Interstate 77 in North Carolina

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Interstate 77
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
South end: I-77/US 21 at the SC line near Fort Mill, SC
Major
junctions:		 I-485 in Charlotte
I-85 in Charlotte
I-40 in Statesville
I-74 in Mount Airy
North end: I-77 at the VA line near Mount Airy
North Carolina highways
< US 76 NC 78 >

Interstate 77 through North Carolina begins at the South Carolina state line at Pineville within sight of the Carowinds theme park. It then belies its true scenic nature as it travels through the industrial south of Charlotte past the tall banking spires of downtown Charlotte before breaking through into the scenic rolling foothills of Piedmont North Carolina. In Charlotte it intersects Interstate 85 as well as twice intersecting each of the loops of Interstate 485 and Interstate 277.

North of Charlotte, it skirts Lake Norman at Davidson. Forty miles north of Interstate 85, at Statesville it intersects Interstate 40. The final intersection is with a discontinuous section of Interstate 74 near Mount Airy within sight of the southern Blue Ridge that Interstate 77 will climb shortly after leaving the state of North Carolina.

Contents

[edit] Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs:

[edit] History

Interstate 77 was not part of the original plans for 714 miles of the nation's Interstate Highway System in North Carolina when they were conveyed in 1956 by the then-North Carolina State Highway Commission. I-77 was added in 1957, increasing the state's mileage to 776 miles.[1]

On August 4, 1959, the commission selected the routing of I-77 to run between Interstate 85 in Charlotte and a point on the Virginia border Elkin. That would change in late 1960, when the commission voted to route the highway just west of Mount Airy, saying the route would serve the most people.

With construction beginning in the 1960s, I-77 would gain additional mileage in October 1964 when a two-mile extension was granted by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads. Instead of ending at I-85, I-77 now ended at Independence Boulevard (U.S. 74) in downtown Charlotte. Another extension was granted in the late 1960s that extended I-77 from Independence Boulevard to the South Carolina border. The latest extension also included a relocation of U.S. 21 from the city's surface streets to the new interstate.

I-77 opened to traffic in the following segments:

By 1972, I-77 was open from Exit 28 (NC 73) to Exit 73 north of Elkin. The last two sections of the highway to open to traffic was the stretch from Cornelius to Charlotte in 1975 and from Exit 73 to the Virginia state line in 1977.

[edit] Spur Routes

[edit] Exit list

Exits are numbered from south to north, in accordance with AASHTO guidelines.


County Location # Destinations Notes
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina-York County, South Carolina Border
Mecklenburg Charlotte 1 I-485 (James G. Martin Freeway) - Pineville, Westinghouse Boulevard Split into exits 1 (Westinghouse Blvd.) and 2 (I-485) southbound.
3 Arrowood Road Signed as Exit 2 northbound.
4 Nations Ford Road
5 Tyvola Road, Coliseum Area Exit to reach the Charlotte Coliseum.
6A-B
To NC 49 (Woodlawn Road) - Billy Graham Parkway		 Northbound exits.
Use exit 6B (Billy Graham Pkwy) to reach Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.
6A Woodlawn Road Southbound exit.
6B NC 49 South (Tryon Street) Southbound exit.
7 Clanton Road
8 Remount Road Northbound exit and southbound entrance only.
9A West Blvd Exits 9A, 9B and 9C are labeled Exit 9 on mainline.

Exit 9A is a southbound exit and northbound entrance only.

Exit 9B to reach downtown Charlotte.
9B
I-277/U.S. Route 74 East/To NC 27 (John Belk Freeway)
9C
To U.S. Route 29/U.S. 74 West (Wilkinson Boulevard)
10A U.S. 29/NC 27 (Morehead Street) Southbound exit and northbound entrance only.
10 5th Street, Trade Street West Split into exits 10C (Trade Street) and 10B (5th Street) southbound.
11A I-277 East/NC 16 East (Brookshire Freeway) Northbound exit.
Exit to reach downtown Charlotte.
11B NC 16 West (Brookshire Boulevard) Northbound exit.
11 Interstate 277/NC 16 (Brookshire Freeway) Southbound exit.
Exit to reach downtown Charlotte and Brookshire Boulevard.
12 Lasalle Street
13A I-85 North - Greensboro Exit to reach Statesville Road.
13B I-85 South - Spartanburg
16A-B U.S. Route 21 North (Sunset Road)
End concurrency
18 NC 24 (W.T. Harris Blvd, Reames Road)
24 (Future)
Interstate 485/To I-85 South - Spartanburg, SC		 I-485 under construction (Planned opening mid-2008)[1]
Huntersville 23 Gilead Road, Huntersville
25 NC 73 - Huntersville, Concord
Cornelius 28 U.S. 21 South - Lake Norman, Cornelius
Begin concurrency
30 Griffith Street, Davidson
Iredell 33 U.S. 21 North - Mooresville, Mount Mourne
End concurrency
36 NC 150 - Mooresville, Lincolnton
42 U.S. 21 - Troutman
45 Troutman, NC
Statesville 49A U.S. Route 70 (Garner Bagnal Blvd)
49B (Salisbury Road) - Statesville Downtown
50 Broad Street
51A
Interstate 40 east - Winston-Salem
51B
Interstate 40 west - Hickory
54 U.S. 21
59 Tomlin Mill Road - Olin
65 NC 901 - Union Grove, Harmony
Yadkin 73A U.S. Route 421 East - Yadkinville, Winston-Salem
73B U.S. 421 West - North Wilkesboro
Jonesville 79
U.S. 21 South/U.S. 21 Business - Jonesville		 U.S. 21 joins northbound and leaves southbound.
Begin concurrency
82 NC 67 - Elkin, Jonesville, Boonville
Yadkin-Surry county line
crosses the Yadkin River
Surry Elkin 83
U.S. 21 bypass - Roaring Gap, Sparta		 Northbound exit and southbound entrance only.
U.S. 21 leaves northbound and joins southbound.
85 NC 268 (C.C. Camp Road) - Elkin
93 Zephyr Road, Dobson
Mount Airy 100 NC 89 - Mount Airy, Galax
101 Interstate 74 East - Winston-Salem I-74 joins northbound and leaves southbound.
Begin concurrency
Surry County, North Carolina-Carroll County, Virginia Border
continues northward into Virginia
ends

[edit] References

  1. ^ North Carolina Department of Transportation. Facts: Interstate 77, NCDOT Web site. Accessed April 21, 2007.

[edit] External links

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Major highways of Metro Charlotte


Interstate 77
Previous state:
South Carolina		 North Carolina Next state:
Virginia