interstate 77 was built in west virginia in 1975.
when was interstate 77 built in west virginia?
1975
construction took two years at the cost of five workers. the first section of the highway, the southern from beckley to princeton, opened to traffic on september 2, 1954. in november, the remaining between charleston and beckley opened. the new turnpike had several nicknames, including "88 miles of miracle" and "the engineering marvel that beat the mountains". triangular turnpike shields, with the words "west virginia" at the top and an interlocking "t" and "p" in the center, were installed along the highway. six interchanges were constructed. initially, the road used a ticket-based tolling system. at each interchange, bridges and underpasses for the mainline had an extra set of graded lanes, indicating that the turnpike was expected to be widened in the future. according to the west virginia turnpike caf report:
interstate 77 in west virginia
before interstate 77 was completed, state route 2 followed the ohio river (more or less) from st. marys, south through parkersburg, and on sothward along the river to ravenswood, and further toward huntington. when interstate 77 was completed, state route 2 was re-routed along interstate 77 from the point where the two crossed, north of parkersburg, to the point where interstate 77 passes by ravenswood. at that point, state route 2 left interstate 77 and continued along its former route. but the portion between where state route 2 crossed interstate 77 north of parkersburg, and where it rejoined its original route in ravenswood was established as state route 68. it passes through downtown parkersburg, and continues along the old state route 2 route south to ravenswood. it is the only state route in west virginia that shares a number with an interstate or u.s highway, due to the commissioning of interstate 68 in 1991.
west virginia route 68