Interstate 77 (I-77) in the US state of

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

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 ...

serving Hillsville, Wytheville, and Bland. Running parallel to US Route 52 (US 52), I-77 passes through the

Big Walker Mountain Tunnel The Big Walker Mountain Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia that carries Interstate 77 through and under Big Walker Mountain. It is located a few miles south of the town of Bland in Bland County and a ...

and

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 Ground ...

, the latter on the

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 ...

state line and one of only two land vehicular tunnels to cross a state line.

Route description

I-77 enters Virginia near

Mount Airy, North Carolina Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,611. History Mount Airy was settled in the 1750s as a stagecoach stop on the road between Winston-Salem, North Carolina ...

, while the highway continues south into North Carolina concurrently with a segment of the unfinished

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 ( Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interch ...

. The first exit is a folded diamond interchange with State Route 620 (SR 620). The route continues northeast toward Fancy Gap and passes under the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenan ...

, with access to it and the town provided by a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

with SR 775, which has a connection to US 52. Continuing northwest, the expressway reaches another diamond interchange with US 58/ US 221 (Carrollton Pike). The route has another interchange with SR 620 before folding onto

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 ...

. The route begins a

wrong-way concurrency A concurrency in a road network is an instance of one physical roadway bearing two or more different route numbers. When two roadways share the same right-of-way, it is sometimes called a common section or commons. Other terminology for a concur ...

with I-81 and US 11, with the northbound direction cosigned with southbound I-81 and US 11. US 52 joins this concurrency in an interchange. Continuing west, US 11 splits south to Wytheville's downtown and I-81 eventually splits west to head toward

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

. From here, US 52 resumes its parallel of the expressway and the highway intersects SR 61 near Rocky Gap. US 52 merges onto the freeway on the approach to the

, and the tunnel crosses into

, where the route continues.

History

I-77 was first opened in 1972 between I-81 in Wytheville and US 52 in Bland, which also included the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel. The Interstate was extended from Bland to the West Virginia border in 1974–1975; this extension included the East River Mountain Tunnel. In July 1977, I-77 was built between the North Carolina border and Fancy Gap, and, in December, it was extended from Fancy Gap to Poplar Camp. In 1978, I-77 was built between Poplar Camp and I-81. The Interstate existed in two separate segments until 1987, when the I-81/I-77 overlap between Wytheville and Fort Chiswell was built. I-77 in Fancy Gap has been the site of many fatal accidents, often due to fog and wind in the mountains. In November 2010, two people died as a result of a 75-vehicle pileup. On March 31, 2013, 17 crashes along I-77 led to a 95-vehicle pileup and resulted in three deaths. In September 2013, a pileup resulted in one death.

Exit list

References

External links

* {{state detail page browse, type=I, route=77, state=Virginia, statebefore=North Carolina, stateafter=West Virginia 77 Interstate 077 Interstate 077 Interstate 077 Virginia