Interstate 64 in West Virginia
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East end | state line | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | West Virginia | |||
Counties | Wayne, Cabell, Putnam, Kanawha, Fayette, Raleigh, Summers, Greenbrier | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 64 (I-64) is an
Route description
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I-64 travels for 189 miles (304 km) within the state of West Virginia, passing by the major cities of Huntington, Beckley, and Lewisburg and directly through the capital city of Charleston. It has only two major junctions within the state: I-77 in Charleston and in Beckley. It also crosses the Kanawha River a total of four times in a 20-mile (32 km) stretch (twice west of Charleston, immediately before entering the downtown Charleston area, then approximately five miles [8.0 km] east of downtown Charleston in Kanawha City).
Between I-64's two junctions with I-77, I-64 and I-77 overlap. From the final crossing of the
While the two expressways overlap, the exit signs are those for I-77. Thus, eastbound travelers entering from Kentucky will see exit numbers increase until exit 60, at which time I-77's exit numbers are used, decreasing from exit 100.
History
Early beginnings
The first segment of I-64 in West Virginia to be let to construction was in Cabell County in 1957. This segment, from US Route 60 (US 60) at milepost 15 to Ona at milepost 20, was completed in 1960.[2]
In 1962, a lengthy segment from exit 28 at Milton to just west of exit 44 was opened to traffic.[2] This included exits 34 and 39. One year later, I-64 was completed to exit 44, serving originally West Virginia Route 17 (WV 17), now WV 817 near St. Albans.
In 1964, an eight-mile (13 km) segment of the Interstate opened from exit 20 at Ona to exit 28 at Milton.[2]
1965 saw the completion of a major part of I-64. A lengthy segment opened from the
In 1966, the first Kanawha River crossing was completed with new Interstate mainlines extending from exit 44 near St. Albans to exit 50 at Institute under four contracts.[2] This included three new interchanges: Nitro at milepost 45, Cross Lanes at milepost 47, and Institute at milepost 50. One year later, I-64 was extended eastward to Dunbar at milepost 52.4 with a new interchange constructed at that location. For six years, the Interstate would end just outside Charleston's borders.
Charleston's routing troubles
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2017) |
Planning for the routing of I-64, as well as for
The mayor at the time, John Shanklin, mayor for eight years from 1959 to 1967, was originally a strong opponent of any Interstate Highway going through the center of the city. Shanklin reversed his decision soon after and stated that Charleston can adjust to the impact and that it will eventually become a "great thing".
In 1971, the city and many residents were swimming in controversy over the proposed routes of the Interstate Highways. The long planned Interstates through West Virginia were either to run directly through the city center or to skirt it.
The plan was to bring I-64 through the Triangle District, just west of the downtown center, an urban blight,[citation needed] where many of the city's Black population lived. Home to the city's highest crime rates where shootings daily were common; it was referred to as the "Red Light District".[citation needed] Urban renewals in the past had failed. Residents living in the Triangle District formed committees and rebelled. They called the highway routing foolish because it wanted to make Charleston just another exit on an endless ribbon of concrete and that it was racist because the Black population would bear the brunt of the relocation.[citation needed]
Federal transportation secretary
In 1971, construction began for the connection between the I-77/I-64 interchange at exit 101 (I-77 milepost 101.64) and exit 96 (milepost 95.87).[2] In 1974, I-64 opened to traffic from milepost 52.4, two miles (3.2 km) east of exit 50 at Institute to exit 55 (milepost 55.45). This included the construction of an interchange at milepost 54 for US 60 and WV 601 and a second Kanawha River span. When the river crossing was completed, it was one of the largest steel girder bridges in the US at the time. Also, I-77/I-64 opened from exit 100 (milepost 100.16) to exit 99 (milepost 99.12).[2]
In 1975, I-64 was completed to I-77 which included the US 119 Fort Hill interchange (exit 58A) at milepost 57.48. This segment also involved the construction of the third Kanawha River span, exits 58B and 58C and the I-77 junction at milepost 58.78. This three-level junction spans local streets and is the largest interchange in West Virginia with piers embedded in buildings, over water, and over nearby streets. This also included the viaduct over the Triangle District.[2]
In 1976, I-77/I-64 opened from exit 96 (milepost 95.87) to the northern terminus of the West Virginia Turnpike at milepost 99.12 (exit 99). The Interstate concurrency was opened to traffic from exit 100 (milepost 100.16) to exit 101 (milepost 101.64). This completed the last segment of Interstate within Charleston city limits.[2]
Charleston east to Virginia
The alignment of I-64 was to originally parallel
In 1969, Governor Arch A. Moore Jr. announced a delay in the construction of I-64 east of Charleston. He concluded that a study needed to be done on whether the highway should run parallel to US 60 east of Charleston. On March 28, 1974, Governor Moore concluded that I-64 would be routed from Sam Black Church almost due west to a junction with the West Virginia Turnpike (I-77) near Beckley, rather than following the US 60 alignment as initially proposed. From that point, I-64 was concurrent with the northern portion of an upgraded West Virginia Turnpike to reach the Charleston area. This section of I-64 is the only portion of the highway which is a toll road.
