Interstate 77 North
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- Опубліковано 13 жов 2024
- Interstate 77 crosses the Appalachians in dramatic fashion, while connecting the Carolinas with Cleveland. It's an awesome road! Control City Freak is updated weekly and covers every two digit Interstate Highway in America. I'll be showing control city signs on each 1 and 2 digit (2di) Interstate Highway in the continental United States and will strive to make as complete a record as possible. I'll also be getting into the roadgeek weeds here and there, showing downtown skylines and state border crossings, and making corny jokes. I welcome all to join my geeky tour of every primary Interstate in the country!
All images of roads and signs come from Google Street View unless otherwise specified.
The Interstate 77 Shield comes from Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.o...
Maps used in this video come from Google Maps www.google.com...
Music: Acoustic Sunrise, from the Apple iMovie sounds library
Control City Freak Episodes mentioned in this video:
Interstate 70 West • Interstate 70 West
Interstate 64 East • Interstate 64 East
"Interstate 74" • "Interstate 74"
Interstate 71 • Interstate 71
Interstate 76 Eastern • Interstate 76 Eastern
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Interstates, Interstate Highways, Control Cities, Signs, Roadsigns, highway nerdery, Interstate 77, I-77, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston, Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Appalachian Mountains
Due to the wrong way concurrencies of I-77/I-81 and US 11/US 52, Wytheville is often referred to as "Which-way Ville."
Lol
Besides the tolls, Interstate 77 is one of my favorite interstates because I like looking at the Appalachians Mountains and the city skylines of Charlotte, NC, and Charleston, WV.
It’s pretty nice!
Charleston has great meth
I would say the same about US 35 from Chillicothe Ohio to Scott Depot West Virginia (west of Charleston).
@@ARRON_THE_ZEROTHthe only downside to US35 is the annoying 60 mph section around Jackson bc cops LOVE to hang out there
"12.50 to travel a toll road! That's expensive!"
*laughs in Pennsylvania Turnpike*
Lol
I was going to say… PA Turnpike tolls are so much higher than that.
Laughs in George Washington bridge tolls.....
Fancy Gap is one of my favorite mountain grades to climb/descend. Traveling southward in the morning is one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.
And holy hell, WV *seriously* needs open road tolling; the last tollbooth before the 64/77 is a pain when you're hauling a heavy load.
You’d think all that toll revenue could fund some open road toll facilities
You do have the option to get an EZ pass.
But on a positive note, the West Virginia turnpike is STILL one of the toll roads that allows you to pay cash at a toll booth. Good for drivers who don't live in an area where toll roads are a way of life.
@@mrath True. And for rental car drivers who get billed $20 for a $2 electric toll
@@dvferyance the ez pass lanes have a controlled toll, not open......it's basically just as slow as paying the toll attendant
Great video. Originally, I 77 was supposed to end at I 20, but they decided to extend it to make it a beltway with 26, and 20 around Columbia. The only interstate to go into Columbia is 126.
Thanks! Yep I used 77 for that very purpose to get to 26.
Into downtown; there are small portions of 77, 20 and 26 that make their way into the city limits.
Can't forget Carowinds on the SB 77 video with the Charlotte skyline on the NC/SC State Line
Drove through today and the 77/40 interchange now has overhead signs.
I-77 also replaces US 21 from Wytheville, VA to Cleveland since the Interstate era. I-77 supplants the old US 21 between Cleveland and Columbia, SC for it's entire length.
Cool!
Of course, US 21 does still continue beyond Columbia, ending on Hunting Island, SC
Same with US 25 being replaced by I-75 from Detroit to Cincinnati.
West Virginia uses those fractional county roads and you can think of it as a three digit interstate/US highway. The number on the top is the parent state route and the number on the bottom is the "spur" county road. So 23/2 means the second numbered county road in Raleigh County that branches off of state route 23.
Also, the tolls are so high because the WV turnpike is a twisty mountain interstate. It takes a lot of money to keep it open during snowstorms and repair the damage from said winter storms as well as the truck traffic bouncing on all the bridges. There is almost always a road crew out working on the road to keep it in drivable condition.
Here’s a little road trivia for today:
Earlier this afternoon, South Carolina won the women’s basketball championship with an unbeaten season. The team is based in Columbia, SC, which is at the south end of I-77, and the game took place in Cleveland, which is at I-77’s north end.
In other words, then, South Carolina fans could have clinched I-77 by going to see their team play in the Final Four over the weekend!
Nice!
I used to get these "I'm too far from home" depression head aches trotting along 77. I spent so many nights sleeping in that newer Max Meddows Flying J parking lot right where the 81 and the 77 split. Such an odd stretch of road with the north and south .
From living in the Charlotte area along 77, I think Statesville is a valid choice going north from Charlotte. From personal experience many people exit off 77 onto 40 there, and is the main connection point from parts of Charlotte's northern metro to Asheville & the Triad. Statesville is also much, much larger than Wytheville. Going south though it definitely should be Charlotte all the way from Wytheville.
