| 0.25 mile sign bridge for the Nations Ford Road exit of Interstate
77 & U.S. 21 northbound. A diamond interchange comprises the interchange (Exit 4) with the north-south
surface arterial. Nations Ford Road represents the original alignment of U.S. 21 between South Boulevard and
the South Carolina state line. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| Interstate 77 & U.S. 21 northbound at the Exit 4 ramp
departure of Nations Ford Road. The Tyvola Road (Exit 5) interchange lies one mile ahead.
Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| North Carolina 49 (Tryon Street) and the Billy Graham Parkway
(former U.S. 521) intersect closely to Interstate 77 & U.S. 21. Therefore ramps to the two surface highways
are split between between two separate partial cloverleaf interchanges from the north-south freeway.
Displayed in this photograph is the Exit 6 cloverleaf ramp to Billy Graham Parkway west. North Carolina 49
sees the northbound return ramp for Interstate 77 & U.S. 21. As for U.S. 521, the designation saw truncation
in 2003 to Interstate 485 at Pineville. Situated nearby is the historic northern terminus of U.S. 521
at the intersection of Woodlawn Road and South Boulevard. When U.S. 21 relocated to the freeway, U.S. 521
extended northwest via Woodlawn Road to Billy Graham Parkway and Interstate 85. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| A collector/distributor roadway departs for the Exit 9A/B
off-ramps to Interstate 277 north & U.S. 74 east (John Belk Freeway) and U.S. 74 west (Wilkinson Boulevard).
Situated above are the railroad and Clarkson Street overpasses. No direct access is provided for the nearby
U.S. 29 & North Carolina 27 (Moorehead Street). However connections via Freedom Drive to the west and
Interstate 277 Exit 1D (Mint Street & Carson Boulevard off-ramp) to the east allow motorists access to
U.S. 29 & North Carolina 27. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| Approaching the junction with Interstate 85 (Exit 13A/B) on
Interstate 77 & U.S. 21 northbound. A complex interchange facilitates the movements between the two freeways.
A pair of cloverleaf ramps from Interstate 77 to Interstate 85 exist within the interchange itself. This facet
is significant in that the lanes of Interstate 77 actually cross over one another so that northbound is to
the west of southbound and vice versa to allow for the placement of these ramps. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| Northbound at the ramp to Interstate 85 north (Exit 13A).
Interstate 77 & U.S. 21 maintain two northbound lanes through this stretch. Improvements to the junction and
the freeway itself are slated for the future. These will entail the widening of the freeway from four to
eight lanes with the construction of new lanes within the freeway median. Additionally the Exit 13A off-ramp
to Interstate 85 will see reconstruction to allow for a higher speeds. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| Traffic from Interstate 85 northbound onto Interstate 77
merges in time to see the Exit 13B cloverleaf ramp depart for Interstate 85 southbound. The two flows of
traffic are separated by a jersey barrier. Interstate 85 sees between six and eight lanes throughout the
Charlotte Metropolitan area. The north-south freeway links the city with Gastonia (pop. 66,277) and
Kannapolis (pop. 36,910) in adjacent counties. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| At Exit 16A, U.S. 21 leaves Interstate 77 for the first time
in the Tarheel State via Sunset Road eastbound. At Statesville Road, U.S. 21 returns to its former alignment.
There North Carolina 115 begins and travels northeast along Old Statesville Road to Huntersville (pop. 24,960).
Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| Four Interstate 77 interchanges serve the city of Statesville (pop. 23,320)
in Iredell County. The first two consist of partial cloverleaf interchanges with U.S. 70 (Garner Bagnel Boulevard)
and Salisbury Road (former North Carolina 90). Departing in this photograph is the Exit 49A ramp to U.S. 70.
The federal highway becomes Salisbury Road and then Highway on the 23 mile journey to the city by the same name.
Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| Interstate 77 northbound at the Exit 51A ramp to Interstate 40
eastbound. A full cloverleaf interchange handles the movements between the two four-lane freeways. At the
time of this photo, some of the last button copy signage for northbound Interstate 77 was in place at the
interchange with Interstate 40 (Exit 51A/B). However according to Brent White, these signs have been
replaced with fully reflective signs since in the intervening time. After the Interstate 40 interchange,
traffic counts decrease significantly as compared to those between Charlotte and Statesville.
Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| A second original button copy sign posted at the Exit 51B
cloverleaf ramp to Interstate 40 westbound. Interstate 40 sees three Statesville area interchanges:
Exit 151 with U.S. 21 (Sullivan Road), Exit 150 with North Carolina 115 (Wilkesboro Highway), and
Exit 148 with U.S. 64 (Taylorsville Highway). Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| U.S. 21 (Turnersburg Road) crosses Interstate 77 from
Statesville to the southwest at the Exit 54 diamond interchange. Turnersburg Road travels northward to the
communities of Turnersburg and Harmony (pop. 526) from this junction. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| Interstate 77 North Carolina shield posted beyond the North
Carolina 901 interchange (Exit 69) in Yadkin County. Markings on the back of this shield indicate it was
posted 06/29/87. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| Interstate 77 northbound at the Exit 73A/B cloverleaf interchange
with U.S. 421. The east-west federal highway is in the process of a freeway upgrade between the towns of
Yadkinville (pop. 2,818) and Wilkesboro (pop. 3,159) & North Wilkesboro (pop. 4,116). The pull-through and
Exit 73B panel displayed in this photograph are original button copy signs. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| Exit 73B departs Interstate 77 northbound for U.S. 421
west. The federal highway constitutes a gateway to the Appalachian Mountains for the cities of Winston-Salem
and Greensboro. U.S. 421 travels to city of Boone (pop. 13,472) and Bristol, Tennessee on a 108 mile
stretch between Interstate 77 and U.S. 11. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| U.S. 21 returns to Interstate 77 at Exit 79 south of Jonesville
(pop. 1,464). The highway splits at this junction between a Business and Bypass counterpart. The Business route
travels through Jonesville into downtown Elkin (pop. 4,109) via Bridge Street. U.S. 21 Bypass overlaps with
Interstate 77 northward to Exit 83. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| U.S. 21 Bypass and Interstate 77 northbound split at
Exit 83. The bypass portion of U.S. 21 predates the Interstate system and thus sees a left-hand off-ramp.
Interstate 77 extends northward from the original routing toward Dobson (pop. 1,457) and the Virginia state
line. The two components of U.S. 21 meanwhile merge together in four miles at North Elkin. U.S. 21 overall
diverges from the Interstate 77 corridor through the communities of State Road, Thurmon, Roaring Gap,
and Sparta (pop. 1,817) before crossing into the Commonwealth of Virginia. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| North Carolina 89 intersects Interstate 77 via a partial
cloverleaf interchange at Exit 100. The state highway is part of a multi-state route between the city of Galax,
Virginia (pop. 6,837) and Mount Airy, North Carolina (pop. 8,484). Known as Pine Street into Mt. Airy,
North Carolina 89 intersects Interstate 74 nearby at Exit 6. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| 0.25 mile guide sign for Interstate 74 east (Exit 101) on
Interstate 77 northbound. The Mount Airy segment of the Interstate consists of a 12 mile segment between Interstate
77 and U.S. 52. Completed in the late 1990s and signed originally as North Carolina 752, Interstate 74
was christened on this stretch in 2000. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| Interstate 77 northbound at the eastbound off-ramp to Interstate
74 east. Eventually the east-west designation will apply to U.S. 52 southwest of Mount Airy to the city of
Winston-Salem. For now however, Interstate 74 consists of 17 miles between the Virginia state line and
U.S. 52. The final five miles of Interstate 77 in the Tarheel State overlap with Interstate 74. The state of
Virginia does not acknowledge any of Interstate 74 at the present time. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| The only existing set of Interstate 74 & 77 west/northbound
reassurance shields, posted just north of the Exit 101 merge of Interstate 74 onto Interstate 77. The next
departure point is situated six miles to the north at Exit 1 (Lamsburg Road) near Lamsburg, Virginia.
Photo taken 10/05/01.
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| Scenes Pertaining to Interstate 77
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|---|
| U.S. 21 northbound merges onto Interstate 77 at Exit 79. The
overlap coincides with the split of U.S. 21 into Business and Bypass components. The Bypass U.S. 21 freeway
pre-exists the Interstate 77 designation through the Elkin (pop. 4,109) and Jonesville (pop. 1,464)
communities. Thus when Interstate 77 came to pass, U.S. 21 Bypass became part of the alignment. Depicted here
are junction shields for Interstate 77 and U.S. 21 Bypass posted on North Carolina 67 eastbound for the
Exit 82 partial cloverleaf interchange. Photo taken 10/05/01.
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Page Updated January 23, 2004.