In 1971, I-64 was completed from
The final segment of I-64 to be completed was between Sam Black Church and the West Virginia Turnpike near Beckley.
Even with careful adherence to reduced speeds for truckers, the journey from Charleston to Lewisburg is far quicker and far safer on I-64 than the older routing via US 60, much of which winds through the mountains as the
.Between mileposts 129 and 133, also in Raleigh County, is the
The
Continuing improvements
Continuing improvements and new interchanges were discussed throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
Exit 20, the main road to the Huntington Mall and its associated developments along with US 60, was originally constructed as a diamond interchange that served Ona and US 60. The land surrounding the interchange was entirely rural and would not be developed until 1981 when Huntington Mall was completed. The diamond interchange configuration was reconstructed into a five-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange. Exit 20A served US 60 while exit 20B was for Huntington Mall. By 2001, development consumed both sides of the Interstate. On holiday shopping days, traffic would congest at the interchange and cause major backups on the Interstate. In 2001, the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) constructed a new ramp, exit 20A, that would serve US 60 and the west end of Huntington Mall. The original exit 20A ramp was removed. Exit 20B was kept, for the most part, in its current position with a left turn lane added that allowed it to serve the east end of Huntington Mall, Melody Farm Road, and US 60. In the same year, a new interchange opened for WV 193 (Merritts Creek Connector) at Barboursville. Exit 18 serves a new four-lane highway that links US 60 and WV 2 together.
In 2002,
Aging roadbeds and bridges are of large concern to the WVDOT. Many Interstate Highway spans are approaching the end of their useful life span, several nearing 40 years of age. One such span was in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area which showed significant signs of deterioration. The WV 10/Hale Greer Boulevard crossings were approaching 40 years of life and decayed to the point where regular maintenance was needed. A three-by-three-foot (0.91 by 0.91 m) segment of the westbound bridge collapsed in early 2002 after a harsh winter, for example, and this only highlighted the problems being experienced on the original I-64 spans. The two spans at WV 10 were replaced with a new wider crossing in 2009.
In 2003, the demolition of the West Pea Ridge Road overpass began. The bridge, built in 1961, utilized steel girders that had become deteriorated over the years and were replaced with prestressed concrete beams. Construction was completed in late 2004.