I’m also inclined to be ok with Statesville, for the reasons you said but also one other. For folks from the Midwest and Ohio Valley traveling down to either Myrtle Beach or other nearby beaches, Statesville is a good place to stop and get a room for the night. So in that sense, it could sort of be considered like a Tucumcari or a Gallup, but without that annoying Route 66 nostalgia
@@wriddle082 Statesville is a much better choice than Tucumcari or Gallup since it doesn’t really replace a well-known city.
I disagree. I think that one should be Roanoke instead.
Roanoke is on interstate 81. The only place it should get mentioned is when you exit onto 81 north off 77 before it starts running concurrent.
@@wriddle082When I’ve been in Canada and people asked me where I lived, I’d say “near Charlotte.” Then they’d ask me “Where near Charlotte?” I’d mention Statesville, and they’d know where that is. Some folks even had a clear idea if I was more specific and said “Just off Exit 30.” Canadians used to (and maybe still) travel down I-77 to go to beaches. Many would stop in Statesville, they said, rather than dealing with Charlotte traffic right away.
In the 1960s the only part of I-77 completed in North Carolina was a bypass around Elkin. So it could be that as sections south of there were completed, Elkin was the biggest place you could go on I-77.
I saw a major 20-car pile up accident on I-77 in North Carolina which backed up traffic over 20 miles. Thankfully we were heading in the other direction (northbound). We drove I-77 from South Carolina to near the Ohio border when we were heading home from Savannah.
Can’t wait for southbound 77 next! And then we’ll be on I-78 where we reach another new state - New York!!
Oh wow sounds rough!
I live right on i94 in kenosha. However, I just took i 77 up north to ohio, and than back home on 70. Towards Chicago. I was visiting charleston south carolina and that was a blast, but man driving through i 77 was the best part of my trip. Brought tears to my eyes.
I drove 77 when I went to Carowinds in April. It was a great drive, but the tolls along the turnpike was expensive. Great views though along the mountains though. Plus from Detroit it wasn’t too long of a drive.
4:09 - Reminds me of the wrong way concurrency in Kansas City, Kansas. For about a mile between Exits 7 and 8, I-635 and K-5 have a wrong way concurrency. While on northbound I-635, you are also on southbound K-5 (and vice versa).
And just as bizarre is that K-5 (between I-435 and I-635 on Leavenworth Rd) southbound is actually going due east.
Here’s some insight from someone from the Ohio/WVA border area who has driven this road a lot: Marietta is culturally significant in Ohio as it’s the oldest city in the state. Parkersburg, like Huntington, is one of the largest cities in WV and is absolutely a point of interest for people in state in WV. Signing Cleveland starting from Charleston knocks out a very significant hub for the people living in the region with the Parkersburg/Marietta area.
A word of caution from a Wytheville Native. If you are traveling south on I77 from Wytheville to Charlotte and you encounter rain and fog going off the Blue Ridge at Fancy Gap, I recommend watching your speed. There have been several 50+ car pile-ups resulting in several deaths. In 2013 there was a 90+ car pile-up that took many hours to clear. Weather conditions change rapidly at Fancy Gap so when you see flashing caution lights and speed reduction warning signs, please take them seriously and slow down!
Wow sounds rough. Thanks for the tip!
So that's why they have the giant ass speed limit signs that blind you at night.... I was wondering about that!😂
One year I went to Marietta for Thanksgiving. I think that was the last time I drove that far north on I-77, almost 40 years ago. As I recall, I exited on a bridge, so I didn’t cross the state line until on the bridge. So maybe I never was actually on I-77 in Ohio, just the exit. I live about 2 miles from NC Exit 30, and take the highway south to Columbia when going to Charleston SC.
Fun Fact: Spur secondary roads in West Virginia are given "fractional" designations with two numbers displayed vertically: the top number specifies the trunk road or highway they diverge from, and the bottom is a serial number reflecting the order in which the number was assigned, which explains the 23/2 highway you saw. So it wasn’t even a county road just a spur of a state highway.
Oh interesting!
The numerator of the fractional designations can be either a primary (state) or secondary (county) road. In the case of 23/2 at the Pax exit, the 23 was a Raleigh County 23.
When I was younger, I would try to memorize all of the exits to my grandmother's house in Akron on 77. From Marrietta to the 130 mark. I would know that it was exactly 44 miles to Interstate 70, about 100 to Canton.
One of the things that bugged me was at the 87 mile mark in Tuscarawas County (right before entering Stark, so this was after the Sugarcreek-Dover exit and before the Bolivar-Zoar exit, which was mile 93), it used to be signed to Wooster, which made a lot of sense, especially with the number of routes that go there. Same with Massillon. But they changed it to Strasburg.
