Interstate 77 in Virginia

Interstate 77
Interstate 77
	I-77 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by VDOT
Length	66.27 mi (106.65 km)
Existed	1972–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-74 / I-77 at the North Carolina state line
	US 58 / US 221 near Hillsville; I-81 / US 11 near Wytheville; US 52 various times between Wytheville and Rocky Gap;
North end	I-77 / US 52 at the West Virginia state line
Location
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Counties	Carroll, Wythe, Bland
Highway system
	Interstate Highway System; Main; Auxiliary; Suffixed; Business; Future; Virginia Routes; Interstate; US; Primary; Secondary; Byways; History; HOT lanes;

Interstate 77 (I-77) in the US state of Virginia is a 67-mile (108 km) north–south Interstate Highway serving Hillsville, Wytheville, and Bland. Running parallel to US Route 52 (US 52), I-77 passes through the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel and East River Mountain Tunnel, the latter on the West Virginia state line and one of only two land vehicular tunnels to cross a state line. It is planned to overlap with the proposed I-74 in the future.^[4]

Route description

View south along I-77 just south of the East River Mountain Tunnel in Bland County

I-77 enters Virginia near Mount Airy, North Carolina, while the highway continues south into North Carolina concurrently with a segment of the unfinished I-74. The first exit is a folded diamond interchange with State Route 620 (SR 620).^[5] The route continues northeast toward Fancy Gap and passes under the Blue Ridge Parkway, with access to it and the town provided by a diamond interchange 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.

The route begins a wrong-way concurrency 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^[6] and I-81 eventually splits west to head toward Bristol. From here, US 52 resumes its parallel of the expressway and the highway intersects SR 61 near Rocky Gap. Near Bland, the interstate enters the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel, and north of Bland, US 52 merges onto the freeway on the approach to the East River Mountain Tunnel, and the tunnel crosses into West Virginia, 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[7] On March 31, 2013, 17 crashes along I-77 led to a 95-vehicle pileup and resulted in three deaths.^[8]^[9] In September 2013, a pileup resulted in one death.^[10]

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Carroll		0.00	0.00		I-77 south / I-74 east – Charlotte	North Carolina state line
		0.94	1.51	1	SR 620
		8.57	13.79	8	SR 148 / SR 775 to US 52 – Fancy Gap	To Blue Ridge Parkway
		14.85	23.90	14	US 58 / US 221 – Hillsville, Galax
		19.03	30.63	19	SR 620
	Poplar Camp	24.06	38.72	24	SR 69 – Poplar Camp
Wythe		32.14	51.72	32	I-81 north / US 11 north – Roanoke	South end of I-81 / US 11 wrong-way concurrency; I-77 south follows exit 81
	Interstate 77 overlaps with I-81. (exit 73 to 80)
	Wytheville	39.18	63.05	40	I-81 south / US 52 north to US 21 south – Bristol	North end of I-81 wrong-way concurrency; north end of US 52 overlap; I-77 north follows exit 72
	Wytheville	40.28	64.82	41	SR 610 (Peppers Ferry Road) – Wytheville, Max Meadows
Bland		45.77	73.66	47	SR 717
Wythe	No major junctions
Big Walker Mountain		48.81	78.55	Big Walker Mountain Tunnel
Bland	Bland	51.22	82.43	52	US 52 / SR 42 – Bland
		57.33	92.26	58	US 52 (via SR 666) – Bastian
	South Gap	61.27	98.60	62	SR 606 – South Gap
	Rocky Gap	63.24	101.77	64	US 52 / SR 61 – Rocky Gap
		65.57	105.52	66	US 52 south / SR 598	South end of US 52 overlap
		66.27	106.65		I-77 north / US 52 north – Bluefield, Charleston	West Virginia state line (East River Mountain Tunnel through East River Mountain)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus