

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 ...

Exit list

Auxiliary routes

Interstate 277 is a

spur route A spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important road such as a freeway, Interstate Highway, or motorway. A bypass or beltway should not be considered a true spur route as it typically reconnects with another or the s ...

connecting I-77 to I-76.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Interstate 77 In Ohio 77 Transportation in Washington County, Ohio Transportation in Noble County, Ohio Transportation in Guernsey County, Ohio Transportation in Tuscarawas County, Ohio Transportation in Stark County, Ohio Transportation in Summit County, Ohio Transportation in Cuyahoga County, Ohio