In the East River Mountain tunnel, there's a very small green sign on the side of the tunnel that marks the state line. You have to know to look for it, through, or you will miss it.
I was Worried you were just going to skip canton area but I was wrong thanks for reviewing my local interstate
From charlotte I would take a swing and have I77 signed for Roanoke because of the I81 interchange.
A major thumbs up from me for "Jacob's Field or whatever it is now"
Some history. The West Virginia Turnpike was originally built as a 2 Lane Limited Access Road from Charleston to Bluefield. Later upgraded to Interstate Standards late 80s early 90s. The oddball I 81 I 77 concurrency was the last section in Virginia. I 77 originally was supposed to end in Charlotte but extended to Columbia in the early 80s.
The bypass around Columbia started as I 326 a short spur. I 77 would be extended in the Fort Jackson area and Later I 326 would be absorbed into I 77.
Great info, thanks!
One of the longest 2-lane stretches (guessing I-70 through the UT swale was longer) in the Interstate system for many years
The toll plazas are $4.25 now. And the toll at Exit 48 is 75 cents. Still an extremely expensive highway. Another interesting thing is that it’s advertised as a toll road for traffic entering at Exit 9, yet the first toll isn’t for 20 miles and there are a few free exits before the toll road starts
I-77 is a great Interstate for sure! The scenery from Canton to around Fancy Gap, VA and helped me move from Youngstown to Myrtle Beach and Wytheville for a refuel for gas and food for when I moved and went to Raleigh for a wedding
Nice!
On the topic of tolls, you should keep a tally of the total cost of them between Baltimore and the Canadian border when you make the I-95 north video. It gets EXPENSIVE!
Also, in regards to I-77, I've only personally driven the short stretch between I-81 and I-64 eastbound. It was really nice and scenic though.
@jazzman8690 I think I 90 east of Janesville will be more expensive. $5 for the Chicago Skyway, $16 on the Indiana Toll Road, $12 on the Ohio Turnpike, $20 on the Dewey Thruway, and $8 on the Massachusetts Turnpike is already $61, and there’s still the Jane Addams Tollway that I haven’t yet factored in (I don’t know how much that one is, but I’ve been on portions of the other ones).
Along I 95, I can get $6 for the McHenry Tunnel, possibly the same for the Kennedy Bridge over the Susquehanna, $4 on the Delaware Turnpike, $16 on the New Jersey Turnpike, and another $16 for the George Washington Bridge. That’s $48. I have no clue what the tolls are along I 95 in New Hampshire and Maine, but I do know that I 93 near Manchester has a $1 toll, so it probably isn’t too much higher…
Marietta Ohio is actually an important historical destination as it's the first permanent English settlement in the Northwest Territory.
Marietta may not be as known in Ohio as it is in Georgia, but I think it should still be signed, as long as the mileage signs make sense.
Parkersburg WV is only signed because it's the last major city in West Virginia between Charleston and the OH River.
Okay. Thanks for sharing. Parkersburg is bigger than Marietta though and Marietta Ohio is considered a suburb of Parkersburg, or at least In the same
CSA.
I just drove from Columbus, OH to Charleston, SC and I-77 is a beautiful drive but the worst part is the tolls on the WV Turnpike. Its pretty expensive.
Yeah it looks awesome!
Well done, Todd.
I like to think of I-77 as the interstate that connects the “C” cities: Columbia, Charlotte, Charleston (WV), and Cleveland.
Thanks! Yeah solid there
If you consider Canton significant enough you can add that to the list as well
71 as well. Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati
@@ianb9851 … and Cambridge…well, nah. Actually you have a good point about Canton; but what I particularly like about my four “C” cities is that each one was, at least at one time, the largest and most important city in its state. (The only one that isn’t still the largest in its state is Cleveland.)
You forgot Canton
I took a drive from Richmond to Cleveland and I must say the WV turnpike has some of the best scenery besides the Rockies and California especially driving into Charleston
Yeah it looks awesome!
Agree that's a beautiful stretch, but I would include the Virginia portion as well, especially the southbound descent from I-81. There are some other very scenic interstate stretches in the northeast, like I-87 in the Adirondacks, I-89 in Vermont and I-93 through the White Mtns.
the southern-most 10 miles or so in virginia is the prettiest imo
I-77 is the interstate I grew up with (about 10 miles away, between Cambridge and New Philadelphia). Beckley is the I-77 and I-64 junction. I can't justify Parkersburg, but Marietta is the first permanent settlement in what would become Ohio, so there is an historical significance to that as a control city. It's also just about the only place of any significance between Cambridge and Charleston.
Is it though? It doesn’t really seem to qualify as significant, and Ohio was definitely already a thing by the time they built I-77
@@ControlCityFreak As an Ohio native, I can assure you that Marietta being the first settlement in Ohio is 100% true. But still shouldn't be a control city. On the mileage signs you could but it on the second line going SB like this:
Next exit
Marietta
Charleston
@@mxderate Oh I believe that, my is it though was referring to Marietta being significant control-city wise
@@ControlCityFreak Oh okay. Then yes, I agree with you.
You forgot about Parkersburg my friend.
Blue ridge parkway in Kansas City? Big ooof haha. Knew exactly what you meant. Driving into Asheville as a kid I always wondered what was up on that big bridge!
Lol I meant Blue Ridge Parkway in KC but it’s actually the Stadium Drive bridge I was thinking of
From the West Virginia State Highway System Wikipedia entry
Spur secondary roads are given "fractional" designations with two numbers displayed vertically: the top number specifies the trunk road or highway they diverge from, and the bottom is a serial number reflecting the order in which the number was assigned. In many cases, if the trunk road is rerouted or renumbered, the spur roads are not renumbered to reflect the change.
So let's say you have a secondary state highway WV 7 from Alpha to Omega. As demand increases or as money becomes available, a spur is built to Beta just outside Alpha. This is WV 7/1. The Representative from Omega gets angry, so a second spur to a local hamlet is built: WV 7/2. Halfway through, a third spur is built to the state park. This is WV 7/3.
Then WV 7 gets a little extension connecting it to WV 8 (primary) and WV 9 (secondary). The whole lot becomes WV 8. The problem would be that WV 9 also generated three spurs. If you don't retain the old designation, you get six highways sharing three numbers.
Interesting!
6:00 reminds me of the 53rd St, Johnson Dr, and Shawnee Mission Parkway bridges over I-435 in Shawnee.
I-77 is one of the prettiest interstates to drive from Southern Virginia to the outskirts of Canton Ohio.
Interestingly I-77 was supposed to be a Port Huron Michigan to Charlotte NC interstate. That never happened
Oh interesting!
The only way that would happen if it separated maybe in Findley area to Columbus either follow the what was supposed to be The future i 73 corridor or take a southeast angle. I 79 was supposed to be the current Cleveland to Charleston corridor. But changed to the current. 79 and 81 different numbers in pa.????
If you’re going to sign Wytheville, then you should also sign Statesville because it’s also an Interstate junction and is like 3x larger (and growing fast).
Yeah I'd skip both of them and sign Charleston WV (to not confuse people with Charleston SC).
@@mxderate Idk, I feel like Charleston WV just isn’t that major of a city to warrant signing it from so far away.
Wytheville is a fairly important Interstate junction as well as Statesville, which is also almost 2/3 the size of Charleston.
I don’t love signing Wytheville but because of the angles a lot of northbound traffic could be switching to 81. Statesville is too close to Charlotte imo, and nobody is getting on 40 east because they’d just take 85 out of Charlotte. In retrospect another commenter suggested “Virginia” and I think that’s probably the best answer.
@@ControlCityFreak personally, I would sign Roanoke north of Charlotte. It's close enough to I-77.
Statesville should be signed NB because there could be people who are turning on 40 to go to Asheville or points west. It doesn’t really need to be signed SB though as most traffic is probably going to Charlotte by that point.
6:00 I have a theory that the Blue Ridge Parkway, in KCMO, is a scaled down version of the more well known Blue Ridge Parkway in the Eastern US.
I485 will be interesting when you do your 3 digit bypass series..... because alot of 485 was just recently finished in the northern section
Why Wytheville? It has less than 10,000 people and I only know that from looking it up. Why not Roanoke?
I would sign Roanoke over Wytheville as the primary control since Wytheville is only about 8k people
Fort Chiswell is a remnant from the days of US 21. It was a more important town than Wytheville in that era.
There is a small sign on the actual state border. Looks like a city street sign, but turned 90 degrees. Reads “Va-WVa line”. It is very hard to see on street view, but it is there.
The tunnel was built by one construction company working from both sides and paid by both states, but since then WV just pays VA half of the upkeep costs. You often see VDOT trucks and crews on the WV side. In fact, a VDOT worker was killed by a motorist a few years ago on the WV side. VDOT has a memorial to highway workers killed over the years on a scenic overlook on I-64.
The toll is $4.25 for each booth. The picture from the south most one just older. However, WV sells an unlimited pass for $26.50 a year.
WV DOH people read the fractional as X over X. Nobody in the real world uses them, rather they use the name of the road. There is an explanation of the system in Wikipedia.
Agree 100% about Morgantown. When you get to 79, mention that the even dumber Fairmont is the control city between Clarksburg and Morgantown, when local roads take you there better, depending on where your are going.
Thanks, great info!
