Site Navigation Alabama Florida Georgia Louisiana Mississippi North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee     Interstate 77 Northbound Interstate 77 North 0.75 mile sign bridge for the Interstate 77 & 485 four-level symmetrical stack interchange on northbound. The junction occurs very near the South Carolina state line. Because of that, this particular sign bridge is actually posted within the Palmetto State, and adheres to SCDOT standards. Photo taken 10/05/01. Northbound crossing the South Carolina & North Carolina state line and associated welcome signage. The city of Charlotte (pop. 540,828) is the seat for Mecklenburg County (pop. 695,494). Photo taken 10/05/01. A lengthy collector/distributor roadway departs Interstate 77 & U.S. 21 northbound for the Interstate 485 and Westinghouse Boulevard confluence. The Exit 1 roadway and adjacent Exit 2 c/d roadway segregate traffic movements from the Interstate 77 six-lane mainline through to the Arrowood Road interchange (Exit 2). Photo taken 10/05/01. Interstate 485 c/d roadway of Interstate 77 & U.S. 21 northbound at the Westinghouse Boulevard off-ramp. The east-west arterial begins nearby at Nations Ford Road. From there northwest through Interstate 77, Westinghouse Boulevard intersects North Carolina 49 (York Road), North Carolina 160 (Steele Creek Road), and Shopton Road. Photo taken 10/05/01. Traffic from Westinghouse Boulevard is granted separate on-ramps to both Interstate 77 northbound and Interstate 485. Continuing from those ramps to the partition between the Charlotte Beltway east and west is this sign bridge. The designations Rusty Goode Freeway and James G. Martin Freeway apply to the respective directions of Interstate 485. The naming conventions stem from local politicians that powered the idea of Interstate 485. Martin was the governor that got the ball rolling on the construction of Interstate 485, and Goode was the board of transportation member from Mecklenburg County. That advocated its hasty completion. Photo taken 10/05/01. Northbound on the Exit 2 c/d roadway for Arrowood Road and the Interstate 485 on-ramps of Exit 1. Interstate 77 & U.S. 21 see seven overall northbound lanes through this stretch with the advent of this c/d roadway. The width quickly reduces however, as the Arrowood Road off-ramp claims one lane while another ends before Interstate 485 motorists merge onto the mainline. Arrowood Road itself connects North Carolina 49 (York Road & Tryon Street) with former U.S. 521 (South Boulevard). Photos taken 10/05/01. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. A map of the Interstate 77 & 85 interchange complex at Exit 13. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Scenes Pertaining to Interstate 77 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. Page Updated January 23, 2004.