The second Kanawha River crossing between Dunbar and South Charleston was twinned. The new bridge, carrying eastbound traffic, was finished in October 2010. The old bridge was rehabilitated and converted to oneway traffic, with completion in October 2012. The combined bridges carry six throughlanes, three in each direction, with two auxiliary lanes to service the Dunbar and MacCorkle avenue exits on each side of the bridge. The mainspan of the new eastbound structure, at 760 feet (230 m), is the longest box girder span in the US. With the completion of the new eastbound bridge and the rehabilitation of the existing bridge for westbound traffic, I-64 has at least six lanes from Charleston to Nitro.[9]
As of 2021[update], the third Kanawha River crossing at Nitro is currently under reconstruction in a project very similar to the South Charleston expansion. The Nitro crossing will be twinned, with the new bridge carrying westbound traffic. The existing bridge will be demolished and rebuilt to carry eastbound traffic. The combined spans will carry six throughlanes, three in each direction, with two auxiliary lanes servicing the Nitro and St. Albans exits on each side of the bridge. The project will also include new bridges over Rocky Step Road and McCloud Road and result in six throughlanes (three in each direction) from Charleston to the interchange with
Other notable recent projects:
- The Darnell Road Bridge replacement is just west of the Barboursville/US 60 interchange at milepost 15. The four-lane span is being replaced with a six-lane crossing at a cost of $7.5 million (equivalent to $10.9 million in 2023[3]). It was completed in mid-2006.
- The Hubbard Branch overpass near milepost 2 was replaced in 2005.
- The Edgewood Drive overpass near milepost 3 and the 19th Street overpass near milepost 5.5 and exit 6 was replaced in 2006.
- The Crossroads underpass to tunnel conversion was completed in 2006 at milepost 12.
- The $5-million (equivalent to $6.9 million in 2023[3]) Milton interchange project at milepost 28 was completed in 2009.
- A new US 35 interchange in Teays Valley was started in 2003 and is now complete. A hybrid .
- Widening began on a segment from Nitro to Dunbar in 2001 and was completed in 2004.
The state's long-term construction forecast, for a six-lane Interstate from milepost 6 at West Huntington to Charleston and bridge replacements west of milepost 6 to the Kentucky state line, will take 30 years to complete at present funding levels and cost more than $325 million.
Naming
The portion from the Charleston city limits to the Kentucky state line is signed as the "Cecil H. Underwood Freeway", named after the 25th and 32nd governor of West Virginia. The portion in the city limits of Charleston is signed as the "Nurse Veterans Highway". The portion from the West Virginia Turnpike to the Virginia line is the Hulett Smith Freeway, named after the 27th governor of West Virginia.
Exit list
County | Location | mi | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes | |
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I-64 west – Ashland | Continuation into Kentucky | ||||||
Perry & Gentry Memorial Bridge | |||||||
Wayne | Kenova | 1.29 | 2.08 | 1 | US 52 south / WV 75 – Kenova, Ceredo | West end of US 52 overlap | |
West Huntington, Ironton | East end of US 52 overlap | ||||||
8.18 | 13.16 | 8 | WV 152 south (5th Street East south) / WV 527 north (5th Street East north) | ||||
10.96 | 17.64 | 11 | Downtown Huntington | ||||
Barboursville | 14.51 | 23.35 | 15 | US 60 (29th Street East) | |||
18.02 | 29.00 | 18 | WV 193 to WV 2 – Barboursville | ||||
19.48 | 31.35 | 20A | West Mall Road to US 60 | Eastbound exit only | |||
19.68 | 31.67 | 20B | CR 6089 (East Mall Road) to US 60 – Barboursville | Signed as exit 20 westbound | |||
Milton | 27.46 | 44.19 | 28 | To US 60 (CR 13) – Milton | |||
Culloden | CR 6021 (Benedict Road) | Under construction[11] | |||||
Putnam | Hurricane | 33.77 | 54.35 | 34 | CR 19 – Hurricane | ||
Mt. Vernon | 38.59 | 62.10 | 39 | WV 34 – Teays Valley | |||