RE the county routes, yes, it's the second numbered county route off Highway 23 (U.S. or state, not sure here)
Great video Todd! I agree with you about wanting to drive this interstate, looks like a very scenic one! Definitely gonna have to bring some change though, because I don’t think I’ve ever paid so much for tolls, even when driving through Chicagoland…
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t I-77 the only interstate that crosses state lines while you’re in a tunnel? Thought I remember hearing that in a different video somewhere…
Virginia West Virginia the tunnel. Just south of the state line is like an optical Illusion. Looks like you are going down hill but you are actually going up hill.. 7 mile hill near the Virginia, North Carolina Line very scenic. Mt. Airy is the fictional town of Mayberry where the Andy Griffith show was based on.
Thanks! I-78 if you count the Holland Tunnel as part of it
@@ControlCityFreak you’re right! I was mistaken, the video I watched said it was the only Interstate that crosses state lines in a MOUNTAIN tunnel… I totally missed that part. The more ya know.
@@roadgeek1961 That optical illusion happens quite frequently on I-68 throughout its entire length, and is even more frequent when driving at night. I think that it has to do with the fact that when going through the mountains, your horizon tends to be obstructed, making it hard for the brain to judge the slope of a surface. Needless to say, it's a cool but almost trippy phenomenon.
@@ControlCityFreak Holland Tunnel is part of it. And like both 76s, we barely enter a new state that starts with N.
Been on alot of this road from the junction of I 26 south of Columbia to the US 19 cutoff north of Beckley. Like one exit in Charleston off I 64. Before I 79 was completed pre 1979 to exit 9. The 3rd section, pro football hall of fame Canton to I 271 south of where the Richfield coliseum used to be in the Cleveland area. I'm surprised you broke I 77 into two videos.
Northbound was like 100 slides so it needed to be done
Beckley gets a lot of notice on I-77 North because of the interchange with US 19. The reason is that 67 miles of US 19, from I-79 to I-77 (southbound) acts as a bypass of Charleston for traffic from Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Ontario to the South amd this interchange is at Beckley.
Small town, but a lot of traffic.
An important corridor between Florida and the great lakes (Mostly Erie and Ontario ). Miami via I 95 and I 26. Tampa Bay via I 275, I 75 ,US 301, I 295, I 95 and I 26 . To Cleveland and locations like Pittsburgh, Erie and Buffalo via US 19 ,I 79 and I 90.
I used it to get from Charlotte to Tampa using just that route
Just a heads up when you do the interstates that go into NJ, not everything is signed by the NJDOT. On I78, the DRJTBC, NJDOT, NJTA, and Port Authority of NY&NJ, all have jurisdictions on different parts of the highway, so signing may be different throughout. And you can blame the Delaware River Port Authority for not placing a welcome to New Jersey sign on the bridge, since they have jurisdiction on the first mile or so of 76
Ah gotcha
I think the reason they sign Beckley is that most of the skiing in WV is located there.
You’re right about that. States should really do a better job with signs regarding points of interest/tourism. Beckley/Charleston would be very good.
I’m a big fan of the Morgantown sharing a sign with another city.
And it is an interstate junction.
WV is famous for their "fractional" secondary routes. First of all, they are referred to as "County Roads" or CRs, despite the fact that they are not owned or maintained by counties. Secondly (and more obviously) most of them are indeed fractional. The route on the exit sign for Pax is stated as "County road 23 over 2" This route designation signifies that this is the second route off of County route 23. This can also be used off of US and state routes. For example, you will see many routes off of US 50 signed as 50/1. Also, each secondary route is unique to each county, so the number will change when crossing the county line (both fractional and non-fractional), so there are most likely multiple County route 23s and and 23/1s in WV.
Great explanation , thanks!
I think there should be signs for Cleveland as far south as Charlotte.
TOLL is now $12.75 for the entire length of the turnpike (3x4.25)
I love this channel lol,
a bunch of things about interstates
Thanks!
For me, northbound I-77 would've sign cities as follows.:
•Charlotte, NC
•Wytheville, VA
•Charleston, WV
•Parkersburg, WV
•Cleveland (leaving Parkersburg, WV)
-Canton, OH | •Cleveland (meeting I-70)
-Akron, OH | •Cleveland
•Cleveland
Going northbound, these should be the control cities for Interstate 77 going north
Charlotte
Wytheville
Bluefield
Beckley
Charleston
Parkersburg
Marietta
Canton
Akron
Cleveland
I am guessing that you will do Interstate 78 East and West next, and followed by Interstate 80
Beckley basically not a big town 17.2 k with a metro of 123k. Just north of Beckley is US 19 the cutoff to Pittsburgh, Erie and Buffalo. If you're familiar with West Virginia politics, Robert Byrd came from the area, known for getting Road
Projects and Interstucture projects in the state. Not to say this guy has a big ego ,but there is a bronze statue of him in the state capital of Charleston.
Not too familiar with local politics but I’ve heard of Byrd
@@ControlCityFreak Byrd, as a porkmeister, managed to make Bud Shuster look like a piker.
@@brandongorte4746 lol
The baseball stadium in Cleveland is called Progressive Field. Home of the Guardians!!
