I-77 choices

Road conditions are different depending of the State Funding for repair, improvement and Maint. We pull I-77 Ohio going to Florida in Mid October . We have no problem with grades as we have enough truck. Fuel stops are no problem if you do the homework. We Stay at FT Chiswell, Va and Point South KOA, South Carolina. It is a pleasant trip.

As we live only two miles from I77, it is a no-brainer for us. Friends living near us have gone the I75 route and it is longer and you have to worry about Atlanta. Using I77 only cities are Charleston and Charlotte. I avoid Charlotte during rush hours. The glide through WV is no real problem. Long grades always have "truck" lanes and they do keep the road clear.

robwhite61 wrote:

Allworth wrote:
Interstate is Interstate.

There are Federal design limits on grades, curves, lane widths, and bridge clearances. What you see at home is what you get anywhere else.

I spent years doing highway design and construction and there is no way around the FHWA rules when you are dealing with Interstates.

You've obviously never driven I-65 between Birmingham and Montgomery or I-59 from Chattanooga to Birmingham. Almost like driving on a washboard.

my points exactly..some are in good shape, some are in a terrible state, so they're not all alike, some you really don't want to travel.....There are also 7% grades in several interstate area's I travel and it's stated as such....don't think I'll see that in some states....nope...not all the same....

Allworth wrote:
Interstate is Interstate.

There are Federal design limits on grades, curves, lane widths, and bridge clearances. What you see at home is what you get anywhere else.

I spent years doing highway design and construction and there is no way around the FHWA rules when you are dealing with Interstates.

You've obviously never driven I-65 between Birmingham and Montgomery or I-59 from Chattanooga to Birmingham. Almost like driving on a washboard.

NC Hauler wrote:
Do you mean Tamarack, in Beckley, off I 77, Harper Road Exit? And you're right...lot's of "hill"s, though some are long and steep enough to hit mountain status, especially from camp creek to Flat top...two quite long curvy interstate climbs:) You never really get out of the mountains in WV, especially in the area's we're talking. BUT, beautiful scenery.

Thanks for the spelling I was to lazy to look it up. We are from the same area as the OP and I-77 is almost a straight line from our driveway to our Florida residence. There are more C.G's and fuel stops on I -75 but we avoid Atlanta like the Plague. Tamarack is our lunch and fuel stop. Then there is the Liberty Truck stop at Wva Exit 170 old but friendly they even pump the fuel for you. there are plenty of pilot/FJ along the way. We have no problem with fuel or rest stops.

Do you mean Tamarack, in Beckley, off I 77, Harper Road Exit? And you're right...lot's of "hill"s, though some are long and steep enough to hit mountain status, especially from camp creek to Flat top...two quite long curvy interstate climbs:) You never really get out of the mountains in WV, especially in the area's we're talking. BUT, beautiful scenery.

Toolguy5 wrote:
Would like to know your experiences with I-77 through West Virginia pulling a 5er.

Going to Commerce, Georgia. Other alternative is I-75 to Knoxville pick up I-40

Thoughts on your experience with these routes.

We are from North Ridgeville,Ohio. We have run both to Florida. We prefer I-77.It is shorter, The tolls on the Wva Tpk are cheap. We do not make the run in the winter(snow) either I-77 or I-75.There are some nice "hills" but we have no problem with them. We make a rest and fuel stop in Tammerick(sp). We run I-75 every once in awhile just for a change.

dballentine wrote:
"That section from Beckley to Charleston was originally built back in the '50s as the West Virginia Turnpike. This was in the days before the Interstate System existed, there weren't big barrels of federal highway money. The State set up a Turnpike Commission to build and manage the highway, and the commission sold bonds to finance the construction. Those bonds are paid off through the collection of tolls, which also pay for routine maintenance, plowing and salting, etc.

I bet most of you have never seen a two-lane turnpike. The original WVTurnpike was one lane in each direction, with the occasional 3-lane section where passing was permitted in either direction! Rest stops were on one side or the other, with crossovers for traffic on the other side of the highway.

When the Turnpike was added to the Interstate System, numerous upgrades were made, including 4-laning of the entire length, elimination of the rest stop crossovers, etc. It's one of the most scenic highways (I think) in the Eastern U.S., although my personal preference is U.S. 219 from Lewisburg to Davis WV. "


It was I that talked about Flat Top to Beckley...I can remember when there was no ski resort there, West Virginia is quite mountainous, thus the reason for the nickname, "the Mountain State"...Doesn't have the highest mountain, (highest, Spruce Knob 4,863'), but is also the highest STATE, overall, elevation wise, than any other state east of the Mississippi.

Yes, believe it or not, I knew all the above. I was born and raised in Beckley (1950),watched it being built as a kid and watched it evolve over the years...have driven it SO many times and paid enough tolls that I feel like I own a few slabs of the concrete that makes up some of that section...over the years toll booths have been added and removed...Used to be a toll booth on the Harper Rd. exit, (not the one that exist today)...cost a quarter, also one when you got off 77 to get on 79, (still called 19'),....The addition of I64 intersecting I77 took years and years and years, back in the early 70s, I 64 "ended" at Sam Black Church and was like that for what seemed like decades.....One section heading to Charleston used to go through a tunnel, back in the late 80's, they bypassed the tunnel, (now used to garage DOT road work equipment and cut through the side of a mountain and filled up the valley beside of it with the mountain they took down....It's not cheap to build roads in the mountainous state of WV..

Several times WV could have given the section of I77 over to the Federal Gov. Interstate Systems, but found they could maintain that part of the Interstate System and make enough profit to spend on other things.

In the fall, the travel in WV, especially on these interstates is like traveling in a bowl of Fruit Loops...about as colorful with the leaves changing as one could imagine.

You're right about Rt.219...If not mistaken, Black Water Falls is in Davis WV..The state is a beauty to behold.

Thanks to all for all the information..

We took I-77 from Beckley to Va. line last week. Road was in good condition and easy to travel. Used easypass so don't know what the toll was.

TLast summer ran I-84 from Scranton, Pa. to Massachussets turnpike and it was so bad the trailer left the ground several times in Connecticut. It was so bad we bent a spindle on the trailer and had to replace the axle. If you go up there you will have to slow down to about 45.