semi-directional T/diamond interchange; all movements between I-64 and US 35 are free-flowing except for eastbound I-64 to northbound US 35 | |||||||
St. Albans | 43.39 | 69.83 | 44 | WV 817 – St. Albans | |||
Nitro | 44.39 | 71.44 | 45 | WV 25 – Nitro | |||
Kanawha | Cross Lanes | 47.29 | 76.11 | 47 | WV 622 (Goff Mountain Road) – Cross Lanes | Signed as exits 47A (south) and 47B (north) eastbound | |
| 49.87 | 80.26 | 50 | WV 25 – Institute | |||
Dunbar | 52.28 | 84.14 | 53 | WV 25 – Dunbar CR 2525 (Roxalana Road) – Dunbar | Eastbound signage Westbound signage | ||
South Charleston | 53.52 | 86.13 | 54 | US 60 (MacCorkle Avenue) to WV 601 (Jefferson Road) | |||
54.35 | 87.47 | 55 | Kanawha Turnpike to WV 601 | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |||
55.25 | 88.92 | 56 | CR 5064 (Montrose Drive) | ||||
Charleston | 57.40 | 92.38 | 58A | US 119 south / Oakwood Road – Logan | West end of US 119 overlap | ||
57.73 | 92.91 | 58B | Civic Center | East end of US 119 overlap; westbound access via exit 58C | |||
57.97– 58.02 | 93.29– 93.37 | 58C | Civic Center | Lee St. signed eastbound, Washington St. signed westbound | |||
58.50 | 94.15 | 59 | I-77 north to I-79 north – Parkersburg | West end of I-77 overlap; I-77 exit 101; left exit eastbound, left entrances | |||
Interstate 64 overlaps with Interstate 77 | |||||||
Raleigh | Beckley | 119.66 | 192.57 | 121 | I-77 south (West Virginia Turnpike south) – Bluefield | Tolled; east end of I-77 overlap; I-77 exit 40; left exit and entrance westbound | |
123.47 | 198.71 | 124 | To US 19 (Eisenhower Drive) – Beckley | Last free exit westbound | |||
| 124.79 | 200.83 | 125 | CR 99 (Airport Road) to WV 307 – Beaver | Signed as exits 125A (WV 307) and 125B (CR 9/9) eastbound | ||
| 128.04 | 206.06 | 129 | CR 9 (Grandview Road) – Shady Spring | Signed as exits 129A (south) and 129B (north) eastbound | ||
| 132.65 | 213.48 | 133 | CR 27 (Pluto Road) – Bragg | |||
New River | Mary Draper Ingles Bridge | ||||||
Summers | Sandstone | 138.15 | 222.33 | 139 | WV 20 – Hinton, Sandstone | Access via CR 7 connector road | |
| 142.95 | 230.06 | 143 | To WV 20 – Meadow Bridge, Green Sulphur Springs | Access via CR 4 connector road | ||
Greenbrier | | 149.55 | 240.68 | 150 | CR 294 – Dawson | ||
| 155.69 | 250.56 | 156 | Midland Trail) – Sam Black Church | |||
Alta | 161.18 | 259.39 | 161 | WV 12 – Alta | |||
Lewisburg | 169.06 | 272.08 | 169 | US 219 – Lewisburg, Ronceverte | |||
White Sulphur Springs | 174.91 | 281.49 | 175 | To US 60 / WV 92 – White Sulphur Springs, Caldwell | Access via CR 6014 connector road | ||
179.85 | 289.44 | 181 | US 60 west to WV 92 – White Sulphur Springs | West end of US 60 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance | |||
182.90 | 294.35 | 183 | WV 311 – Crows | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |||
183.51 | 295.33 | Continuation into Virginia | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- ^ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Release Date Report. West Virginia Department of Transportation. August 2003.
- ^ Gross Domestic Product deflatorfigures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
- ^ "American Bridge – Glade Creek Bridge". American Bridge Company. Retrieved September 14, 2008.
- West Virginia Division of Highways. September 24, 2004. Archived from the original(PDF) on May 27, 2010. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
- ^ "Phil G. McDonald Bridge". Highest Bridges.com. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
- ^ "West Virginia @ AARoads – Interstate 64 West – Green Sulphur Springs to Beckley". Aaroads.com. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
- ^ "I-64 westbound exit 133". Aaroads.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ I-64 Dunbar South Charleston Bridge Archived July 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. West Virginia Department of Transportation.
- ^ "Nitro – St. Albans | I-64 Improvement Project". nitro64.com. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.Retrieved January 26, 2023.
External links
Media related to Interstate 64 in West Virginia at Wikimedia Commons