If naming rights sponsors want me to say their ridiculous stadium names on my channel, they’re welcome to pay me 😂
@@ControlCityFreak My dad still calls the stadium “The Jake.”
Honestly, the best way to sign 77 would be to use the well-known cities. In this case Charlotte, Charleston WV, Cleveland with the other cities mentioned as secondary . But most states just love to sign those provincial control cities (Especially NC and WV).
Agreed. Southbound would be the same except I'd add Akron and Canton.
4:00 I was once on a road trip and pointed out soon we would be going North and South at the same time... crickets just goes to show what a travel nerd I am
Lol. Been there!
once the 40/77 interchange project is FINALLY COMPLETE, there will likely be overhead for Asheville and Winston-Salem. AND for the I-81 South, its perfectly okay to have Bristol as a control city since its the first big town on the southern trek. Knoxville is too far away.
Knoxville is 181 miles, a perfectly cromulent distance for a primary control city.
@@ControlCityFreak that makes sense.
Maybe instead of Wytheville, they could sign Roanoke? It’s a lot bigger than Wytheville, only about 70 miles farther, and in the same general direction. Plus, you could just get onto North 81 in Wytheville in order to get to Roanoke
I thought about that, but I feel like Roanoke isn’t big enough to make it worth ignoring N 77 and south 81.
@@ControlCityFreak It's much bigger than Charleston WV. Wytheville isn't even 10,000 people and not that significant besides the Interstate junction. Roanoke or Charleston WV would be better.
@@mxderate well Christiansburg is 22,000 so could be signed as Christiansburg/Roanoke since they're both larger than Wythville and arguably more important....
@@truckercowboyed2638 I’d be fine with that
Fun fact, but a lot of NASCAR team shops are off of Interstate 77
Based on WV's choices for control cities, their new state motto should be "you wouldn't get it"
So true!
Reason Beckley West Virginia is on the sign. Because route 19 is the short cut to interstate 79. Look on your map
The lack of overhead signage at the I 40 interchange is largely due to the interminable construction going on there.
Yeah I figured
@@ControlCityFreak They finally finished said construction. Signs in all directions at the 77/40 interchange are all overhead again.
Like the meme at 3:01. You should do one for Illinois when you do the I-80 video in a few weeks, since you have ranted about this for several of their other interstates, like E. St. Louis and Joliet, which we should see (again).
Plus Lasalle-Peru!
@@ControlCityFreak Oh, and Galesburg and Danville (I-74)!
Joliet has over 150,000 people. ESL has less than 20,000. I’d be fine with Joliet westbound on I-80 past Chicago. Also, Joliet is 46 miles Southwest away from Chicago- ESL is less than 4 miles away from St. Louis.
I personally think IDOT does a good job compared to other states like New Mexico and North Carolina. Signing Memphis in Chicago for I-57 is questionable though, but what else goes there? Nothing really(Champaign could work- I’d use that)
@@ControlCityFreak LaSalle-Peru does not show up on I-80 as an IDOT secondary control. It's Moline-Rock Island, Joliet, and Indiana (with a few older signs still stating Gary, Indiana). You'll see both Iowa and Des Moines used, and Toledo has been replaced by Indiana.
Coming back to this, I think I've come around on Statesville and possibly even Mt. Airy as northbound control cities. Wytheville being signed from Charlotte is kinda weird; Statesville is a dumb control city for I-40 but there's not much else on I-77 between Charlotte and Charleston WV, so I guess I'll let that slide; and as for Mt Airy, I think Andy Griffith draws a good amount of traffic there, so I guess I could let it slide for northbound (although Wytheville should start appearing on mileage signs after Statesville).
Also, Parkersburg is the fourth largest city in West Virginia, and pretty big by West Virginia standards. I see nothing wrong with it as a northbound control city.
One of the pull-through BGS on the 77/81 concurrency lists Bluefield (for NB I-77) and Bristol (for SB I-81) as the control cities. You can question both of those control city choices, but what’s interesting is that this is probably the only BGS in the entire Interstate system where both control cities are “twin” cities: Bluefield (WV/VA) and Bristol (VA/TN).
Word. Yeah talked about that a bit in the vid but you’re right, it’s probably the only place
i-77 used to go to michigan but now it goes cayce,sc to cleveland ohio and you should check out the toll lanes and btw exit 25 is my new home exit if u make a right on nc 73 east
My Control Cities for I-77:
Charlotte
Statesville
Wytheville
Charleston
Akron / Cleveland
Akron
Cleveland
Instead of Wytheville, I would personally choose Roanoke as the control (via 81). Going north on 77 from Charlotte, a significant portion of the long distance traffic is going to go north on 81 rather than south. Maybe also co-sign Hell during the 77-74 concurrency, since thats the chance 74 will be extended from there into VA or WV
Yeah I like signing Roanoke.
