Interstate 81 Totally Explained

Everything about I-81 totally explained

Interstate 81 (abbreviated I-81) is an interstate highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 near Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island (near Fishers Landing, New York) at the Canadian border, where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Highway 401, the main freeway connecting Windsor-Detroit and Toronto to Montreal.
Interstate 81 largely traces the path of the Appalachian Mountains, often paralleling its older U.S. highway counterpart, U.S. Route 11. While mostly rural, it's heavily used as a trucking corridor, often as a bypass of the busier Interstate 95 to the east.

Major cities Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs
Knoxville, Tennessee (via Interstate 40) Morristown, Tennessee Greeneville, Tennessee Johnson City, Tennessee Kingsport, Tennessee Bristol, Tennessee Bristol, Virginia Blacksburg, Virginia Roanoke, Virginia Winchester, Virginia Martinsburg, West Virginia Hagerstown, Maryland Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Carlisle, Pennsylvania Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Hazleton, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Scranton, Pennsylvania Binghamton, New York Cortland, New York Syracuse, New York Watertown, New York Canada

Route description

|- | TN || 75 ||121 |- | VA || 323 || 520 |- | WV || 23 ||37 |- | MD || 11 ||18 |- | PA || 234 ||377 |- | NY || 183 || 294 |}

Tennessee and Virginia

ť Main articles: Interstate 81 in: Tennessee | Virginia

Interstate 81 begins in Tennessee at Interstate 40 near Dandridge. The route parallels the Appalachian Mountains for much of its route through Tennessee and Virginia, serving such cities as Roanoke, Lexington, Staunton, Harrisonburg, and Winchester. It parallels its older counterpart, U.S. Route 11, for its entire length in Virginia.

West Virginia and Maryland

ť Main articles: Interstate 81 in: West Virginia | Maryland

Interstate 81 briefly enters the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, serving the city of Martinsburg. It then traverses the state of Maryland at one of its narrowest points, passing through the "Hub City" of Hagerstown where it intersects with a large number of other routes.

Pennsylvania

Interstate 81 forms a major north-south corridor through the state of Pennsylvania, serving the boroughs of Chambersburg and Carlisle, where it meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Around the state capital of Harrisburg, the route forms the northeastern section of Pennsylvania's Capital Beltway. The route then travels northeast towards the Wyoming Valley, where it serves the cities of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, then heads north through the Endless Mountains region towards the state line.

New York

Interstate 81 enters the New York state near Binghamton. It parallels U.S. Route 11 in a north-south direction, serving the cities of Syracuse (where it intersects the New York State Thruway), and Watertown. The route ends at the Canadian border at the Thousand Islands Bridge, where it crosses the St. Lawrence River, continuing as Highway 137.

Major intersections

Interstate 40 near Dandridge, Tennessee, northeast of Knoxville

Interstate 26 between the Tri-Cities, Tennessee

Interstate 77 in Wytheville, Virginia. They stay joined for about 10 miles (16 km), and go in opposite directions (for example, this is a wrong-way concurrency, where I-81 North overlaps I-77 South, and vice versa).

Interstate 64 in Lexington, Virginia. They stay joined until Staunton, Virginia.

Interstate 66 in Middletown, Virginia

Interstate 70 in Hagerstown, Maryland

Interstate 76 in Middlesex, Pennsylvania (near Carlisle, Pennsylvania)

Interstate 83 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Interstate 78 in Bordnersville, Pennsylvania (near Jonestown, Pennsylvania)

Interstate 80 in Saint Johns, Pennsylvania (near Hazleton, Pennsylvania)

Interstate 476 in Dupont, Pennsylvania (near Pittston, Pennsylvania)

Interstate 84 and Interstate 380 in Dunmore, Pennsylvania (near Scranton, Pennsylvania) Throop Dunmore Interchange

Interstate 476 (again) in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania

Interstate 88 and future Interstate 86 in Binghamton, New York

Interstate 690 in downtown Syracuse, New York

Interstate 90 in North Syracuse, New York

Auxiliary routes

There are three current child routes either providing access to, or bypassing, various cities along the Interstate 81 route.

Current

I-381 - Bristol, Virginia

I-581 - Roanoke, Virginia

I-481 - Syracuse, New York

Past

I-181 - Kingsport, Tennessee: Deleted in August 2005 when Interstate 26 took over I-181's entire length.

I-81E - Current Interstate 380 (Pennsylvania)Further Information

Get more info on 'I-81'.

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