In the state of North Carolina, Interstate 77 (I-77) is the 105.7 mile (170.1 km) Interstate Highway, which serves the city of Charlotte and Western Piedmont. It is part of a highway that departs from Columbia, South Carolina in the south to Cleveland, Ohio in the North, serving as the main link between the Midwest and the South Atlantic region of the USA.
Video Interstate 77 in North Carolina
Route description
Interstate 77 begins in the state line of South Carolina, near Fort Mill, in concurrency with US 21. I-77 passes the city of Charlotte as a major north-south corridor, connecting the City Center with the suburbs of Pineville, Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson. Shortly after entering North Carolina, it extends to six lanes. Between I-485 (exit 2) and I-277 (exit 9), the highway experiences massive traffic jams during peak business hours (7: 00-9: 30 am/4: 00-6: 30 pm) because of commuter traffic. Right north of Center City, the I-77 makes a unique exchange configuration with Interstate 85, with north and south trails crisscrossing. Between I-85 (exit 13) and I-485 (exit 19), I-77 only displays the HOV state path. After I-485, I-77 is reduced to five lanes (three lanes to the north), then to four lanes after Gilead Road (exit 23).
At Lake Norman, I-77 crosses into Iredell County and becomes a more suburban interstate, passing through Mooresville and then Statesville, where it intersects Interstate 40. These turns are more rural outside of Statesville and become completely rural once out of Iredell County. For the rest of the I-77 stretch through North Carolina, the only possible stop is the town of Elkin; speed limit through this area is 70 mph (110 km/h). The last 5 miles (8.0 km) from I-77 coincided with Interstate 74 to the Virginia state line (where I-74 ended), all in view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
HOV path
Interstate 77 has the first and only one highway (HOV) vehicle track in North Carolina, located in Mecklenburg County. Opened since December 2004, they are enforced 24 hours a day, seven days a week and are closed for general traffic unless otherwise posted. They are identified by "diamond" symbols and signs of overhead and are located on the far left path. Vehicles with two or more occupants can use the HOV line. Emergency vehicles when responding to emergencies, mass transit vehicles, private buses and motorbikes can also use the lane. Offenders are fined up to $ 100 plus court fees; as well as two points against their driver's license for any violation of HOV. In 2015, construction begins to convert existing HOV lines into variable toll lines, which will be completed by 2018.
- NorthboundĂƒ,
- The northern HOV line begins north of the I-85 intersection (exit 13) and ends at the north of the WT intersection. Harris Boulevard (exit 18).
- SouthboundĂƒ,
- The southern HOV line starts from the southern intersection of W.T. Harris Boulevard (exit 18) ends south of the exit for I-277 (exit 11) and features a bypass of the I-85 interchange.
Custom names and memorials
I-77 in North Carolina features several highway streets commemorated or immortalized.
- Blue Star Memorial Highway - North Carolina's unofficial honorary name from Interstate 77 across the state. Bill Lee Freeway - the official North Carolina name of Interstate 77 from Woodlawn Road to Mecklenburg-Iredell county line, named after William States Lee III (approved on 5 September 1996).
- Charles M. Shelton Highway - the official North Carolina name of Interstate 77 in Surry County (approved on 7 April 2000).
- General Paul R. Younts Expressway - the official name of North Carolina Interstate 77 from the state line of South Carolina to Woodlawn Street, in Mecklenburg County (approved on 24 June 1965).
Maps Interstate 77 in North Carolina
History
Interstate 77 was not part of the original plan for 714 miles (1,149 km) from the Interstate Highway System state in North Carolina when they were delivered in 1956 by the North Carolina State Highway Commission. The I-77 was added in 1957, increasing the country's mileage to 776 miles (1,249 km).
On 4 August 1959, the commission selected the I-77 route to walk between Interstate 85 in Charlotte and a point on the Virginia border at Elkin. That will change in late 1960, when the commission chose to route the highway west of Mount Airy, saying the route would serve most people.
With construction starting in the 1960s, I-77 would have gained additional mileage in October 1964 when a two mile (3 km) extension was provided by the US Public Road Bureau. Instead of ending on I-85, the I-77 now ends at Independence Boulevard (US $ 74) in downtown Charlotte. Another extension was provided in the late 1960s extending the I-77 from Independence Boulevard to the South Carolina border. The latest extension also includes a relocation of 21 US from the city streets to the new interstate.
I-77 is open to traffic in the following segments:
- 1965: Yadkin and Surry county.
- 1966: Stretching along 23 miles (37 km) in Iredell County.
- 1967: It runs in the districts of Mecklenburg, Yadkin and Iredell. 1968: Highways in the districts of Davidson and Cornelius in Mecklenburg and Iredell districts.
In 1972, I-77 opened from Exit 28 (NC 73) to Exit 73 in northern Elkin. The last two sections of the highway that opened to traffic were the stretch from Cornelius to Charlotte in 1975 and from Exit 73 to the state line of Virginia in 1977.
In April 2001, the I-74 overlapped I-77 from the Virginia state line to exit 101.
On December 17, 2004, the I-77 was widened into six lines with the HOV line, between I-85 to the proposed location I-485 (later opened December 8, 2008).
On June 28, 2013, a new intersection was added in Mooresville, exit 35: Brawley School Road. The exchange was built with additional shoulder spaces and lights that did not need to be moved when I-77 eventually widened in the area.
In 2015, NCDOT signed a contract with I-77 Mobility Partners to begin construction and final management of the toll lane beginning in 2018. However, new criticism erupted before a financial agreement was made when local politicians found the contract amended in 2014 giving me -77 Mobility Partners a non-competing clause for 50 years. This clause eliminates the additional additional free line extension between Charlotte Center City and Mooresville; or if there is additional lane addition, then NCDOT must pay developer compensation.
On February 1, 2018, NCDOT opened a new rest area located at median I-77, at mile marker 58. Construction of 5,000 square feet (460 m 2 ), a $ 15 million facility begun in spring 2015 With the opening of facilities, four older rest areas in Iredell and Yadkin County, built in 1972-73, were closed.
Future
Interstate 77 is planned to have an extensively expanded southern route (no more lines), between I-277/NC 16 (Brookshire Freeway) to I-85 in Charlotte. Estimated cost of $ 16.5 Million, the goal of the project is to extend the return path to the correct Interstate standard as agreed with FHWA, when NCDOT was given design exceptions when adding the HOV path in 2004. Construction is scheduled to begin by the end of 2016.
As of June 2016, the HOT line is being built along Interstate 77. The project is divided into two parts: the first is building a new travel path from I-485 interchange (exit 19) to West Catawba Avenue (exit 28), at an estimated cost of $ 57 million. The second is to change the existing HOV path from Brookshire Boulevard (exit 11) to I-485 (exit 19). Once completed, drivers and motorcyclists can still use the lane for free if eligible under HOV rules, non-compliant drivers will be subject to toll fees.
The I-40/I-77 interchange (exit 51) is undergoing a major increase in three phases: reconstruction of nearby intersections on both interstate, reconstruction and widening of I-40/I-77 interchange, and the construction of new ramps in exchange. The estimated cost for the entire project is $ 251 million and construction starts in March 2012. This will replace the current exchange, built in the late 1960s.
Additional routes in North Carolina
Exit list
See also
- Carowinds
- Interstate 74
- Lake Norman
- Lake Norman State Park
- Northlake Mall
- Uptown Charlotte
References
External links
- Media related to Interstate 77 in North Carolina on Wikimedia Commons
- NCDOT: Express I-77
- NCRoads.com: I-77
- North Carolina @ AARoads - Interstate 77
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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