I'd even add Christiansburg/Roanoke as Christiansburg is a huge college town and leads to Virginia Tech in nearby Blacksburg.... pretty important I think to sign it from North Carolina side
WV fractional county roads are actually state maintained auxiliary routes of more major county roads which are whole number routes.
The signage on I 77 for I 40 creeps up on you it is right at the Garner Bagnal Boulevard exit in Statesville. By the time you pass Garner Bagnal Boulevard, you’re still in the far left and you got a mosey on to the right hand lane to get on 40.
And on I 40, on the westbound side, you get a digital sign saying 77 S. Charlotte exit right and then half a mile later you got 77 N. towards Wytheville.
That sounds rough, I wonder if all that construction is to fix that
@@ControlCityFreak From what I’ve been able to ascertain, this is just to relieve traffic flow on 40 and 77 both… this is mainly because Statesville has an influx of commuters heading both to Winston and to Charlotte. During traffic, it’s practically gridlock if an accident happens before you get to 40 coming north on 77.
Parts of US 301 in Florida and Georgia are at grade expressway or full interstate style freeway and most of the rest of the highway is already multi lane divided. A freeway corridor is wanted from the Tampa Bay Area to Savanna, GA, possibly with a spur route from Starke, FL to Jacksonville. How about extending Interstate 77 over this route and taking it to the junction with Interstate 275 and replacing that designation with I-77? That way Interstate 4 can end on a 2-digit route again. The little spurs can be resigned as Interstates 377 and 577, while the spur from Starke to Jax can be signed as Interstate 177. Cool!
Sounds good!
My control cities for I 77 South
Akron/Canton
Cambridge
Parkersburg
Clarksburg
Charleston
Beckley
Charlotte
Columbia
I'm thinking north of Charlotte having Roanoke as the control city but put both Roanoke & Charleston on the mileage signs. Wytheville is too small to be a control city. After the I-81 concurrency, then sign Charleston as the control city.
I don’t love signing Wytheville but because of the angles a lot of northbound traffic could be switching to 81. Statesville is too close to Charlotte imo, and nobody is getting on 40 east because they’d just take 85 out of Charlotte. In retrospect another commenter suggested “Virginia” and I think that’s probably the best answer.
@@ControlCityFreak That's a good idea.
@@ControlCityFreak what about Roanoke then
For the I-81 exit I'm assuming Bristol is signed for the Bristol Motor Speedway ... and at the 5:00 mark, I like how you show an exit sign for Bland, Virginia and go, "meh."
I’ve been to that Speedway (it’s the only one I have gone to), but I think the bigger reason is that is also where the NASCAR Hall of Fame is. If you’re going to sign a city because of its NASCAR features, then in that case sign its Hall of Fame. Doing so is going to give long-distance NASCAR fans a sense of not only direction, but also one of destination.
I’ve been to the pro football hall of fame. It’s a really nice place to go to
Definitely want to check it out some time!
I live in eastern ky....i am 31 years old and the wv toll road has been there since I have been a kid.....this is ridiculous
Can't wait for I-93
Will be wicked awesome!
At 6:00, did you mean the Blue Ridge Pkwy over I-26 in Asheville? Not I-70 in Kansas City :)
Nope I meant Blue Ridge Blvd in KC, but looking at it again that’s wrong too, it was actually the Stadium Drive bridge in KC I was talking about lol
@@ControlCityFreak Oh, funny. I guess we were both wrong :)
A few more weeks until I-80 with the lovely control cities of Elko, Evanston, Green River, Rawlins, Sydney, Council Bluffs, Sharon, Mercer, Clarion, DuBois, Clearfield, Bellefonte, Milton, Bloomsburg, Stroudsburg, Del Water Gap, and Patterson. Wyoming and Pennsylvania should be fodder for enough snark.
Spoilers!
Yeah thank California (surprisingly), Utah, Indiana, and Ohio for actually having good signage.
Mine probably has more control cities than.....well, anyone. 😂
Charlotte
Mooresville (twice the size of Statesville & most NASCAR teams are headquartered there)
Virginia
Charleston, WV
Parkersburg
Canton/Akron (Pro Football Hall of Fame/Taggart's Ice Cream Parlor)
Akron/Youngstown (I-76 concurrency)
Cleveland
Erie (I-90, thought about doing Toledo as well, since you could go 90 West to the Turnpike or OH-2, if you want to avoid tolls)
Interesting take.
Interesting for keeping Parkersburg on there. Mooresville is interesting
@@spellcast1391 I have two reasons for keeping Parkersburg.
1. It's a fairly sizable city by West Virginia's standards.
2. For whatever reason, I like to go no more than 100 miles between control cities, if possible. Just make it feel like less of a endless slog on the road.
Charleston is about 200 miles from Canton, while Parkersburg is about 120. And there's no way I'm signing Marietta or Cambridge.
@@ControlCityFreak For the Erie/Toledo ending, I kind of borrowed your signing I-66 to Pittsburgh idea, except that it's a far less convoluted route. 😂
I like to keep it around that distance as well. I’m just not familiar with the Eastern Ohio area. I like your reasoning. Marietta is smaller than Hays KS. Or Vicksburg MS. Or Cape Girardeau MO(which is a good one SB). Marietta is less than 15,000 people. No major junctions or anything
Something with Wytheville, you probably dont have to sign Wytheville, if you want to avoid the Charleston confusion, just do what Virginia does and have Charleston W Va/WV. Virginia says W Va but you could also have WV since thats the official abbreviation. I think Wytheville is too small to have as a control, and Charleston WV is well-known enough
"Meh" @ 5:00......perfectly Bland delivery on that one. 👌
My opinion for the way it should be for I-77 northbound is
Charlotte
Virginia (which means the state of Virginia not to confuse people with Charleston SC)
Charleston
Akron/Cleveland
Cleveland
I definitely do like the interstates running though West Virginia cause of the beautiful Appalachian Mountains
Same here!
@@ControlCityFreak but in my opinion I like I-68 the most
@@NeutralAngel8484 THE MOST HYPED INTERSTATE EVERRR!!!!!!!!!
The reason why Clarksburg is 79's control city instead if Morgantown is probably due to the fact that when 79 was built, Clarksburg was much larger than it is now (reaching at 32,000 at its peak in the late 50s) and Morgantown was much smaller in comparison. To this day, Morgantown has never been as populous as Clarksburg was in its heyday.
Fair, but there has never been a point since 1970 that Morgantown hasn't been larger than Clarksburg, not to mention another 30,000 students at WVU from every state and all over the world, plus another 5-30k for every basketball and football home game. From what I've read (and I'm no WV expert), it seems 79 was largely opened in that section in the early 70s, so Clarksburg would have never been bigger than Morgantown in 79's life.
Dave's the Way it Should Be for North 77:
Charlotte
Mooresville (most NASCAR teams are headquartered there)
Charleston
Cleveland
Canton/Akron
Akron/Cleveland
Cleveland
Feel like that Canton is important enough to be a secondary because that's where the Pro Football HoF is at. (Plus I'm also signing Mooresville in NC)
To echo Todd's point from the video Akron is big enough that it should be a control city but it's not big enough to be signed as early as West Virginia (although I could be talked into doing Akron/Cleveland as early as Charleston)
And for the Statesville region Mooresville is bigger than Statesville and it is the home to most of the NASCAR teams.
Mooresville? NASCAR isn't a good reason to be a control city. Otherwise, I agree.
I understand what he is saying with Mooresville. It is about 50,000 people and NASCAR is a big draw there. Use it going NB on I-77 out of Charlotte I would be happy with. It’s actually BIGGER than Charleston WV, and in-state. Definitely should NOT be signed SB though as Charlotte should be signed from Wytheville. Skip Statesville and Mooresville there.
@@spellcast1391 It has a smaller metro area though, and Charleston is much more important.
@@mxderate NC isn’t going to sign it 2 states away. They don’t even use Mooresville. It’s so funny how they do it. They love provincials. Like your new channel name.
@@spellcast1391 It doesn't matter how NC would sign it. It matters what it SHOULD be signed for. Also, yes, they love provincial control cities.
The tunnel is only one of two instances where you cross a state line in a tunnel on an interstate. The other is the Holland Tunnel but I don't think that should count because I-78 at that point should not qualify as an interstate highway.
Fair point but I’ve got to assume most Interstate tunnels don’t actually meet Interstate standards.
Can not wait for I-78. 78 was the year I waa born.
Same!
I-40 totals trough AK,TN,NC 1,145 alone
Alaska? Lol I gotcha, AR
Maybe Beckley could be mentioned as a secondary control city from Bluefield, with Charleston co-signed as the main control city? I feel like Beckley should still be signed on I-77 Northbound. No reason not to sign it.
I think it’s fine as a secondary.
Beckley/Charleston works, but Beckley by itself....
That's a different story.
@@mxderate Agreed. Fine for southbound but silly northbound
@@todd9533 Yeah I'm fine with Beckley southbound, but I'd prefer Richmond/Charlotte instead.
@@ControlCityFreak And how about signing Roanoke instead of Wytheville from North Carolina?
The way I think it should be
Columbia / Charlotte
Charlotte
Wytheville
Bluefield / Charleston WV
Charleston
Akron / Cleveland
Cleveland
Blue Ridge Parkway Over I-70 in Kansas City?!?!?! LOL! Dont you mean I-26 in Asheville NC??? BRP dont go that far west.
I meant Blue Ridge cutoff in KC, but it was actually Stadium Drive
its the intestate i'll be on in a week or two, nice!!!!
Awesome!
for some reason where i live in texas us 59 is signed as east west i felt like mentioning that bc of 4:00